Al Azhar urges int'l community to cooperate on uprooting terror

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi, stressed the importance of cooperation by the international and regional powers to face up to terrorism, which became rampant in the recent period.

In a statement on Thursday, the Grand Imam said that Islam prohibited any aggression on innocent people, especially in Iraq, where despicable crimes spread.

He described those who committed acts of terrorism as evil people and saboteurs. Sheikh Tantawi called for punishing terrorists in accordance with the Islamic Sharia that stipulated harsh penalties for terrorists.

He said the Killing of innocent people, including children and women, and the assassination of the head of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Iraq, Ihab el-Sherif, was the most heinous crime.