BRICS Muslim Leaders Commit to Global Peace & Cooperation at Kazan Conference

In a significant gathering at the fifth International Scientific Religious Conference, "The Silk Road of Spirit: The Importance of Religious Values in Greater Eurasia," held in Kazan, Russia, Muslim religious leaders from BRICS countries convened for the first time. The meeting included notable figures such as Mufti Sheikh Rawi Ainuddin, Head of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Russia; Dr. Osama Al-Azhari, Minister of Religious Endowments of Egypt; Dr. Khalifa Mubarak Al-Dhaheri, Director of Mohammed Bin Zayed University for Humanities in the UAE; Ayatollah Ali Reza Aarafi, Head of Religious Seminaries in Iran; Sheikh Yang Fa Ming, Head of the Chinese Islamic Association; Sheikh Khaled Rizq Al-Sayed Taqiuddin, President of the Supreme Council for Imams and Islamic Affairs in Brazil; Dr. Sheikh Haji Ibrahim Tuffa, Head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia; Dr. Hudhaifa Ghulam Mohammad Al-Wastanwi, Director of the Islamic University Spreading Sciences in India; and Dr. Ahmed Yusuf Lokhat, Head of the Islamic Educational Organization in South Africa.

The leaders emphasized their shared commitment to expanding religious cooperation among Islamic religious bodies in BRICS countries, recognizing the pivotal role of religious leaders in fostering dialogue and peace among different religions and denominations. They highlighted the preservation of spiritual and ethical values as essential for the whole of humanity and underscored the importance of strengthening ties between friendly governments and their peoples.

The consensus declaration included several key points:

- Transforming the BRICS group into a comprehensive platform for cooperation and interaction among global multipolar capitals, highlighting BRICS's evolution into a multifaceted international organization in political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian arenas.

- A responsibility before God and their nations to protect moral and spiritual values, including family structures, heritage, patriotism, and the ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions of peoples, while opposing unethical globalization that seeks to erase identities.

- The need to promote and strengthen dialogue and peaceful coexistence, good neighborliness, and mutual respect among different religions and peoples.

- Support for the efforts of participating state leaders to enhance cooperation based on shared political and economic interests, calling for further integration and collaboration for reconstruction and building a multipolar world with respect for cultural and religious diversity.

- Supporting international efforts to achieve fair peace and stability in conflict zones worldwide.

- Affirming that Islam, like other Abrahamic religions, does not condone terrorism.

- Expressing gratitude to the Russian leadership currently presiding over BRICS and to the organizing committee of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Russia and Mohammed Bin Zayed University for Humanities in the UAE for their efforts in organizing the conference with effective participation of Muslim religious leaders from BRICS countries.