On August 13-14, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the International Islamic Conference, “Interaction between the Directorates of Religious Affairs and Spiritual Centres in the World”, was held in Mecca. The conference was held under the theme “Cooperation and Interaction” and organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance. It was attended by 150 scholars, muftis and heads of Islamic centres and organizations from 85 countries.
The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, spoke on behalf of Saudi Arabia. In his address, he emphasized that the conference attaches high importance to cooperation and mutual respect, and this is in consonance with the values of the blessed country, Saudi Arabia.
He also added that the Kingdom combines ancient traditions and modernity while preserving the fundamentals of Islam and adapting to changes in religious and worldly interests. On behalf of Saudi Arabia, he called on the world community to follow this methodology, which promotes goodness, mercy and moderation, as well as ‘opposing fanaticism, extremes, decay and godlessness’.
He also stressed the importance of the conference in light of the rise of aggressive discourse and extremes, as well as the abuse by some groups of people who use religion to their advantage.
The minister noted that some political groups use Islam to their advantage, making religion a tool to achieve their goals even against the religion itself. He called for measures to overcome the political exploitation of the religion. He highlighted that amidst the proliferation of innovations and attempts to simplify Islam, it is important to preserve its true understanding and not reduce the religion to petty fictitious rituals.
After the minister’s speech, the first session of the conference began. The conference was attended by the Head of the conference, Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Chairman of the session, Salih bin Saad Al Suhaimi, lecturers at the Islamic University in Medina. The conference, held near the Kaaba, lasted two days and consisted of eight sessions.
Seven key themes were discussed during the conference:
1. Efforts of religious affairs directorates and spiritual centres around the world in serving Islam and Muslims and strengthening Islamic unification;
2. The real and expected interaction and integration between them;
3. Their efforts in strengthening the values of tolerance and coexistence among peoples;
4. The preservation of the true roots of Islam in the Quran and Sunnah;
5. The middle way and moderation in the Quran and Sunnah;
6. Efforts of religious affairs directorates and spirituals centres around the world in combating extremism and terrorism;
7. Their efforts in protecting society from atheism and degradation.
At the end of the event, the conference participants issued a final statement, which contains a number of recommendations. The statement stresses the important of further deepening interaction and partnership in the field of Islamic affairs among directorates of religious affairs and spiritual centres around the world. This contributes to the unity of Islamic community and coherence of views among Muslims. The participants also emphasized that the unity of Islamic community is built on tawhid, which is the first call of all messengers. The participants added that strong foundations of the religion are found in the Quran and Sunnah, and called for observing them in accordance with the true understanding in order to avoid misguidance.
The final statement also emphasized the role of religious leaders in adhering to moderation and the middle way in their sermons. The need to protect the institution of family, educate youth and strengthen values to ensure that society is protected from ‘degradation and atheism through quality prevention and correction programs’ is also highlighted.
The statement also calls for opposing the attempts to distort Islam, and condemns radical groups spreading extreme ideas that harm Islam and contribute to strife and unrest in society.
The conference participants also expressed their dissatisfaction with frequent and offensive acts of burning copies of the Holy Quran and condemned such acts, which incite hatred and contradict universal values.
The concluding statement ends by noting the work of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in facilitating and cooperating with the directorates of religious affairs and spiritual centres around the world.
The participants also expressed their gratitude to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince for their patronage and attention to Muslims in general. They expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the Saudi government in working to serve Islam and Muslims, and hoped that this conference would be held regularly, given its importance.
This event aims to strengthen cooperation and coordination in the field of Islamic affairs and promote unity and tolerance inside the Muslim world.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Glady/Pixabay