REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) special envoy Alwi Shihab has urged Al Azhar scholars and educators in Egypt to help spread moderate Islam in Indonesia.

"Ahmad Al-Tayeb, the grand sheikh of Al Azhar, positively welcomed President Jokowi's request to increase the spread of moderate Islamic understanding in Indonesia," Shihab stated after a meeting with Tayeb in Cairo, on Sunday.

During the meeting, Shihab was accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt Nurfaizi Suwandi and Culture and Education Attach? at the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo Fahmy Lukman.

In response to President Jokowi's request, Al-Tayeb remarked that he was ready to send Al Azhar scholars and educators to Indonesia to improve the understanding of moderate Islam.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayeb was appointed as grand sheikh of Al Azhar in March 2010, following the demise of his predecessor, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi.

Al-Tayeb was formerly the president of Al Azhar for seven years, and had earlier served as the most powerful cleric in Egypt as its Grand Mufti for a period of two years.

Some 3.5 thousand students from Indonesia are currently studying at Al Azhar, the oldest Muslim university in the world, with thousands of its alumni scattered throughout parts of Indonesia.

Shihab emphasized that the spread of moderate Islamic understanding in Indonesia is very important amid the spread of radicalism on the pretext of religion.

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