Muslim Council of Elders Calls for an International Alliance to Protect Religious Sites
The Muslim Council of Elders participated in a special session discussing cooperation with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations to protect religious sites, held on the sidelines of the 8th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan, with numerous religious leaders from around the world in attendance.
The Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, His Excellency Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam emphasized that discussing the protection of religious sites is fundamentally about safeguarding humanity’s memory and its priceless spiritual heritage. He noted that religious sites embody the story of humanity’s relationship with the Creator and the evolving narrative of this connection across thousands of years and generations.
The Muslim Council of Elders called for an international alliance to protect religious sites, particularly during times of war and amid ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world. It stressed that no distinction should be made in preserving and protecting religious sites from destruction or neglect, regardless of the faith they represent, underscoring the importance of safeguarding all such sites.
The Council expressed its full commitment to contributing to the preservation of religious sites, which serve as the world’s spiritual conscience and moral compass. This is especially critical today, as threats to these sites have exceeded all imaginable limits. The Council highlighted the ongoing destruction of places of worship in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where mosques, such as Al-Omari Mosque, and certain churches have been targeted and destroyed. It emphasized the urgent need to adopt a global strategy to protect places of worship, especially during times of war and conflict.