Bahrain hosts major conference to enhance Islamic unity

By Ibrahim al-Khazen and Ahmed Asmar

ISTANBUL (AA) – Bahrain hosted a major conference on Wednesday to enhance Islamic unity and solidarity and unify perspectives on key issues.

The Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference is attended by Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Islamic world, along with more than 400 prominent scholars, thinkers, and stakeholders from across the globe.

The two-day event is co-organized by Al-Azhar, Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the Muslim Council of Elders.

Addressing the opening session, El-Tayeb hailed the Arab and Islamic rejection of US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from their land.

"The intra-Islamic dialogue conference is convened to address what can be addressed to save this nation from the perils it is encountering,” he said.

"Palestine remains the guiding compass of the nation and its central cause, which stands as a witness to the importance of Islamic unity in the face of the dangers, especially in Palestine,” the grand imam said.

Trump has announced a proposal to take over Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants to develop it into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East,” an idea vehemently rejected by the Palestinians, Arab countries, and many Western nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

The controversial idea came amid the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar