CAIRO, April 21 — Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world’s foremost religious institution, today condemned “terrorist” attacks in Sri Lanka against hotels and churches celebrating Easter that killed more than 200 people.

“I cannot imagine a human being could target the peaceful on their celebration day,” said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the institution’s grand imam.

“Those terrorists’ perverted disposition goes against the teachings of all religions,” he said in comments published on Al-Azhar’s Twitter account.

At least 207 people were killed today in a series of eight devastating bomb blasts, which ripped through hotels and churches where Christians were celebrating Easter.

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“I pray that God grants patience to the families of the casualties and recovery to the injured,” added Sheikh Tayeb.

Al-Azhar frequently denounces jihadist movements and regularly reaches out to the Christian faith.

In February, Pope Francis and Sheikh Tayeb signed a document on “human fraternity for world peace”, hailed by the Vatican as an “important step forward in the dialogue between Christians and Muslims”.

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But some intellectuals have accused Al-Azhar’s scholarly institutions of feeding fundamentalism and intolerance. — AFP