President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş met with Ankara representatives of media organizations at breakfast.
Erbaş gave important messages in the program attended by Ankara Representative Mustafa Yılmaz on behalf of our newspaper.
While listing the steps to be taken against the provocation in Sweden, Erbaş also gave remarkable messages on other issues.
“I CONDEMN WHO ALLOWS WHAT HAPPENS IN SWEDEN”
Erbaş, regarding the attack on the Qur'an in Sweden, "I once again affirm the hostility towards the Qur'an. In the face of the law and inhumane treatment against the holy book of a faith, I condemn the authorities of the country who prefer to protect those who act in this ugly and provocative act, as well as not taking any precautions. Thus, they once again showed the whole world how hypocritical they are when it comes to respecting beliefs," he said.
"QUR'AN TEACHES US THE WAYS OF JUSTICE AND MERCY"
Pointing out that the Qur'an is a life guide, Erbaş said, "The Qur'an introduces us to ourselves. It reminds us of our purpose of existence. It declares to us the principles of our relationships with ourselves, our Lord, and our environment. It teaches the ways of goodness, beauty, justice and mercy. It suggests that brotherhood, sharing, solidarity and the morality of living together are virtues. It advises that freedom of belief, thought and conscience is a right for everyone, that human dignity is inviolable, and that fundamental rights and freedoms are sacred."
“ALL MEMBERS OF RELIGION AND FAITH SHOULD RESPOND”
"I think that all intellectuals, academics, activists, non-governmental organizations, members of the media and common sense people in Europe who believe in law and human rights and care about respect for faith and social peace should react and take initiative against these open attacks on the sacred. It is a duty of humanity for all members of religion and belief that value people and faith to react in the same way. Otherwise, the people, groups and institutions in question will lose their credibility in the eyes of Muslims and all peoples of the world," Erbaş stated.
“WE WILL SEND LETTERS TO THINKERS IN EUROPE”
Erbaş also stated that they are carrying out some studies on this issue.
"We will reach the representatives of various sections with a letter, we have started its work. We are planning an online meeting with the ministers of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday. Here, we will try to show our reaction together not only against the heinous Qur'an burning action in Sweden, but also against some Islamophobic attacks in European countries," he said.
“WE WILL BRING THE ISSUE TO COURTS IN 120 COUNTRIES”
Erbaş underlined that they will follow the issue through legal means.
"Yesterday there was a very important meeting with unit chiefs and vice presidents. One of the topics we talked about at that meeting, I hope, will be an action in the form of applying to the courts, especially under the leadership of our presidency's attachés and consultants in 120 countries. We will also show our stance against such attacks on the Qur'an and mosques by writing letters to various places," he added.
“REGISTRATIONS FROM THE E-GOVERNMENT SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR”
Erbaş also gave information about this year's pilgrimage organization.
"Pilgrimage travelers, who will register for the first time to go to the holy lands in 2023, started to make their pre-registration for the pilgrimage on the fifth of January. Hopefully, they will continue to register until January 26th, we made a change this year, registrations are made via 'e-Government'. The trust of our beloved nation in the worship of Hajj and Umrah is admirable. We see that the number of applications for Hajj increases exponentially every year. We wish that we could take all our brothers, whose hearts beat with the love of Allah, who yearned for the Kaaba, and who burned with the love of the Prophet, to that holy place, but the physical conditions do not allow it," he stated.