Sheikh El-Tayyeb said this late Sunday at the World Summit, titled "Finding the Courage to Achieve Peace," organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and attended by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and leading religious and intellectual figures.
During his speech, he said the ongoing tragedy in Gaza represents a moral failure for the entire world, insisting that "there can be no peace in the Middle East without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
He also commended nations that have recently recognized the State of Palestine.
El-Tayyeb called their decision "a courageous awakening of the human conscience and a triumph for the stolen Palestinian right."
"We must honour those who dared to uphold justice at the United Nations," he said. "Their courage embodies the moral awakening of humanity."
The grand imam also praised the voices of people around the world who have condemned the massacres in Gaza, saying their protests "shook the conscience of the world" and exposed the hypocrisy of international silence.
"Wretched is the 'freedom' that denies the weak their right to live on their land," he said, "and wretched is the 'justice' that allows such atrocities."
El-Tayyeb delivered one of the summit's strongest calls for global justice and peace, declaring, "Absolute justice is the foundation upon which the heavens and the earth were built, the guarantee of human equality, freedom, dignity, and peace."
El-Tayyeb said the tragedies in Gaza and other parts of the Arab world reveal a serious flaw in the international system, where peace is often determined by power and the economics of war.
He denounced double standards and moral hypocrisy in global politics, calling them evidence of "a failing conscience and the collapse of international morality."
"When justice disappears, oppression takes its place," he warned. "Values crumble, and humanity loses its soul under greed and false power. When the weak lose their rights and the oppressor is celebrated, the world falls into a moral void."
He cited wars in the Arab world as proof of how arrogance and greed have eroded human dignity and undermined the sanctity of life.
Human fraternity and ethics of technology
Recalling his signing of the Document on Human Fraternity with the late Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi in 2019, El-Tayyeb said the document represents "the conscience of the free world" and a guide for peaceful coexistence.
"Peace," he said, "is not just the absence of war; it is the presence of justice. Justice is not the victory of one side over another, but the victory of humanity over selfishness, domination, and greed."
He announced that Al-Azhar, the Vatican, and the Muslim Council of Elders are now working on a Global Charter on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, continuing an initiative he began with Pope Francis.
The charter, he said, will ensure that technology serves humanity rather than controls it, embedding moral responsibility in the digital age.
"We stand at a crossroads," El-Tayyeb said. "Either we let technology deepen moral decay, or we use it to restore the integrity of the human spirit."
Moral call to the world
El-Tayyeb described global crises, ranging from wars and poverty to environmental destruction, as signs of a world suffering from a moral void.
He urged leaders, intellectuals, and faith communities to restore justice as the foundation of societies and reawaken the human conscience.
"Every act of injustice, no matter how small, can ignite the pursuit of peace," he said. "Every person wronged is a wound in the body of humanity."
He warned that separating morality from faith has corrupted modern ethics: "When divine guidance is removed from morals, ethics become a tool for greed and domination, crushing the poor and the weak."
Concluding his address, the grand imam called on the world to build peace on justice and conscience, saying, "Peace is the natural result of justice, and moral courage remains humanity's last hope against chaos."
The summit and Sant’Egidio
The Community of Sant’Egidio’s World Meeting for Peace, held annually in Rome, brings together religious leaders, heads of state, and global thinkers to promote dialogue and practical peace initiatives.
This year’s summit took place amid growing global polarization, ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and rising ethical concerns around artificial intelligence.
Founded in Rome in 1968 by historian Andrea Riccardi, Sant’Egidio is a leading Catholic lay movement focused on peace, interfaith dialogue, and serving the poor.
Emerging after the Second Vatican Council, it began as a small volunteer group helping disadvantaged children in Rome's Trastevere district.
Over the past five decades, Sant’Egidio has grown into a global network active in more than 70 countries, with tens of thousands of members united by three missions: prayer, helping the poor, and peace-building.
The movement is headquartered in a 15th-century Carmelite monastery and church in Trastevere, which gives it its name.
The participation of Grand Imam El-Tayyeb, one of the most influential Muslim leaders worldwide, reaffirmed Al-Azhar's central role in promoting dialogue, justice, and ethical leadership amid unprecedented global challenges.
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