I Call Upon the Youth to Revive the Legacy and Re-spread it
The Saying That “Religions are the Cause of Wars” is a Lie and the World Paid Heavily for Believing It
Terrorism and Islam are Mortal Enemies and Two Opposites that Shall Never Meet
I call upon the youth to adhere to the commands of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH), to spread knowledge, and human fraternity, and to keep away from all that incite animosity, hatred, and racial discrimination.
Prof. Ahmad at-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and President of the Muslim Council of Elders, performed the Friday prayers at Nur-Astana Mosque in Kazakhstan. The former Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, some religious leaders, along with a huge number of worshipers were keen to perform the Friday prayers with His Eminence and bid him farewell before departing Kazakhstan. The Grand Imam was on an official visit to Kazakhstan for five days, where he participated in “The 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions”. The Grand Imam gave a word to thousands of worshipers, in which he expressed his pleasure to visit Kazakhstan, his appreciation for the kindness and hospitality of the Kazakh President and people, as well as his cherish to speak to the Kazakh youth. In his word, the Grand Imam said that he is really honored and grateful that he studied the legacy of the early Muslim Kazakh figures, who enjoyed great status and prominence in the Islamic world since the early ages of Islam and throughout honorable Islamic history. The most prominent of these figures are Abu Nasr al-Farabi and the great leader al-Zahir Baybars, a mighty leader, whose fame reached all Muslims all over the world and who defended Islam and Muslims and the two Holy Mosques (al-Haramayn al- sharifayn) against the attacks and conspiracies of enemies and lurks. The Grand Imam addressed the youth saying that all hopes, after Allah Almighty, are assigned to them to revive that legacy and to re-spread it as well as establish human fraternity between them, their people, and the others. In the same vein, the Grand Imam clarified that all people are equal in their belonging to one father and one mother, as Allah Almighty says: “we have made you nations and tribes that you may come to know one another”.[Q:49:13]. This is proof that there is no room for the claims of a clash of civilizations, the end of history, the superiority of one gender over another, or the theory of the center’s uniqueness and the subordination of the followers. He stressed that all these false claims and theories are against Allah’s will in His creatures, and their downfall is absolutely coming, and only the just peace that Allah wanted to mark the international relations among peoples, will prevail. Additionally, the Grand Imam underlined that the propagation of the saying “religions are the cause of wars” among the youth and that setting free from religion ensures peace among peoples, is a false claim and a lie. Indeed, the whole world is paying heavily for believing a such lie; this includes wars, terror, and the fear of the unknown. The world now has no shield to protect it from bloodshed as long as it refrains from the frame of religion. Moreover, the Grand Imam condemned linking some wars and battles throughout history, to religion and shedding the innocents’ blood under the flag of religion. He stressed that religion never permitted killing and shedding people’s blood; however, this is the abduction of the religion’s banner and exploitation to attain mean interests that religion, strictly, rejects and renounces. The Grand Imam highlighted that Islam has never been a religion of violence or terrorism, explaining that terrorism and Islam are two mortal enemies and opposites that shall never meet. The evidence of this is that the number of Muslim victims of this terrorism is dozens of times greater than the number of non-Muslim victims. The Grand Imam concluded his word by calling upon the youth to adhere to what Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) have commanded them and to refrain from what Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) have forbidden them. He also demanded them to get acquainted with other people wherever they are and wherever they go, refrain from all that incite hatred, animosity, and racial discrimination, and raise the banner of human fraternity in the east and the west. The grand Imam was on an official visit to Kazakhstan, for five days, where he participated in “The 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions”. The Grand Imam met with the Kazakh President, who awarded His Eminence the Astana International Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the Central Asian region, in recognition of his contribution to the field of interfaith dialogue and promotion of the culture of fraternity and world peace. The Grand Imam also met with the Pope of the Vatican, Muslim leaders, and other religious leaders who participated in the conference.
