Turkish religious authority head calls for unity between Iran, Saudi Arabia
Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey's state-run Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB), met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday in Tehran during a visit to boost Turkish efforts for sectarian unity.
Görmez told the media that he conveyed Turkey's call to Iran to act together with it and Saudi Arabia "to end the divide in the Muslim world."
"I told Mr. Khamenei that it is Muslims' duty to stop the bloodshed and suffering in the region and drop the sectarian view of the Syrian crisis," he said. "I told him that it will be beneficial to end the disintegrated, divided state of the Islamic world if Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia cooperate and act in unity."
Görmez was in Turkey's southeastern neighbor for a series of events including an international conference on Islamic unity. Though the two countries maintain close ties, Turkey and Iran differ on Syria, as Tehran defends Syrian President Bashar Assad and Ankara calls for a transition of power without Assad. Turkey has a majority Sunni population while the Syrian regime is composed of Alawites, a sect of Shiite Islam, which is dominant in Iran.
"Instead of speaking unity in conference halls, we should show how it is maintained," Görmez said after his meeting with the Khamenei. "Suffering in Syria is a shared pain for everyone. It is wrong to see it through a sectarian view."
He said that Islam and countries in which it is observed were going through hard times. "We have to separate political, cultural, economic and social matters stemming from other factors from religion and not blame it for all these problems. Thus, we can prevent sectarian strife. There is not a conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. It is, rather, a conflict between movements, which call themselves religious and commit violence, and the main path of Islam," he said. Görmez said he had reservations about attending a conference of unity in Iran, but added that he was pleased to see Iranians were interested in his calls to prevent sectarian strife. "I am glad to see scholars here do not advocate a narrow sectarian view of problems the Islamic world faces," he said.
Görmez told the media that he conveyed Turkey's call to Iran to act together with it and Saudi Arabia "to end the divide in the Muslim world."
"I told Mr. Khamenei that it is Muslims' duty to stop the bloodshed and suffering in the region and drop the sectarian view of the Syrian crisis," he said. "I told him that it will be beneficial to end the disintegrated, divided state of the Islamic world if Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia cooperate and act in unity."
Görmez was in Turkey's southeastern neighbor for a series of events including an international conference on Islamic unity. Though the two countries maintain close ties, Turkey and Iran differ on Syria, as Tehran defends Syrian President Bashar Assad and Ankara calls for a transition of power without Assad. Turkey has a majority Sunni population while the Syrian regime is composed of Alawites, a sect of Shiite Islam, which is dominant in Iran.
"Instead of speaking unity in conference halls, we should show how it is maintained," Görmez said after his meeting with the Khamenei. "Suffering in Syria is a shared pain for everyone. It is wrong to see it through a sectarian view."
He said that Islam and countries in which it is observed were going through hard times. "We have to separate political, cultural, economic and social matters stemming from other factors from religion and not blame it for all these problems. Thus, we can prevent sectarian strife. There is not a conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. It is, rather, a conflict between movements, which call themselves religious and commit violence, and the main path of Islam," he said. Görmez said he had reservations about attending a conference of unity in Iran, but added that he was pleased to see Iranians were interested in his calls to prevent sectarian strife. "I am glad to see scholars here do not advocate a narrow sectarian view of problems the Islamic world faces," he said.
Last Update: December 29, 2015 20:42