Religious diplomacy key in promoting ’common values,’ says MWL chief

RIYADH: The closing statement of the Kazakhstan Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, attended by more than 100 delegations of influential international religious leaders, has praised the contents of the historic Makkah Document.

The document was signed by senior muftis, scholars and thinkers of the Islamic world in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque, affirming its importance in promoting peace, dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect for the good of the world.

Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, had assigned Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zayd, deputy secretary-general of MWL, to represent the league in the congress.

Al-Issa sent a recorded television speech in the opening session of the congress, at the invitation of the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, along with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in the presence of the Pope and international religious leaders.

In his speech, Al-Issa addressed the importance of “common values,” stressing that religious diplomacy is an important and influential tool in the context of promoting these values, as seen at the conference, bearing common humanitarian goals.

He noted the importance of dialogue and civilized and cultural communication, stressing that being far from each other has generated anxiety and fear and created a gap that widens with time due to illusions and doubts. He added that errors in perceptions and judgments have resulted in dangerous negative effects throughout human history.

Al-Issa refuted the theses that hold religions responsible for some conflicts and wars, declaring that most of the conflicts and wars throughout human history were the result of ideas blamed on religions, but in reality they only expressed the thoughts of their owners, and never expressed true religion or any civilized culture.

Many Islamic leaders participating in the conference described, in the final statement, the praise of Makkah Document as a great recognition of the historical achievement of this document, which is a significant turning point in contemporary Islamic history, due to its religious and intellectual context that embraces all Islamic sects.

The Makkah Document was celebrated on a number of international platforms for its religious and cultural diversity. It was also adopted by Islamic countries at the meeting of foreign ministers in Niamey, Niger, and it has been adopted in the training of imams in many Islamic countries and countries that include Muslim communities. The sponsor of this document was King Salman, who sponsored its international conference held in Makkah in 2019, organized by the MWL, with the approval of about 1,200 muftis and scholars and more than 4,500 Islamic thinkers.