By: IBRAHIM Jaafar
The Muslim World League on Monday 27th May delved into the history and significance of moderation and tolerance in Islam through a series of lectures and roundtable discussions under the patronage of King Salman.
The four-day international conference, titled “Moderation and Indications,” which runs until Thursday, Ramadan 25 (May 30) was attended by dignitaries, scholars, senior officials and "leading" thinkers from the Muslim world.
Mohammed bin Abdul-Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the MWL, said that he appreciated the “generous patronage which comes within the framework of the great support for the joint Islamic action, deepening the harmony and cooperation among the scholars of the Islamic Ummah to achieve the goals and aspirations represented by Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Issa added that the second theme of the conference will be “the Prophetic Approach of Moderation,” in addition to the topics of “Moral and Human Values Under the Guidance of the Prophet” and “Dealing with Violations in the Light of the Prophet’s biography.”
Other topics includes “Differences and the Culture of Moderation” and “Practical Programs to Promote Moderation Among Youth” and “Moderation and the Message of Civilized Communication.” Participants will discuss religious pluralism and cultural communication, and the common values in contemporary international relations.
The Muslim World League is an international non-governmental Islamic organization based in Makkah. Its goal is to clarify the true message of Islam as their website claims.
At this week's Muslim World League Global Forum on Moderate Islam, Imam Mohammed Magid from the International Interfaith Peace Corps calls for a dialogue of civilizations instead of a clash of civilizations.
Addressing the Muslim World League's conference, King Salman said, "Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned and fought all forms of extremism, violence and terrorism, with ideology, determination and decisiveness, and has opposed any identification with them."
HE Dr. Mohammad Alissa described the week's conference as a historic moment that will issue the Makkah declaration on the Islamic values of moderation.
The Muslim World League conference brings together more than 1,000 scholars from around the world to explore her topics. The second day of the conference alone had its speakers hailing from Africa (Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia), Southwest Asia (Iraq, Kuwait, Palestine, Saudi, UAE) South/Southeast Asia (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand), and Europe (UK).
The MWL was among the first organizations to provide emergency supplies to the 13,000 people affected by severe flooding in Nampula, Mozambique. Supplies included food baskets & tools to help local residents reclaim their homes after the flooding subsided.
Food and supplies are not the only or major problems faced by muslims, oppression, abuses, humiliation among others are faced by muslims across the globe. Uighurs of China, Muslims in Kashmir, Palestinians under Israeli occupation, Islamophobic attack on muslims in Europe..., just to mention few.
While intolerance is not the problem of muslim communities alone, these scholars must expose, speak against, fight the oppression of the enemies of Islam and stop subjecting Islam to the political correctness standard set by the west and other enemies of Islam.