“What is love? What is hatred?” These were the rhetorical questions Sheikh Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa posed during an interview with Euronews.
His appeal focused on the urgent need for dialogue as the only path to overcoming antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred.
Established in 1962 and funded by Saudi Arabia and private donations, the Muslim World League is a Mecca-based Islamic organisation that describes its mission as promoting Islam, tolerance and friendship among peoples.
Dr Al-Issa, a Saudi national and former justice minister, strongly condemned the ongoing 18-month conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives. Describing the humanitarian toll, he called on the international community to take decisive action.
“What is happening in Gaza is a tragedy. It is like a genocide, if not a real genocide. What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of humanity. What is happening in Gaza is a violation of international and humanitarian law,” he said.
Despite the scale of the devastation, the Muslim World League secretary general, al-Issa, remains hopeful for the people of Gaza and believes the crisis may catalyse global unity and collective action.
Against any form of hostility or hatred
Dr Al-Issa also warned against attributing the actions of individuals to entire communities, emphasising the importance of distinguishing between extremists and the broader populations they claim to represent.
The Saudi cleric stressed that the Jewish people should not be held accountable for the conflict in the Middle East, just as the world’s 2 billion Muslims should not be blamed for terrorist attacks in Europe committed in the name of Islam.
“These attacks carried out in the name of Islam are carried out in the name of their owners. They are not in the name of Islam,” Dr Al-Issa said.
“They represent themselves. They represent their extremism, which is isolated and excluded from our Islamic world, our Islamic world that enjoys the values and moderation of Islam. They are few, but the vocal phenomenon of these few is alarming.”
In a world increasingly shaped by the consequences of war and crisis, Dr Al-Issa emphasised the power of dialogue to reconcile across Europe and beyond.
“We are against any form of hatred, whatever it may be. We are against hostility towards followers of religions because of their religious choice, but also against any other hostility, be it ethnic, cultural or any other form,” he said.
Dr Al-Issa was also clear in his stance that Islam should not be used to serve political agendas.
On the issue of coexistence, Dr Al-Issa had a message for Muslim communities in Europe, calling on them to be part of the social fabric and saying that nothing contradicts their religious beliefs and duties to the societies in which they live.
“My advice to them is to engage in Islamic work, which represents their religious identity, and also to engage in national work, which represents their national identity,” Dr Al-Issa said.
“All civilised constitutions around the world do not affect the essence of the religious identity of any religion at all, and therefore there is no conflict between religious and national identity.”
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