The Muslim Council of Elders is taking part in the 56th Cairo International Book Fair with a special stand. The fair will take place under the theme ‘Read… In the Beginning Was the Word,’ from January 23 to February 5, 2025, in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. The Council’s participation is driven by its mission to promote peace, foster values of dialogue and tolerance, and build bridges of cooperation and coexistence.
Throughout the fair, the Muslim Council of Elders’ stand will showcase more than 250 diverse intellectual and cultural releases, including several of the latest publications from Al-Hokama Publishing for the year 2025. These include books such as “Religion and the Nations of Greater Asia: Managing Religious and Ethnic Pluralism in China and India,” “Peace in Africa: Studies and Perspectives on Enhancing Stability and Development,” “The Making of International Peace: Drawing from Shared Contexts,” and “International Peace: Shared Values and Institutional Concepts,” authored by a group of researchers from the Al Hokama Center for Peace Research. Additionally, the book “Islam and the West: An Approach to the Causes of Confrontation and a Survey of the Conditions for Intercultural Exchange” by Dr. Mohamed Elbenayadi, “The Quran’s Discourse on Humanity” by Ali Mohamed Hassan Al-Amari, a senior scholar at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, “Imam al-Haramayn and His Influence on the Development of the Ash’ari School” by Ali Mohamed Jaber, a senior scholar at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, and “Islamic Principles on Family Planning” by Abu Al-Wafa Al-Maraghi, a senior scholar at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, will also be featured.
Coinciding with the Muslim Council of Elders’ preparations to organize the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference in February, in response to the call of His Eminence Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, to enhance Islamic affairs and the unity of Muslims, and to affirm that religious fraternity is the driver of human fraternity, the Council’s stand at the Cairo International Book Fair will feature several works addressing this central issue. These include the book “Conflict Management in the Muslim World” by Dr. Idris Qasim, a researcher in foreign policy issues and a Doctor of Public Law, and the book “Problems of the Ummah’s Division into Sunnis and Shiites” by the Islamic thinker Dr. Elias Belka.
The Muslim Council of Elders’ stand also features over 20 works by His Eminence Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, aimed at introducing the benevolence of Islam and the richness of its intellectual and philosophical heritage. Among these are “Al-Qawl Al-Tayyib,” “From My Old Notebooks,” “A View on East-West Dialogue,” “An Introduction to the Study of Traditional Logic,” “Discussions on Causes and Objectives,” “On the Sufi Theological Terminology,” “Heritage and Renewal,” “For the Sake of Peace,” “Insights into the Thought of Imam Al-Ash’ari,” “Ethics and Values,” “Towards Contemporary Juridical Ijtihad,” “Aisha, the Mother of the Believers,” and others.
In the same context, the Council’s stand offers several important publications, including “Love in the Holy Quran” by HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad, a member of the Muslim Council of Elders, and the book “The Grand Imam and the Pope: A Thorny Path – A Testimony to the Birth of the Document on Human Fraternity” by Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, and the book “Rules of Understanding and Mutual Understanding in Thought and Language,” by Dr. Mustafa Benhamza, a member of the Muslim Council of Elders, and the book “Muslims at a Crossroads” by the late Dr. Mahmoud Hamdy Zaqzouq, and “Interfaith Encounters in Al-Andalus and Morocco” by Dr. Jaafar ben El Haj Soulami.
Recognizing the importance of translation as a bridge between civilizations in constructive communication, the Muslim Council of Elders continues its diligent efforts to translate numerous books aimed at promoting peace. This year, the Council presents several notable translated publications, including “The Voice of Change” and “Shared Global Values and Making International Peace” by a group of researchers. Additionally, there are other translated works such as “Confronting Islamophobia in Europe” by various researchers, “Islam and Good Governance” by Prof. Dr. Muqtedar Khan, and “Islam, the West, and Tolerance: Conceiving Coexistence” by Aaron Tyler, among others.
Moreover, the Muslim Council of Elders’ stand at the Cairo International Book Fair hosts over 14 cultural and intellectual seminars featuring a selection of scholars, thinkers, and academics discussing key topics and issues. These include the determinants of human behavior, peace in Africa, Islam and the desired fraternity: goals and means, media and enhancing community awareness, theology and the question of renewal, reason and its stance on the signs of prophethood, Islamic philosophy and contemporary issues and its role in presenting innovative visions to address these issues, as well as Islamic studies and the translation movement, and the Ash’ari doctrine in Western academies.
Notably, the Cairo International Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in the world, attracting about 5 million visitors annually. It plays a pivotal role in preserving and enhancing cultural identity by providing readers the opportunity to explore their cultural heritage and the latest literary and intellectual releases. It also reflects the diversity of the Arab and human cultural scene and highlights literary works that focus on social and humanitarian issues.
The Muslim Council of Elders’ stand