Muslim Council of Elders
The Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) was established on 18 July 2014 as an independent international organization consisting of senior Muslim scholars and experts for the purpose of promoting better understanding, peace, and unity for Muslim communities.[1]Grand Imam Shaikh of al-Azhar Dr Ahmed al-Tayyib is the Chairman of MCE while Dr Sultan Faisal Al Remeithi[2] is the General Secretary.
Current members[3][edit]
| Name | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Ahmed al-Tayyib | Egypt | Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders |
| Dr Sultan Faisal Al Remeithi[4] | UAE | Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Elders |
| Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah | Mauritania | Chairman of the ‘Forum for Promoting ’Peace in Muslim Societies |
| Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal | Jordan | Chairman of the Board of the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought |
| Dr Mustapha BenHamza | Morocco | President of the Ulema Council of Oujda |
| Dr Awang Abdul Aziz Juned | Brunei | Grand Mufti of Brunei |
| Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri | Malaysia | Mufti and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) |
| Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed Al Khalifa | Bahrain | President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) |
| Dr Koutoub Moustapha Sano | Guinea | Minister of the Office of the President of Guinea |
| Dr Abu Lubaba Al Taher Hussein | Tunisia | Former President of the University of Zaitouna |
| Dr Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Haddad | UAE | Grand Mufti and Director of the Fatwa Department at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai |
| Shaykh Ibrahim Saleh Al-Hussaini | Nigeria | Head of the Supreme Council for Fatwa and Islamic Affairs |
| Dr Abdullah Omar Nasseef | Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia | President of the World Muslim Congress |
| Shaykh Adnan Al-Qattan | Kingdom of Bahrain | Judge at the Shariah Supreme Court |
| Hassan El Shafei | Egypt | Member of the Council of Senior Scholars at Al-Azhar |
| Dr. Muhammad Quraish Shihab | Indonesia | Former Minister of Religious Affairs |
| Sayyed Ali Al-Ameen[5] | Lebanon | Religious Scholar |
Former Members[edit]
Former members include General Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, Prof Dr Mahmoud Zakzouk and Dr Sherman Jackson.
Areas of Work[edit]
MCE’s stated initiatives include focusing on solutions to religious tensions, promoting tolerance and coexistence, protecting young Muslims, and clarifying the teachings of Islam.[6] Their focus is in traditional, moderate Islam within both the Sunni and Shia sects.
Activities[edit]
From 30 September to 1 October 2016, MCE and the World Council of Churches met in Geneva, Switzerland to hold discussions on key aspects of peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue, with a focus on combating religious extremism leading to violence.[7][8]
From 28 February to 1 March 2017, MCE and al-Azhar sponsored an international conference for “Freedom and Citizenship: Diversity and Integration”.[9] The conference was held to reinforce the idea of citizenship founded upon religious, ethnic and social pluralism as conceived of in the first Islamic community in Medina and stated in the Constitution of Medina. The conference highlighted the shared responsibilities of all religious communities of citizenship in their countries. In agreement with Christian leaders, MCE declared that they are “one community, Muslims with their religion and Christians with their religion”.[10]
In November 2019, MCE bought world-wide translation and publishing rights for three children’s books by Tuula Pere, Between the Walls, Lullaby of the Valley and Raspberry Red. Dr Sultan Al Remeithi, Secretary General of MCE, stated, “We believe that the values of tolerance, coexistence and peace are all very important in our ultimate goal of world peace and that the material within these three books perfectly embody that. It is also imperative for us to spread these values into younger generations to help foster them into peace-loving fraternal citizens of the world in the future.”[11]
From 3 to 5 February 2019, MCE hosted the Global Conference of Human Fraternity in the United Arab Emirates.[12] During this conference, Pope Francis held a private meeting with the council. Other attendees of the conference included Sudhindra Kulkarani, Chairman of India's Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai; Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of the World Conference of Religions for Peace; Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland, and Rev. Marie Sol Villalon, Pastor of the United Methodist Church. The result of the conference was a statement called the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”, signed by both Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of MCE.
On 30 January 2020, MCE has followed up with a new initiative called “Arab Media Convention for Human Fraternity”, which according to the Secretary General of MCE, Dr Sultan Al Remeithi, is “...important to not regulate the rhetoric or the material published through media channels, but rather, it is important to afford a common space for media professionals to meet and agree on a shared vision of human fraternity for their profession, which would be of great benefit for all involved. [...] It is hoped that this initiative can continue in other regions around the world, and that Arab media will be the first group to begin applying human fraternity into their line of work.”[13]
In October 2020, MCE announced that it will form an international legal committee to look into filing a lawsuit against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing “offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad”.[14] In its statement, MCE denounced what it described as "a systematic campaign" against the Prophet Muhammad and the sanctities of Islam under the slogan of freedom of expression. In the same statement MCE also denounced the killing of a French teacher as well as the stabbing and attempted murder of two Muslim women near the Eiffel Tower. MCE wrote that freedom of expression comes with the social responsibility of respecting the rights of others and does not allow for exploiting religions for political purposes or for electoral campaigns.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Muslim Council of Elders set up in Abu Dhabi". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Sultan Faisal Al Remeithi".
- ↑ "Who we are". www.muslim-elders.com. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
- ↑ "Sultan Faisal Al Remeithi".
- ↑ "Sayyed Ali Al-Ameen".
- ↑ "What We Do". www.muslim-elders.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Christian, Muslim leaders sign declaration agreeing to stand against religious extremism". www.ecumenicalnews.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Joint Communique issued by the delegations representing the World Council of Churches and the Muslim Council of Elders". World Council of Churches. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "International Conference for "Freedom and Citizenship: Diversity and Integration" | UNAOC". United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "There Are No Minorities, only Citizens". Fondazione Internazionale Oasis. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "News Release, 18th Nov 2019". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Pope Francis meet with Muslim Council of Elders". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Muslim Council of Elders launches 'Arab Media Convention for Human Fraternity'". wam. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ↑ "Muslim Council of Elders considers filing a lawsuit against Charlie Hebdo - Politics - Egypt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
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