UNHCR and Al-Azhar Strengthen Cooperation for Refugees

During the first half of 2026, UNHCR strengthened its engagement with the institution of Al-Azhar in Cairo, building on a longstanding relationship grounded in shared commitments to human dignity, solidarity and the protection of forcibly displaced people.

Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy has provided important scholarly foundations for the Refugee Zakat Fund. In March 2021, the Academy issued a fatwa permitting UNHCR to receive and distribute Zakat, recognizing that refugees and internally displaced people may fall within several of the eligible categories of Zakat recipients. A second fatwa issued in April 2021 confirmed that eligible refugees and IDPs may receive Zakat al-Fitr in cash. These early institutional rulings contributed to the Fund’s wider Sharia-compliance framework of scholarly endorsement and reinforced donor confidence in UNHCR’s Islamic Philanthropy programme.

In May 2026, Professor Dr. Mohamed El-Gendy, Secretary-General of Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy, met with Dr. Khaled Khalifa, Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Their discussions explored cooperation on community awareness and refugee support, including the use of Al-Azhar’s religious and intellectual platforms to promote compassion, shared responsibility and greater understanding of forced displacement.

The engagement was elevated further in June, when the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb, received UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation to advocate for the rights and dignity of refugees and internally displaced people. The Grand Imam reaffirmed Al-Azhar’s readiness to support these efforts, while the High Commissioner invited him to participate in events commemorating the 75^th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Together, the two fatwas and the 2026 high-level engagements reflect a relationship that brings together credible Islamic scholarship, humanitarian action and public advocacy in support of forcibly displaced communities.