Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmed el Tayyeb has said that ancient monuments are a humanitarian heritage that should be protected.

What some terrorist organizations do - destroying cultural heritage of peoples - is categorically rejected by Islam, Tayyeb stressed in a meeting with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova on Wednesday.

The meeting focused on ways to protect humanitarian heritage and boost cultural cooperation between the two sides.

Bokova said UNESCO needs to cooperate with Al Azhar to protect cultural heritage. She praised stances adopted by Al Azhar in the face of attempts to destroy cultural and humanitarian heritage, noting this had a positive effect on the world public opinion.