All religious leaders from the Middle East to come together in Istanbul

The summit to be held in Istanbul in May, entitled 'Latest Developments in the Islamic World and Muslim-Christian Perspectives' will deal with Islamophobia and Muslim-Christian conflict primarily in the Middle East as well as throughout the world
Department of Religious Affairs Chairman Prof. Dr. Mehmet Görmez relayed details on the upcoming summit to SABAH while in Copenhagen, Denmark for a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

* CRITICAL SUMMIT: A summit will be held in Istanbul which will be attended by all Christian community leaders, wing leaders and religious scholars from the Middle East (from Armenia, Jerusalem, Egypt, Lebanon, Beirut and Istanbul) as well as pertinent religious figures from the Islamic world. Participants will discuss how to eradicate this area of conflict in both the Middle East and in the west. The solution will be reached through dialogue, exchange of information and possibly even cut-throat debate. Is it that the environment doesn't allow for religious leaders to find a solution or is it due to political actors? I will leave that question for you to answer.

* CARICATURE REACTION: The caricature crisis initiated an era of rising Islamophobia in the west. However, the reactions displayed by a number of Muslims in response to the crisis, ended up hurting the perception of Islam. Certain goals set by those who perpetuated this crisis reached the desired results. It is wrong to consider Denmark as being anti-Islam. An entire community should not be blamed for an error committed by one. This is what Islam teaches us. Just like how it is wrong to attribute Brevik murdering 90 innocent people as being due to Jesus or Christianity, it is just as wrong to attribute a mistake by a Muslim named Ahmed or Osama or by a Muslim born here to the Prophet Mohammad or Islam.

* RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS WILL FIND A SOLUTION: One careless remark made by a Saudi mufti becomes a headline in a Washington newspaper the following day. During this distressful environment everyone needs to think about what they are saying ten times before they say anything. Careless comments and statements that could support an environment of conflict should be refrained from use.