Ashraf AboArafe
Riyadh – The Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWF), Chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, received, at the MWL’s sub-headquarters in Riyadh, a high-ranking Malaysian delegation, headed by His Excellency the Malaysian minister of foreign affairs, Dr. Zambari Abdul Qadir.
His Eminence, the MWL Secretary General welcomed His Excellency the Malaysian Minister Dr. Zambri and his accompanying delegation, while the latter conveyed the greetings of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim.
During the meeting, they discussed a number of developments of common interest on the Islamic and international arenas, and the mechanisms of bilateral cooperation in this regard, foremost of which is the cooperation of the Muslim World League and the Malaysian government in confronting the growing phenomenon of “Islamophobia” and the general hatred speech that raises divisions within national societies and fuels conflict and clash between cultures and civilizations, dealing in this context with the internationally rejected absurd crimes, in which some isolated extremists deliberately offend copies of the Holy Qur’an.
The meeting also witnessed a discussion on the tasks of the Southeast Asian Scholars Council, which is considered the first scholarly solidarity in the history of the region. More than 44 scholars, muftis and religious leaders from 17 countries agreed to establish it – under the umbrella of the Muslim World League – in an unprecedented event of its kind and under the patronage of His Excellency Chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Al-Issa. It is noteworthy that Malaysia announced its host of the council’s headquarters in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, to be a platform of solidarity that organizes the efforts of the Southeast Asian scholars and leaders towards their major issues, in light of the extremely important transformations that the region is going through. His Excellency, the Secretary-General of the League voiced his appreciation for Malaysia’s ideal civilized model of coexistence between religious and ethnic diversity.
