Istanbul hosts summit of Muslim clerics from Asia - Pacific region

Wednesday 14 Oct 2015 - 11:26 Makkah mean time-1-1-1437

(Image from Daily Sabah)

Istanbul, (IINA) - A galaxy of Muslim scholars from across Asian and Pacific countries came together on Tuesday in Istanbul, in a bid to achieve unity among Muslims.
While opening the first summit of Muslim religious leaders from the Asian and Pacific countries, the head of the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez called for a renewal of cooperation between Asia-Pacific Muslims and unity against challenges to Islamic world, Daily Sabah news agency reported. Gormez said the summit aimed to re-establish religious, historical and cultural ties between Muslim countries and communities in Asian and Pacific countries and Turkey.
He said the summit's main purpose was to "re-establish brotherhood we have long neglected." "We are here to exchange knowledge with brothers we haven't met for decades," he said, recalling close relations between Turkey and Asian and Pacific countries during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which represented the global caliphate.
Gormez said the Muslim world was going through troubled times, noting that Central Asian Muslims were striving to rebuild their Muslim identities, while Islamic civilization in Africa is besieged by occupations, exploitation and poverty. "Islamic civilizations were destroyed by violence, by wars, and they are still being ravaged.
The Islamic world is being confronted, and there are faulty views of religion that present it as dirty wars and jihad, monopolizes Islam's truth and declares those not following their faith as apostates. This faulty view of religion should never contaminate peaceful Muslims of the Asia-Pacific region. This requires a reinforcement of religious education and services," Gormez said.
A total of 125 clerics from 37 countries, from Afghanistan to Australia and tiny Pacific nations, attended the summit hosted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB). The summit, which is called "Unity in Multiplicity: Rethinking Peace and Wisdom Together," focuses on cooperation with Muslims in Asian and Pacific countries, exchanging ideas on problems the Islamic world is encountering and discussing solutions, re-establishing historical ties with Muslim countries and communities in the Asia-Pacific region, discussing opportunities for cooperation in religious education and services.
DİB is in the forefront of efforts for Muslim solidarity, especially in the wake of rising Islamophobia, terror attacks and wars in Muslim countries. In the past decade, it has organized several events that bring together Muslim clerics from around the world, including a summit of Eurasian Muslims, the African Countries Religious Leaders Summit, a convention of European Muslims, a meeting of clerics from Balkan countries and a summit of religious leaders in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
SM/IINA

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