Scholars gathered in Istanbul stress urgent aid obligation for Gaza

On the second day of a weeklong conference in Istanbul, prominent Muslim scholars on Saturday underscored that there is an urgent obligation to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The gathering, titled “Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility: Gaza,” has been organized by the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and the Foundation for Islamic Scholars in Türkiye and is being held on Democracy and Freedom Island near Istanbul. It has brought together more than 150 scholars from over 50 countries to discuss Israel’s war on Gaza and the wider Islamic world’s response.

The day began with a protocol session featuring speeches from senior figures, including IUMS President Sheikh Ali Muhyiddin Al Qaradaghi, Ali Erbaş, head of Türkiye’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), and IUMS Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Muhammad Al Sallabi.

Sheikh Abdul Wahab Aykinci, the president of the Ummat Association, opened the session on behalf of the organizing committee. Guest speeches were delivered by Iraqi and Turkish scholars, including Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Al Taha of the Iraqi Fiqh Council and Nasrullah Hacımüftüoğlu, president of the Foundation for Islamic Scholars in Türkiye.

The first workshop centered on “the obligation of aid to Gaza,” where delegation heads presented recommendations.

Later in the day, the program was supposed to feature a press briefing on the latest developments in Gaza and conclude with a public statement and protest in solidarity with Palestinians but was delayed due to changes in the program’s schedule.

The conference continued on Sunday with a series of workshops, dividing participants into groups that included scholars, state representatives, business leaders, media professionals and political figures.

Sessions focused on themes such as the duties of Islamic scholars and governments, the role of business in reconstruction and aid projects, the responsibilities of the media and ways to strengthen unity in the Muslim world.

The day was scheduled to conclude with the preparation of workshop reports and a general session evaluating the outcomes.

The eight-day event, which began on Friday with prayers at Istanbul’s Eyüp Sultan Mosque, will continue through Aug. 29.

It is scheduled to close at the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque with the issuance of the “Istanbul Declaration,” a document that organizers say will outline “concrete steps for political, humanitarian and legal action” in support of the Palestinian cause.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the conference, Abdul Vakhed Niyazov, president of the European Muslim Forum, praised Türkiye’s leadership in hosting the gathering.

Niyazov said many Muslim organizations have remained silent on Gaza, but emphasized that Türkiye’s Diyanet and the International Union of Muslim Scholars had “not been silent, but gathered their colleagues, Muslim spiritual leaders and were trying to reach out to the minds of society, talking about the horrors our brothers and sisters in Gaza are experiencing today.”

Asked about the role of Muslims in Europe, Niyazov said diaspora communities had been more active than many Muslim-majority governments.

“We are proud that the Muslims of Europe have shown their responsibility and organization over the past 23 months. Unlike most of the Muslim world, especially Arab countries, the Muslims of Europe every weekend fill the largest squares and streets of Europe, raising their voices in defense of Gaza and Palestine,” he said.

He added that Muslim communities in Europe, America and Canada had demonstrated “maturity” and were joined by people of other faiths, including Christians and Jews, in condemning genocide and “Zionist cruelty and crimes.”

“Only our organization, the year before last, held such actions in 17 European countries, mass actions in support of Palestine, Gaza and Muslim shrines,” Niyazov said, crediting the “enthusiasm and impulse of believers” across Europe for sustaining these demonstrations.

Europe’s silence

Turning to the European Muslim Forum’s initiatives, Niyazov highlighted the growing public support for Palestine across Europe, although he accused political institutions of lagging behind.

“The majority of Europeans today do not accept the bloody genocide and crimes of the Zionists and stand against it. We observe how the positions of the U.K., France and the Netherlands are changing. It even starts to change in Germany,” he said.

However, he criticized EU leadership for inaction.

“As for the European institutions, unfortunately, they have taken a position of silence and indifference. They can no longer deny the genocide in Gaza, but they are trying to remain silent. The leadership of the EU, led by Mrs. von der Leyen, has a particularly drinking position,” Niyazov said, adding that history would judge such leaders as “accomplices of bloody crimes.”

Niyazov also highlighted support from church institutions, including the Vatican, and pointed to late Pope Francis’s statements on Palestine.

“A believer cannot but notice the murder of women and children by hundreds of thousands every week,” he said, stressing that grassroots mobilization remains the strongest force for change.

“Yes, there are corrupt governments, leaders who are afraid of something, the scary forces of the US or the Israeli lobby,” he said.

“But when people go out on the street, on the square, they achieve, step by step, to change the situation.”

Ummah coming together

Addressing the gathering on Saturday, Ali Erbaş said they met to mobilize the Islamic community and the world against oppression in Gaza, stressing that Gaza and Jerusalem are not only the concern of Palestinians.

“The only solution is for the ummah to come together and stop oppression and occupation. Today, civil society organizations, people of different faiths, academics, artists, athletes and people of conscience all over the world are reacting against the terror state. I believe that in the face of this global stance, the oppressors will be defeated,” he said.

He emphasized that the struggle would continue until peace comes to Palestine, adding: “No effort is sufficient until Palestine is free. Every minute we spend talking and condemning costs another innocent life in Gaza. Every deterrent but an unrealistic reaction only encourages the oppressors to commit new massacres. I believe that the day we, as the Islamic ummah, stand united. Our lands, foremost Gaza and all of Palestine, will find peace. When Jerusalem, Gaza and Palestine are liberated, peace and tranquility, long yearned for in our region and the world, will prevail. Ultimately, victory will belong to those who believe. May Almighty Allah keep us steadfast on His path and help us against the oppressors.”

In his speech on Saturday, Hacımüftüoğlu said that humanity was burning in Gaza and that the killers responsible for this destruction must be stopped.

Drawing attention to massacres in regions where Muslims live, Hacımüftüoğlu said: “The Iran-Iraq war lasted seven years. Millions of people were slaughtered and in the end, Baghdad was occupied. Not only Baghdad, but also East Turkistan, Africa and many Muslim countries – what has happened there is part of the assaults on the Islamic world.”

He underlined that the children, the elderly and the people of Gaza, which is reduced to rubble, had committed no crime, and added: “The Islamic scholars have gathered here to make the voice of Gaza heard. The Islamic scholars wage jihad with their knowledge and their words. Regardless of language, religion, or color, to us, all people are equal and brothers. In Islam, there has never been a religious war. Religion tells us: if there is an attack on your faith, your country, your honor and dignity, then you must take action,” he said.