Jordan Times
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Islamic scholars agree
on measures to promote moderation
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Leading Muslim clerics and intellectuals
on Wednesday agreed to a series of measures to promote a culture of tolerance
and defend Islam against tarnish by extremist elements.
In the final communiqué of the conference entitled “The Practical Role of the
Moderate Current in Reform and the Revival of the Umma,” participants gave the
go-ahead for practical steps to establish global institutions to propagate “the
voice of moderation in the world.”
As part of the measures; participants endorsed the establishment of a satellite
channel, but said the plan hinges on the “availability of financial and
technical capabilities.”
The delegates, who included representatives of the major schools of Islamic law,
also called for dialogue between the various Islamic sects “to arrive at common
grounds that enable Muslims to face their common challenges at the global
level.”
The major challenges facing the Islamic world were defined in the communiqué as
globalisation, the domination of materialistic values in the world and Zionist
efforts to distort the true image of Islam by representing it as a religion that
sanctions violence and the killing of innocents.
In a parallel campaign, scholars will prepare critiques of the way schools and
colleges in Western societies teach Islam.
Meanwhile, the conference differentiated between legitimate resistance to
occupation as a right of oppressed peoples and terrorism.
According to the statement, participants “underlined the right of the Umma
(Islamic nation) to legitimate resistance of all forms of occupation in the Arab
and Islamic world, while condemning attacks against Iraqi civilians and “the
aggressive practices of the occupation forces in Iraq and Palestine.”
They also called for a more active role for women in Muslim societies in
accordance with Islamic teachings.
HRH Prince Ghazi inaugurated the three-day conference, organised by the
Amman-based Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture, on Monday.
Organisers said the effort was a continuation of His Majesty King Abdullah's
campaign, which started in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, to reintroduce Islam
to the world as a faith of moderation, understanding and dialogue.
The campaign included the launch of the Amman Message and the hosting of last
year's International Islamic Conference, which sought to challenge both
extremism and takfiri ideology, whose advocates label other Muslims as apostates
over mere differences of opinion.