Laila Takla

Dr. Laila Takla is an Coptic Egyptian politician, author, and promoter of positive Muslim-Christian relations.

Interparliamentary Union

Takla is the first female president of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Egyptian People's Assembly. She was also the first woman to become chairperson of a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union which she is a member of.^[1] Additionally, she is a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.^[2]

Professional career

Professor Dr Takla is also a university professor of Law and Management who taught at Cairo University as well as several other universities.

Dr Takla also operates as an international legal consultant, based in Cairo, Egypt. In the period from 1980 to 1987 she acted as an adviser for Lockheed Corporation. Unfortunately, it has been falsely suggested (probably due to political motives) that she may have used her influence to affect the sale of aircraft to the Egyptian military. However, this could not have been true because of two facts: first, Dr Takla resigned her position as a Lockheed adviser as soon as she became a member of the Egyptian parliament in 1987; second, the Egyptian parliament does not review the military budget nor has any say on any army purchases.

Muslim-Christian relations

In Takla's 2010 book, Christian-Islamic Heritage, she calls for greater understanding and compassion between the two faiths. She questions the historical grounding of the view of fanatical clerics that Christians are not permitted to build their churches and worship in their own way stating that the Islamic Prophet Muhammad allowed a delegation of Najran Christians to pray in His mosque at Medina in the Christian way.^[3]

Takla beseeches "Whether you are Christian or Muslim, allow no place in your heart, mind, and conduct for fanaticism, hate, and exclusion."^[3]

References