Turkey is once again showing to friends and foes alike that it can effectively lead the fight against extremism by the use of peaceful means. Addressing the hearts and souls of Muslims may well be as effective, or even more, than the bombs the Americans, the French and some other Arab countries are dropping on the extremist fighters of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).News reports say that 126 Islamic scholars have come together to lambast ISIS and its ideology in the name of Islam through a joint declaration. This is the product of the initiative by the head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) of Turkey, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Görmez whose efforts led to the meeting of the world's leading Islamic scholars in Istanbul during Ramadan under the title "World Islamic Scholars Peace, Moderation and Common Sense Initiative." The gathering led to a declaration by the scholars lambasting all kinds of anti-Islamic acts that are surfacing in Iraq and Syria and thus defaming the good name of our religion. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Görmez, the initiative started in Istanbul has become institutionalized with a secretariat.Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs has become a leading power horse for Turkish diplomacy under the guidance of Professor Görmez, thus earning the respect of the international community as well as the admiration of the leading players of the Islamic world. That is why the directorate has been directly attached to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu while other similar state institutions and establishments are attached to deputy prime ministers.Thus we observe the declaration of the 126 Islamic scholars. They say "Islam does not condone the killing of innocent people, envoys and thus journalists. To declare people who have not openly rejected Islam as unbelievers, to mistreat Christians and those who believe in the Quran, to reintroduce slavery which was unanimously rejected by Muslims, to usurp the rights of women and children, to mistreat and humiliate deceased bodies [to sever parts of the body], to torture people, to attribute evil deeds to Allah, to ruin the graves of the prophet and his companions are actions disapproved by Islam and it is not permissible to declare a caliphate without the approval of the Islamic nation."Those Sunni Muslims who are inclined to support the ISIS extremists because of the gross injustices they have been subjected to have to think twice after this declaration. The leading scholars of Islam have spoken. Now it is up to the men of the religion of Islam to spread this message to all Muslims and ensure that common sense prevails.All this has been realized thanks to the level-headed approach of Turkey. Turkey and its Directorate of Religious Affairs have shown there are also other means to fight ISIS besides sending missiles. Punishing those who bring Islam into disrepute is the duty of all Muslims as well as those in the West. It is thanks to the deep Islamic devotion of Turks that the Turkish society in general is still embracing the refugees from Syria, who are now climbing up to the 2 million mark. Turks without any help from abroad have spent $3.5 billion (TL 7.9 billion) out of their pockets to help sustain these refugees for several years. It is a shame that those who find the money to finance the missiles they are delivering on ISIS have not found the means to support Turkey financially in sustaining these massive numbers of refugees.