French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stressed in statements today, Sunday, during his visit to Cairo, "the deep respect for Islam", at the beginning of the visit, which aims to calm the crisis of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.
Le Drian met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and he also met Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, who strongly criticized France for the cartoons.
The French minister said during a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, "I referred to the deep respect for Islam. What we are fighting is terrorism, it is the hijacking of religion, it is extremism."
Le Drian assured that he came "to explain, if necessary, this battle and at the same time the struggle for the respect of freedom of belief."
The two ministers discussed the situation in Libya, and Le Drian said, "France and Egypt agree to demand the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries, and to respect the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations."
In response to a question about political prisoners who are languishing in Egyptian prisons, Shoukry said, "There is no arbitrary detention (in Egypt), but rather in accordance with the law and the judiciary."
According to Al-Azhar's media office, Ahmed Al-Tayeb confirmed - during a closed meeting with Le Drian - his refusal to "describe terrorism as Islamic," adding, "We have neither the time nor the luxury to enter into terms that we have no interest in."
And he called for "stopping this term immediately because it offends the feelings of Muslims in the world, a term that contradicts the truth that everyone knows."
Al-Tayyib also said, "We wanted the officials in Europe to be aware that what is happening does not represent Islam and Muslims, especially since those who pay the price for this terrorism are Muslims more than others."
After the French Minister’s meeting with Sisi, the Egyptian presidential spokesperson said that the meeting dealt with issues of joint cooperation within the framework of strategic bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, as well as ways to enhance efforts to confront the escalation of extremism and hatred in light of the recent tension between the Islamic world and Europe.
The spokesman added that Sisi stressed "the urgent need for concerted efforts to uphold the values of coexistence and tolerance among all religions, and to build bridges of understanding and brotherhood, and not to prejudice religious symbols."
Al-Sisi also referred to "the Egyptian experience in consolidating the principles of tolerance and the rejection of violence, extremist ideology and terrorism ... and that Egypt is ready to cooperate and support various international efforts to promote these concepts."
Earlier today, the French Foreign Ministry said - in a statement - before Le Drian's arrival in Cairo that the foreign minister "will continue the process of explanation and appeasement initiated by the President of the Republic."
The sheikh of Al-Azhar said in a speech at the end of last October that "insulting religions and undermining their sacred symbols under the slogan of freedom of expression is an ideological duplication and an explicit call for hatred."
Islamic countries witnessed angry demonstrations against French President Emmanuel Macron, whose pictures and models of him were burned during the protests.
It also launched a campaign to boycott French products in more than one country, and in Egypt, calls for a boycott were spread on social media.
It is noteworthy that Le Drian visited Cairo several times as defense minister and then as foreign minister.