Seminar at RIBF Highlights Promoting Intra-Islamic Dialogue

As part of its cultural program at the 30th edition of the Rabat International Book Fair (RIBF), the Muslim Council of Elders hosted its second cultural seminar, titled “The Problem of the Ummah’s Division into Sunnis and Shiites.”

The session was moderated by Dr. Mohamed Gamal, a researcher at the Heritage Revival Office of Al-Azhar, and featured a presentation by Dr. Elias Mohamed Belka, Professor at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez and Director of Strategic Studies at the Al Hokama Center for Peace Research.

Opening the session, Dr. Mohamed Gamal emphasized that the Muslim Council of Elders, under the chairmanship of Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, is undertaking tireless efforts to mend the divisions within the Islamic nation.

He highlighted the Grand Imam’s 2022 call for intra-Islamic dialogue aimed at rejecting sectarian strife and conflict and reuniting the diverse schools of thought within Islam. These efforts culminated in the first edition of the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference, held in February this year in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the theme “One Ummah… One Shared Destiny.” A major outcome of the conference was the Call of the People of the Qibla—a comprehensive charter for unity and reconciliation within the Ummah.

Dr. Elias Mohamed Belka, Professor at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez and Director of Strategic Studies at the Al Hokama Center for Peace Research, commended the efforts of the Muslim Council of Elders, led by Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, in bridging the divide across the Islamic world.

He noted that the Al Hokama Center has given significant attention to the issue of sectarian division, and recently published a book titled “The Problem of the Ummah’s Division into Sunnis and Shiites: Origins and Solutions.”