ABU DHABI // Hundreds of faith leaders are to head to the capital this weekend for the second annual Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Conference.
Taking place from Sunday to Thursday, 350 religious leaders are expected to attend, the state news agency Wam reported.
During the first part of the forum, taking place over the first two days, entrepreneurs, technologists and artists will join with Muslim scholars to develop ideas for peace-building among Muslim populations.
During the last half of the programme, scholars will take part in workshops to promote peace and help to form a unified front against “the scourge of extremist ideologies, sectarianism, and terrorism that has afflicted the Muslim world for decades”, Wam reported.
Also up for discussion will be some of the most pressing issues currently facing humanity.
The forum is “an important event for the entire world. Its mission aims to lay the foundations of peace everywhere, and establish understanding among all peoples”, said Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, a Mauritanian scholar and president of the forum.
“It is an important initiative that aims to refute extremist ideologies by making provision for real understanding of Islam as a religion of wisdom, compassion, tolerance and patience, as outlined in the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed,” he said.
Last year, more than 250 of the world’s leading Islamic scholars attended the forum.
Since it began last year, experts, academics and scholars who have taken part in the forum have travelled to countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco to meet government officials, NGOs and religious leaders to gain insight into ways to stop increasing violence in Africa.
Last December, Sheikh Abdullah took part in another forum in the capital, with spiritual leaders and scholars representing the world’s major religions gathering to unite against violent religious extremism.
During the two-day conference, leaders announced a 10-point action plan, to be implemented over three years, aimed at combating religious extremists who misinterpret religious text to advance their own agenda.
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