Gomaa made the statement in an interview with MENA Editor-In-Chief and Board Chairman Ali Hassan that was published on Saturday.

The Islamic affairs conference is set to be held in Cairo on 24-25 September, ahead of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) that the country is hosting from 6-18 November in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Gomaa stated that the Ministry of Environment will participate in the conference, with a focus on the role played by Islamic Sharia rulings in protecting the environment.

The minister also revealed that religious scholars and environmental researchers will present their research about climate change to the conference.

Held under the auspices of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and organised by the Ministry of Religious Endowments, this year’s conference will focus on the issue of Ijtihad (the concept of independent judgments or opinions issued by experts in Islamic law).

Gomaa pointed out that the conference will be a very important event, featuring the participation of a host of scholars from Arab and Islamic countries.

During the interview, Gomaa thanked President El-Sisi for his support to the Islamic affairs conference, adding that the Egyptian president has provided significant support for moderate thought and is keen to raise public awareness about religious and patriotic issues.

He reiterated that El-Sisi has adopted policies on religious tolerance with a deep keenness for spreading a culture of peace worldwide.

During the interview, Gomaa also spoke about the ministry’s support to families during the global economic crisis, adding that it provided 100,000 needy families with monthly aid through different social protection initiatives and services in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Under the president’s directives, the ministry also works to help needy families through the Adahi Sukuk and Feeding Sukuk initiatives to ensure that food, especially meat, is provided to the poor nationwide all year round.

More than 6.6 million families have benefited from Adahi Sukuk so far, the minister noted.

Gomaa said the Ministry of Religious Endowments has positively responded to President El-Sisi’s directives to maximise its returns, making its highest revenues ever in the fiscal year 2021/2022 at EGP 2.015 billion.

He pointed out that mosques in the new republic have regained their important role, organising Quran memorisation activities for children in more than 7,000 mosques nationwide.

The ministry also exerts substantial efforts to train imams, scholars and female preachers and spread wise, moderate thoughts in several countries worldwide, he said.

The ministry has also launched joint training courses through 24 protocols of cooperation with several universities, including with Al Azhar University to train 4,100 imams and female preachers, according to him.

Gomaa stressed that the ministry has worked on improving financial conditions for imams and increasing their salaries under President El-Sisi’s directives.

He asserted that the ministry exerts great efforts to counter extremism and terrorism by preventing extremist and unqualified imams from delivering sermons and speeches in mosques.

The minister also shed light on fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, underscoring the importance of the ministry’s nationwide summer program to educate children and help them understand moderate Islam.

Gomaa also the ministry has made substantial efforts to renovate and open new mosques nationwide at a cost of more than EGP 4.130 billion.