Seven pressing issues on the agenda of the 46th session of the MWL’s Supreme Council of the Muslim World League

Seven pressing issues on the agenda of the 46th session of the MWL’s Supreme Council of the Muslim World League

His Eminence the Mufti: The Kingdom has assumed a great responsibility towards Muslims and defended their causes in regional and international forums. On behalf of the MWL’s Supreme Council, I value the "document on building bridges between Islamic Schools"

Dr. Al-Issa: The MWL is KSA’s gift to the Muslim World that it launched from the cradle of the Islamic Message. The MWL adopts a moderate approach in all its affairs, achieving great gains east and west.

Dr. Al-Sudais: The meeting of the MWL Supreme Council reflects the aspirations of the Ummah to have peace and harmony spread all over the world

Dr. Gomaa: preserving the interests of the countries are among the main purposes of religions

Dr. Erbash: I thank the KSA and its leadership for serving Islam and Muslims

The forty-sixth session of the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League was launched under the chairmanship of His Eminence the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and President of the Council of Senior Scholars and General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh, with the participation of senior muftis and scholars, representatives of the religious affairs of Islamic peoples in the Islamic countries and countries with Muslim minorities.

The session discussed seven pressing issues on its agenda, foremost of which are the unity of the Islamic Ummah, Palestine and the war on Gaza, the disruption of navigation in the Red Sea, in addition to the situation in Sudan, Islamophobia, and underestimation of religious symbols.

The session began with a speech by His Eminence the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, in which he stressed that "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect them - is proud of the lofty position that God has bestowed on it among the world countries, as it  embraces the Two Holy Mosques, the  destination of all Muslims."

From this standpoint, His Eminence added: "The KSA has taken upon itself a great responsibility towards Muslims, so it was proactive in caring for their issues and affairs, seeking to address their problems, and extending a helping hand and relief to them since its main objective is to stand by all Muslims in their crises and suffering and defend them in regional and international forums."

His Eminence the Grand Mufti stressed that the KSA "has made efforts to heal the rift and resolve differences and disputes among Muslims, and sought to bring their views closer, bring them together, and unify them to live in harmony" noting that to achieve this, "the KSA has established a number of bodies, academies, and institutions concerned with the affairs of Muslims to support their issues and solve their crises."

His Eminence stressed that "the KSA’s embrace, and support for these institutions is the best evidence of its leadership's continuous care for Muslims," noting that this care is manifested in many fields, through which it provides all kinds of material and moral support to strengthen and support the Muslim Ummah to overcome the challenges and crises it faces, and protect it from all that which threatens its existence."

His Eminence then spoke about the Muslim World League (MWL) as one of the leading bodies embraced and sponsored by the KSA, stressing that the MWL’s Supreme Council seeks to achieve a number of noble goals at the regional and global levels, the most important of which are: spreading moderate thought, addressing extremism, fanaticism and terrorism, spreading peace and justice, liberating humanity from slavery to anyone other than God, helping different nations to know each other and cooperate, participating in relief, care and development efforts around the world, and working to deepen unity among Muslims and unify their word.

In this regard, His Eminence the Grand Mufti, on behalf of the MWL’s Supreme Council, valued the "document on building bridges between Islamic Schools", issued by the MWL’s conference held with the participation of a group of scholars belonging to different Islamic schools of thought in Mecca during the blessed month of Ramadan of 1445 AH, expressing the Council's support for the brotherly meanings implied by the twenty-eight items of the document.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, and Vice President of the MWL’s Supreme Council, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, praised in his speech the auspicious efforts undertaken by the MWL’s Supreme Council that deserve to be noted and appreciated, such as its important decisions, which included the modernization of its statute, to be consistent with the fact that the MWL is an international organization according to the headquarters agreement signed between the MWL and the KSA. His Excellency stressed, "It is well-known that the MWL is one of the KSA’s great achievements that it established in the cradle of the Islamic message to serve all Muslims”.

Dr. Al-Issa pointed out that "in the context of the relentless pursuit of the MWL to carry out its tasks, since its establishment to date, it has assumed its responsibility according to its Islamic message, which invites people to the Way of Allah with wisdom and fair preaching, and shows the world the true essence of our religion in the face of ignorance and tendentiousness," stressing that the MWL adopts a moderate approach in all its missions, whether as regards its efforts in the Islamic call, dialogue and debate, achieving great gains in the East and West."

He added: "In the past, we dealt with many people who were ignorant about the true essence of Islam, and some of them were uncompromising. Now, some have assimilated the truth of Islam while some others have become convinced of it. Thus we avoided the harm of the former, and welcomed the latter to Islam", indicating that in this regard the MWL sticks to Allah’s own words: ((Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.), and “The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better, then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.

For his part, His Excellency the Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, and the President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Sheikh Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, stressed that the meeting of the MWL’s Supreme Council reflected the aspirations of the Ummah to have peace and harmony prevailing the whole world. He added that Muslims are inspired by the principles of their true religion, which calls for unity of ranks, reunification, and adherence to the most trustworthy handhold that will never break, stressing the need to enhance the dialogue among monotheistic religions, civilizations, and cultures, to serve the message of true Islam. Al-Sudais praised the KSA’s pioneering efforts and wise leadership in serving Islam, Muslims, Islamic peoples, and humanity, as it spared no effort in advocating the issues of the Islamic world in all international forums, supporting awareness programs, and spreading the approach of moderation and tolerance.

For his part, His Excellency the Minister of Awqaf and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa Mabrouk, praised in his speech the role of the Muslim World League and its Secretary-General, as well as its efforts to establish peace all over the world. During his speech, His Excellency the President of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Sheikh Dr. Ali Erbaş, thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership for hosting the meeting and for serving Islam and Muslims.

Erbaş praised the MWL’s efforts, its leadership, and its nomination of him to be a member of its Supreme Council, stressing the readiness of the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs to contribute with the MWL to achieving the desired goals, stressing the importance of working to strengthen ties among all Muslims and unite their word and ranks, pointing to the need to consolidate the concepts of moderation, spread the culture of dialogue and tolerance, pay attention to Muslim minorities and work to solve their problems.

It is noteworthy that the Supreme Council is the MWL’s supreme authority, which approves all the plans adopted by the General Secretariat. It consists of (65) members, of prominent Islamic personalities, representing Muslim peoples and minorities, who are appointed by a decision of the Council, which meets periodically to make decisions on research and issues presented to it.