CAIRO: Egyptian Minister of Endowment Mokhtar Gomaa has been invited by Australia’s Dar al Iftaa to deliver speeches in Melbourne and Sydney, Youm7 reported.
Gomaa is expected to hold meetings with the Muslim community in at least these two cities, as part of Egypt’s Al-Azhar and Endowment Ministry efforts to “counter extremist ideology” and spread the “correct Islamic teachings” among Muslim westerners.
The invitation comes on the framework of spreading “the moderation of Islam” and renouncing “terrorism,” according to the ministry’s statement.
The statement did not mention when the visit may take place.
Al-Azhar previously warned about the recruitment of Muslim westerners by the Islamic State group (IS,) and announced it has started to produce more Islamic books in foreign languages, including English and French, as well a teach foreign languages to Egyptian religious scholars.
About 382,000 Muslims live in Australia, constituting approximately 2 percent of the population. A few young Australian men and women have been reported to join IS.