Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, secretary general of the Council
Jakarta, Indonesia - Talking to Khaleej Times, Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, secretary general of the Council, said there are many factors which contributed to the rise of extremist ideology.
Published: Wed 24 Feb 2016, 10:26 AM
Last updated: Thu 25 Feb 2016, 8:22 AM
The Muslim Council of Elders will deploy more peace envoys to more countries "to counter the spread of extremist ideology and divisiveness in Muslim communities, and to promote moderate Islam."
Talking to Khaleej Times, Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, secretary general of the Council, said:
"We have to step up and guide particularly the youth about the challenges facing the Muslim world on how to restrain terrorism and extremism."
Al Nuaimi said there are many factors which contributed to the rise of extremist ideology.
"One of them is that Muslim elders stepped back and it created a vacuum that was filled in by those who believe in violence and extremism. That's why what we are doing now is to bring these Muslim elders again and let them speak what Islam truly is," he explained.
"Last year we were able to send 11 delegations to different parts of Africa, Europe, and the US. The delegations were consisted of scholars from Al Azhar who talked to Muslims and non-Muslims; politicians and the media. We emphasised that Islam is a religion of peace and that Daesh and other terrorist groups do not represent Islam."
"We received encouraging feedbacks that's why this year we are going to increase the number of peace delegations to 16 countries."
"We have to build bridges to gain the trust of the people and then we can win this battle against extremism," added Al Nuaimi.
New teams will be deployed starting next month to Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and some countries in Latin America, East Asia and Africa. Some of the peace envoys will also return to the US, Italy, Germany, France, and UK. A peace intervention will also be conducted in Somalia among leaders of clashing religious groups.
Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr. Ahmad Al Tayyeb and members of the #UAE-based Muslim Council of Elders visited Islamic State University of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Islamic Centre, and Al Azhar University Indonesia on Tuesday.KT video by Angel Tesorero
Posted by Khaleej Times on Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The Council will also conduct more meetings and dialogues with other religious groups after the initial meeting held in Florence, Italy early this month, "to work together and find how Muslims and non-Muslims can share a common ground," according to Al Nuaimi.
"We will talk about the relationship between Islam and Christianity and what we should do as leaders from both sides," Al Nuaimi said.
He underscored: "Solving the extremist problem requires a comprehensive solution. Yes, you need to address the security factor but you also have to use education, media, religion, family and community leaders."
Critical analysis and historical context are also required, added Al Nuaimi, in providing a solution to the problem, particularly in the Syrian crisis.
"The irony of the Syrian crisis is that people are looking at it as a problem facing the European economy and they don't see it as a crisis to humanity. The Syrian people are suffering. We have to go to the root cause to solve the Syrian problem and the world should come together and find a political solution to it."
Meanwhile, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr. Ahmad Al Tayyeb and members of UAE-based Muslim Council of Elders were warmly welcomed at the Islamic State University of Syariff Hidaystullah Jakarta and Al Azhar University Indonesia on Tuesday. They also visited Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim in Malang, Indonesia on Wednesday where Dr. Al Tayyeb received a doctorate degree honoris causa.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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