President of Religious Affairs Erbaş meets with representatives of non-Muslim religious congregations and foundations

President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş met with representatives of non-Muslim religious congregation and foundations in Türkiye at the "Palestine Consultation Meeting".

Speaking at the meeting held at the Bahariye Mevlevi House in Istanbul, President of Religious Affairs Erbaş expressed his thanks to the participants and stated that the subject of the meeting was Palestine, Gaza, and Al-Quds.

Pointing out the importance of Al-Quds in terms of religions, President Erbaş said, "Al-Quds is a city that keeps the most deep-rooted heritage of humanity alive, carries the cherished memories of the Prophets, and is the city of Miraj from Prophet Abraham to Prophet David, from Prophet Moses to Prophet Jesus and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw). A city that has in its heart the places that Allah has blessed on earth. Al-Quds is an ancient land of greeting blessed by revelation. Many Prophets were honoured with revelation there. Al-Quds is the common memory of civilizations."

"A nation's freedom to live is being destroyed before the eyes of the whole world"

Pointing out that races, languages, and faiths have lived together peacefully in Al-Quds for centuries, President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“Palestine which is the land of peace and tranquillity has unfortunately become a land of pain and tears in our last century. Today, Gaza is subjected to horrific inhumane attacks. A cruel community that disregards international law and human rights slaughters civilians and innocents, regardless of whether they are women, children, the elderly, the sick. It attacks the common future, the common heritage, and the sacred values humanity. In the Palestinian region, the memory of the Prophets is gracelessly being trampled down. The common value of religions, languages, cultures, and civilizations is being depredated. Sanctuaries, mosques, churches are being bombed. A tyrannical community that disregards international law, morality and sacred values violates the sanctity of Al-Quds and makes Gaza uninhabitable. A nation's freedom to live is being destroyed before the eyes of the entire world. Unfortunately, it is obvious that those who drown Gaza and Al-Quds in blood and tears, and those who drag the world into wars and turmoil, do not care about any of the values of law, mercy, conscience, democracy, human rights and so on.”

"Today, Gaza is the test of law, morality and conscience of all humanity"

Pointing out that all people are obliged to oppose the atrocities, human rights violations, and attacks against innocent civilians in Palestine, Gaza and Al-Quds, President Erbaş talked as "Today, Gaza is the test of law, morality and conscience of all humanity. Together, we need to find a solution to the cries of people groaning under oppression and make our voices heard. We need to express what we can with our hands, what comes from our tongue with our language, and what comes from our heart with our heart. This is a duty of humanity,"

“Our differences do not prevent us from working together for Gaza in any way”

Indicating that it is primarily a requirement of conscience to prevent the bloodshed and tears in Gaza, President Erbaş used the following expressions, "Can a person withstand these things regardless of their faith or race? Standing against those who attack sanctuaries and hospitals is a requirement of basic morality. Our differences do not prevent us from working together for Gaza in any way. As a matter of fact, conscience, morality and law are the strongest common values of man and humanity."

Pointing out that every revelation sent by the Almighty Allah (swt) commands us to work for good and prevent evil, President Erbaş talked as "In the ten commandments of the Torah, it says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' In fact, it says, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house" in the Ten Commandments. Now, when the Ten Commandments are in front of us, it is not humane to find a basis for their massacres in different parts of the Bible, for example, based on the prophecies of Isaiah."

“All humanity needs to show a common attitude in unity and solidarity”

Stating that peace and salvation should be emphasized from the Holy Books, President Erbaş said, "All of the Prophets sent by Allah (swt) taught justice and mercy as the way of peace and tranquillity on earth. It has protected the five important values of all human beings: life, faith, property, generation, and mind. Regardless of where it is in the world, all humanity needs to show a common attitude in unity and solidarity to put an end to the pain and suffering experienced and to stop the blood and tears shed. This should be led by religious leaders and religious representatives."

Emphasizing that the world is the common home of eight billion people, President Erbaş used the following expression, "We have to embrace the issues of our world together and seek solutions together for a better life and future."

“No tyrant who has brought damage to peace, tranquillity and humanity has ever been permanent on earth”

Underlining that the Presidency of Religious Affairs is always against oppression, injustice and evil, regardless of belief, race, colour and from whomever it comes, President Erbaş made the following evaluation, "History shows us that no tyranny has lasted long on earth. No tyrant who has brought damage to peace, tranquillity and humanity has ever been permanent on earth."

The representatives who attended the meeting also reacted harshly to the continuing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and stated that a ceasefire should be declared as soon as possible.

Stefanos: "A 1500-year-old church has been bombed

Stating that it is not possible to remain unconcerned to the events in Gaza, Metropolitan Stefanos, Representative of the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate said, "A humanity is being slaughtered by war. A 1500-year-old church has been bombed and as far as we heard, many of our Muslim brothers and sisters have taken refuge there. Unfortunately, Muslims lost their lives along with Christians."

Stating that Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in peace in Al-Quds for 1500 years, Stefanos talked as "It is not acceptable to see these scenes in the 21st century. As Christians, we pray every day in our worship for world peace, for the tranquillity and well-being of the world."

“Kirakos: "Humanity no longer believes and trusts in Western culture and its judgments"

Expressing that people today are thirsty for a correct, right, and just stance, Senior Archpriest Vartan Kirakos, Spiritual Leader of the Armenian Catholic Community of Türkiye, Deputy General Archbishop, talked as "People can no longer take the West as a standard. Humanity no longer believes and trusts Western culture and its judgments."

Emphasizing that nations should strive for peaceful coexistence, Kirakos talked as "Unfortunately, the West is late in this aspect. Because they only think about their own prosperity, they go over their own principles, do not care about the lifestyles and thoughts of others, or they are late in taking them into account."

Şirinoğlu: "Erdoğan is the voice of conscience"

The chairperson of Union of Armenian Foundations Bedros Şirinoğlu said that people in the West reacted to the situation in Gaza, but their rulers ignored them, and he added that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the voice of conscience.

Töre: "Under the presidency of our President and President of Religious Affairs, the best message is given to the world”

Emphasizing that humanity is being slaughtered in Gaza in front of the eyes of the world today, Father Mihail Töre, Assyrian Orthodox Metropolitan of Istanbul-Ankara, talked as "Today, we are all witnessing how difficult and painful a situation humanity is in. Innocent people are dying, being killed. The messages of peace sent under the presidency of our President and President of Religious Affairs are really very meaningful and the best message is given to the world from this ancient geography and these ancient lands."

Stating that the bloodshed in the Middle East did not stop because the Western world prioritized its own personal interests, Töre said that everyone should protect these lands and peace and tranquillity should be established.

Ürek: "We reject any movement that creates unrest"

Stating that the wars were fought by politicians, not religious officials, Adıyaman and Nearby Provinces Assyrian Archbishop Melki Ürek used the following expressions, "The war between Israel and Palestine today is the same thing as the wars that broke out in Syria, Iraq and other places, and bitter tears are shed here. This is a great responsibility, and this responsibility should be perceived by everyone. We reject acts of terrorism, people who commit massacres, gang movements. We reject any action that creates unrest within the human community."

Çanlı: "Let us pray for the end of the war”

Assyrian Catholic Patriarch Acting General Bishop Monsignor Mgr. Orhan Çanlı invited all believers to pray for the end of the war in the Holy Land and for peace and reconciliation.

During the meeting, a cinevision display prepared by the Presidency of Religious Affairs about the tragedy in Gaza was also made.

Chairperson of Executive Board of Istanbul Assyrian Catholic Foundation Münir Üçkardeş, Chairperson of the Assyrian Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary Foundation Sait Susin, Representative of the Georgian Catholic Congregation Foundation Konstantin Kalangos, Minority Congregations Foundations 1st and 2nd Term Representative Laki Vingas also attended the meeting.

Vice Presidents of Religious Affairs Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selim Argun and Kadir Dinç, Director of Guidance and Inspection Hasan Güçlü, General Director of Religious Services Dr. Şaban Kondi, Director of Strategy Development Mustafa Irmaklı, General Director of Türkiye Diyanet Foundation İzani Turan and İstanbul Provincial Mufti Prof. Dr. Safi Arpaguş were also present at the meeting.