Palestine - the guiding compass of the nation and its greatest cause - stands as a true witness to the urgent need for a cooperative “union” that defends the rights of this nation.

 

The Arab and Muslim nations’ position against the displacement of the Palestinians is honorable.

 

The Inter-Islamic Dialogue Conference takes place at a time when the Muslim nation faces fierce and unrelenting challenges.

 

The Inter-Islamic Dialogue Conference seeks to salvage what can be saved in order to protect this nation from the plots against it.

Research on rapprochement remains theoretical, lacking practical application in Muslim societies.

The only way to confront contemporary challenges is through an Islamic union with opens channels of communication.

 

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar calls for a serious, applicable plan to establish unity, understanding and dialogue among all Islamic schools of thought.

 

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar calls for dialogue that rejects division and sectarianism and focuses on common ground.

 

The Grand Imam calls on the Muslim nation to overcome historical and contemporary conflicts and their lingering effects.

 

The Grand Imam warns Muslims against proponents of sedition and the danger of undermining national stability.

 

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar calls for Islamic unity as a necessity for survival amidst global turmoil.

 

The Grand Imam proposes the “Constitution of the People of the Qiblah” to scholars at the Inter-Islamic Dialogue Conference in Bahrain.

 

 

His Eminence Prof. Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif said that the issue of “rapprochement” between Sunni and Shiite Muslims has occupied the minds of the scholars of the nation for a long time. They have been keen to constantly remind people of it in Muslim societies, to instill it in people's minds, and even to keep it in their conscience and feelings whenever the causes of division and discord seem to resurface, and to tamper with their unity and mess with their stability and security. Despite all of this, the topic of “rapprochement” remains open as if no one has addressed it before. The reason for this, most likely, is that the researches that have addressed that topic of  have addressed it within a purely dialectical framework, and have not applied it to the reality of Muslim societies.

 

 

During his speech at the Inter-Islamic Dialogue Conference, entitled: One Nation, One shared Destiny, His Eminence pointed out that Dar At-Taqreeb (the Authority of Rapprochement) between Islamic sects in Cairo, issued - under the supervision of Al-Azhar, represented by its scholars and the Imamate Shiite authorities - issued the magazine "The Message of Islam" in nine volumes. Its pages exceeded four thousand pages, and it lasted for eight years, from 1949 until 1957. Furthermore, there are research papers, books and university theses that were printed, and circulated in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon, as well as universities in Western Europe in various languages and orientations.

 

The Grand Imam stressed the importance of recognizing that we are living in a real crisis for which Muslims are paying a high price, wherever they are. He noted that the only way to confront contemporary challenges and successive crises is through an Islamic union that opens channels of communication between all components of the Islamic nation, without excluding any party, while respecting the affairs of states, their borders, sovereignty and territories.

 

The Grand Imam expressed his confidence that this blessed conference in Bahrain will come out with a serious and applicable plan “to establish unity, understanding and mutual dialogue between all Islamic schools of thought. Efforts should be made to promote a permanent dialogue in which the causes of division, strife and ethnic and sectarian conflict in particular are rejected, and to focus on the points of agreement and convergence. He added that the conference's decisions must stipulate the golden rule that says: “We cooperate in what we agree on, and we excuse each other in what we differ on.” It also stipulates the cessation of mutual hate speech and accusing one another of religious disobedience, disbelief, and heresy. It is necessity to overcome historical and contemporary conflicts with their lingering effects. He noted that all parties should meet with sound hearts and extended hands, with a real desire to move beyond the past, and strengthen Islamic affairs. He added that Muslims should be aware of advocates of sedition and the danger of undermining national stability. They should avoid sectarianism as it interferes in the internal affairs of countries, divides the ranks of the citizens in the same country, and destabilizes its security and its political and societal stability. His Eminence noted that all of these are heinous crimes that Islam, and human ethics and international norms reject.

 

The Grand Imam called for benefitting from other contemporary experiences that would strengthen our resolve to achieve a cooperative Islamic union that defends the rights of this nation and protects its peoples from injustice, arrogance and tyranny. He pointed out that Europe, with its twenty-seven countries, has not found a means to defend its peoples, enhance its peace and stability, preserve its entity and personality from being crushed and dissolved, achieve its economic growth, and protect the democracy of its people, other than its union and coalition. This comes despite the diversity of its races, ethnicities and languages, which reach more than twenty-four languages, and the multiplicity of religious and sectarian beliefs that converge only in a minimal number of doctrines, rituals and traditions. Non-Muslims were able - despite those many obstacles - to achieve a "union" that they use as a shield in their political, economic and cultural battles. Why are Muslims - today - unable to achieve a "union" that is required by the necessities of their lives, and for survival amidst global turmoil, a union that is built on commonalities and pillars that are not available to other nations in terms of geography, history, race, language, religion, heritage, culture and shared destiny?

 

The Grand Imam highlighted the urgent need for unity in the Muslim nation by referring to the dangers facing the Palestinian cause. He pointed out that the conspiracy against its people, and even against the entire nation, which has reached the point of attempting to forcibly displace the people of Gaza from their homes and seize their land. He affirmed that Allah Almighty has pushed the two nations, the Arab and Islamic nations, to a unified and honorable position that rejects this clear injustice and aggression against the people of a blessed land and against the sovereignty of neighboring Muslim countries. This is an encouraging position that restores hope in the unity of the Islamic ranks.

 

The Grand Imam presented a proposal to the scholars of the nation gathered at the Inter-Islamic Dialogue Conference in Bahrain, indicating that it is a matter of necessity, not a luxury, that the great scholars of the Muslim nation, representing the different schools of thought, and gathered at this conference, should be able to establish a “charter” or “constitution” that we can call: “The Constitution of Ahl Al-Qiblah” or “Islamic Brotherhood” in accordance with the authentic hadith: “Whoever prays like us, faces our Qibla, and eats our slaughtered animals is a Muslim and is under Allah's and His Messenger's protection. So do not betray Allah by betraying those who are in His protection.” He noted that Imam Abu Zahra had presented this proposal before. His Eminence also enumerated and specified the principles of this constitution, calling on the attendees to study this proposal and build upon it.

 

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar expressed his gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, for graciously sponsoring this significant and momentous conference, in these circumstances in which the Muslim nation stands at a crossroads, caught in the midst of a relentless and blinding storm that threatens to uproot fifteen centuries of civilization and erase its very foundations. He commended His Majesty and his leadership for their keen attention to the affairs of the Arab and Islamic nations and for their wise awareness of the need to salvage whatever can still be saved in order to protect the Muslim nation from the looming threats and perils designed to bring about its downfall, destruction, and extinction. The Grand Imam further warned of the dangers that have already begun to manifest, the flames of which have already scorched many, while the true extent of what remains hidden and yet to come remains unknown.