The Muslim Council of Elders announces the launch of an international youth forum.
The Muslim Council of Elders held its ninth meeting in Abu Dhabi last night under the chairmanship of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and President of the Council, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar. Also in attendance was the learned scholar and member of the Council, Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah. A number of topics were discussed during the meeting, including a proposed mechanism to combat terrorism and extremism, the appalling conditions of civilians in Aleppo and the state of the Muslims in Burma.
In a statement read by its Secretary-General Dr. Ali Rashid Al-Nuaimi, the Council extended its greetings to the Muslims all over the world on the occasion of the birth of the holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Council also offered its condolences to the leadership, government and people of Egypt on the victims of the terrorist attack that targeted a church in Cairo and another terrorist attack against the police personnel in the Egyptian capital last Friday.
The Muslim Council of Elders announced the launch of an international project aimed at promoting the culture of dialogue and reinforcing effective communication channels between religious leaders and youth. The project will include the launch of an international youth forum in 2017 that will discuss issuing a declaration that clarifies the misleading extremist ideologies by the youth, circulated in all languages and adopted by different religious institutions.
The meeting also announced the inauguration of an explanatory campaign in different languages about Islam, on social media networks, titled ‘Islam: Religion of Peace’, in cooperation with Al-Azhar and all designated religious institutions, as well as launching discussion platforms on the internet titled ‘A Space for Dialogue’ between youth and religious leaders in different languages.
Professor Hassan Al Shafe’ei, member of the Supreme Council of Senior Al-Azhar Scholars (Hay’at Kubbar al-‘Ulama) and head of the Arabic Language Academy in Egypt, said, “The meeting focused on the tragic conditions of the Muslims in Burma and the relationship between Muslims and Christians in the Arab region, especially after the tragic and devastating terrorist bombing of the cathedral in Cairo, and the urgent need to tackle the consequences that result from the growing extremism, terrorism, violence and bloodshed in the region and the world.”
