Pope backs Egypt's moderate Muslims in battle against extremists

CAIRO — Pope Francis began his two-day trip here on Friday to show solidarity with the country's Muslims who condemn radical Islamic terrorism, saying Egypt has an important role to play in  “vanquishing all violence and terrorism.”

The pontiff said religious leaders were obliged to “expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of religion, and to condemn these attempts as idolatrous caricatures of God.”

Francis made the remarks at Egypt’s Al Azhar university, the prestigious 1,000-year-old center of traditional Sunni Islam scholarship.

"Development and peace demand unconditional human respect of human rights. Development, prosperity, and peace are indispensable goods that deserve every sacrifice," France said. He also spoke to the grand imam, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, and other clerics on the first day of the visit.

His visit to the country comes with tight security after the bombing of two Coptic Christian churches that killed 44 people on Palm Sunday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on the Christian holiday.

Francis is also using the visit to recognize efforts by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to allow Christians more equality in the country. The Egyptian president has urged state-supported clerics to reinterpret Islamic doctrines to accept co-existence between Muslims and Christians, liberalizing laws that previously barred the construction of churches.

Explaining that Islam is a religion of peace, el-Tayeb said the violence that permeates the Bible didn’t undermine Christianity’s message to the world. “Men were crucified and killed with no distinction  between warriors children or women,” he said. “That does not mean that Christianity is a religion of terror.”

Copts welcomed Francis’ visit but said Sisi needed to do more to make them feel safe in their own country.

"These meetings between Sisi and Francis, together with the Coptic Pope and Shiekh of Al Azhar are a good step,” said Mina Nagueh, 21, a Coptic Christian medical student. “But it's the poor education in Egypt, not the leaders, that are creating extremism. All we can ask of Francis is to pray for us and our country."

Riham Abdullah, an Urdu instructor at Al Azhar, said she is among many Egyptians living peacefully with Christians.

“I send my kids to a Christian school because they have an excellent English language program, and I am a professor at an Islamic university," she said. "There is not a problem with Christians or Christianity — there is a worldwide problem of intolerance and ignorance."

The last papal visit to Egypt was in February 2000 by Pope John Paul II.