December 31, 2025

The Muslim Council of Elders, chaired by His Eminence Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, extends its heartfelt congratulations to the Arab and Muslim worlds, and to all of humanity, on the advent of the New Year 2026. The Council prays that the coming year will be one of peace, understanding, coexistence, and shared human values.

The Council affirms that the new year represents a renewed opportunity for the global human family to promote a culture of dialogue, reject violence and hatred, and advance collective efforts to build a more just, compassionate, and stable world. It emphasizes that true peace can only be achieved through adherence to moral values and respect for human dignity.

The Council calls upon religious, intellectual, and political leaders, as well as international institutions, to unite their efforts to end conflicts and wars, address the root causes of crises, and promote a discourse grounded in wisdom and reason—one that contributes to communal peace and human security.

The Council also renews its commitment in 2026 to advancing the values of moderation, tolerance, and human fraternity, and to further promoting dialogue among religions and cultures, in pursuit of a more compassionate, just, and peaceful future marked by solidarity and coexistence.

Throughout 2025, the Muslim Council of Elders continued to advance its intellectual and scholarly mission through its knowledge arm, Al-Hukama Publishing, releasing a wide range of thought-provoking books and studies addressing contemporary Islamic thought, social cohesion, interfaith dialogue, and the promotion of the culture of coexistence and peace.

These publications—spanning original scholarly works and carefully curated translations into several world languages—aim to convey the true message of Islam, grounded in compassion, justice, and wisdom, to a global audience. They seek to strengthen the presence of a balanced, enlightened discourse capable of addressing today’s intellectual challenges.

Among the most notable titles published are: The Roots of Sectarian Division in the Muslim World into Sunnis and Shias; Peace in Africa; Exploring Shared Contexts in Building International Peace; Islam and the West: Understanding the Causes of Tension and the Pathways to Dialogue; Managing Conflict in the Muslim World; Religion and the Great Civilizations of Asia; Islamic Principles in Family Organization; The Qur’anic Vision of Humanity; International Peace: Shared Values and Foundational Concepts; and The Ethics of Dialogue in the Qur’an—alongside many other works addressing questions of thought, identity, and constructive dialogue.

As part of its ongoing efforts to promote enlightened and moderate thought and counter misinterpretations of religion, the Muslim Council of Elders also published in 2025 the book “100 Questions on Methodology, Creed, and Law,” which presents thoughtful, scholarly responses to one hundred common questions and misconceptions exploited by extremist ideologies to sow division, mislead youth, and undermine social cohesion. The book adopts a calm, rigorous academic approach rooted in sound scholarship and intellectual balance.

Through a catalog that now exceeds 250 titles in eight world languages, the Muslim Council of Elders continues to invest in knowledge as a cornerstone of peacebuilding. These efforts reflect a firm conviction that enlightened thought is the first line of defense against hatred, extremism, close-mindedness, and a powerful tool for fostering dialogue, coexistence, and human fraternity across worldwide.

Throughout 2025, the Muslim Council of Elders demonstrated a consistent and principled moral stance in addressing the pressing issues facing the Muslim world and humanity at large. Through its positions and initiatives, the Council reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to promoting peace, fostering the values of dialogue, coexistence, tolerance, and mutual respect, and rejecting all forms of hatred, violence, extremism, terrorism, and Islamophobia.

During the year, the Council focused its efforts on countering extremist ideologies, fostering interfaith dialogue, and reinforcing the values of understanding and coexistence among diverse communities within the Muslim world. It emphasized that safeguarding human dignity is a shared moral and religious responsibility, and that defending the causes of the Muslim Ummah is inseparable from defending universal human values. The Council consistently called upon the international community to adopt a just and balanced discourse that contributes to global peace and stability.

Concerning the aggression against Gaza, the Muslim Council of Elders issued a series of statements firmly condemning the ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. It called for an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, which has persisted for more than seven decades, and reaffirmed the necessity of reaching a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause, including recognition of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Council also categorically rejected all attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians and expressed support for Arab, Islamic, and international positions defending the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The Council further condemned the violations committed by the Israeli occupation in Jerusalem, including statements by the Israeli occupation prime minister regarding the so-called “Greater Israel” vision, the announcement of the construction of 3,400 new settlement units in the West Bank, the approval of two laws imposing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, and plans to establish 19 new settlements. It also denounced attempts to seize control of the Ibrahimi Mosque, repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, the decision to occupy the Gaza Strip, and extremist calls to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Council strongly condemned attacks targeting Christian communities in Jerusalem, including assaults on the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza. It welcomed the announcements by France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal recognizing the State of Palestine, and urged all countries to recognize the establishment of the State of Palestine.

As part of its efforts to advance peace globally, the Council condemned the Israeli military strike on the Qatari capital, Doha, as well as Israeli occupation attacks on Iran and Syrian territory. It called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and prioritize dialogue and understanding, welcomed the ceasefire between the two countries, and also welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Council further welcomed peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement, as well as the outcomes of the Arab Extraordinary Summit in Cairo and the Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit convened in response to the Israeli occupation’s attack on Doha.

With regard to rejecting violence and terrorism, the Muslim Council of Elders strongly condemned acts of violence in New Orleans and Las Vegas in the United States; the shooting at an educational institution in Sweden; the vehicle-ramming attack in Munich, Germany; the terrorist attack on a train in Balochistan, Pakistan; the attack on a church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the attack on a church in the U.S. state of Michigan; the shooting incident at Brown University; the kidnapping of more than 300 students and staff from a Catholic school in Nigeria; the terrorist attack in northeastern Nigeria; and the attack on a humanitarian convoy in North Darfur, Sudan. The Council reiterated the urgent need to intensify global efforts to promote dialogue, tolerance, coexistence, and the values of human fraternity.

In addressing Islamophobia, the Council condemned the killing of a worshipper inside a mosque in southern France, the murder of Algerian student Rahma Ayat in the German city of Hanover, attacks on a mosque in northern Nigeria and another in North Darfur, and called for the development of a comprehensive global strategy to combat all forms of racism, extremism, hatred, and Islamophobia. It further urged the enactment of binding legislation criminalizing such acts and the promotion of a culture of dialogue, tolerance, coexistence, mutual respect, and human fraternity.

Regarding humanitarian solidarity in times of natural disasters, the Council expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan following the devastating earthquake in the country’s east and north; with the victims of floods in the Kurdistan Region; with Bangladesh following a deadly earthquake; with Indonesia after floods and landslides; with Thailand and Myanmar after devastating earthquakes; with Türkiye following the Marmara Sea earthquake; with Qatar after the tragic traffic accident in Sharm El-Sheikh; with Morocco following floods in the city of Safi; with Iraq after the bridge collapse in Karbala; with Pakistan after deadly floods; with Sudan following a devastating landslide in the Darfur region; and with Algeria after the Oued El-Harrach accident.

The 2025 record of the Muslim Council of Elders reflects a principled and steadfast moral approach rooted in the defense of human dignity and the causes of the Muslim Ummah, and the promotion of peace and coexistence. In a world facing mounting challenges, the Council continues to stand as a voice of wisdom, conscience, and responsibility.