The 23rd session of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs was co-opened at Egypt's Ministry for Endowments today by Sheikh of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed Al-Yayeb and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab. The two-day event has seen the participation of more than 80 Islamic scholars, ministers, Muftis from Egypt and 34 countries. Al-Tayeb called, in a key speech at the opening ceremony, on the Islamic leaders to focus on moderation to confront the extremist thoughts and terrorist acts. He also called for discussing the rebound of the phenomenon of expiation thinking to the field. He concluded that such thinking turns life to hell, unfortunately in the name of Islam. For his part, Mahlab called for adopting tolerance and moderation to face the fanatics. Addressing the first working session, Dr. Tawfiq bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudairi, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, warned against the danger of the expiatory thinking on the national interests and the international relations for Arab and Islamic countries. He also cautioned against using Fatwas (legal opinion) for political, personal, economic purposes, calling for appropriating the work of Fatwa to religious institutions solely, following suit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, citing a royal order by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to confine Fatwa to the Senior Ulema Commission and criminalize extremist parties from doing so.
