Egypt's Mufti Shawqi Allam accused extremists of ignoring the true meaning of Jihad which mainly aims at defending the homeland against enemies.

"Jihad is not just about killing, slaughtering and terrorizing innocent people," Allam told French lawmakers during a meeting in Paris.

He added that terror groups are trying to use religion to justify their crimes.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi attaches great importance to modernizing the religious discourse and fully supports Egypt's religious institutions which work hard to refute the extremists' claims about Islam, Allam said.

The Egyptian scholar underscored the importance of inter-religious dialogue in bridging the gaps between followers of different faiths.
Source: MENA