Gizem Nisa Çebi Demir
28 August 2025•Update: 28 August 2025
ISTANBUL
The seventh day of the eight-day Gaza Conference continued on Thursday on Democracy and Freedom Island in Istanbul, centering on strategies to secure political support for Gaza from both Muslim and non-Muslim governments.
In the morning and midday sessions, participants split into two groups to discuss “how to benefit from non-Muslim governments and political parties” and “ways to make use of supportive governments in the Muslim world.”
These last workshops aimed to identify both diplomatic openings and practical mechanisms for building political alliances in defense of Gaza and Jerusalem.
The afternoon was dedicated to drafting the conference's final declaration and decisions, which were then presented and approved during a closed-door general session.
Delegates also observed fasting during the day, and a special 'tahejud' (night prayer) program has been scheduled.
Voices from Muslim world
Throughout the week, Anadolu interviewed participants and experts from across the Muslim world, who stressed the urgency of forging alliances, highlighting Gaza’s humanitarian plight, and pursuing international legal action.
Abdul Vakhed Niyazov, president of the European Muslim Forum, said: “The majority of Muslim organizations have taken a strange position of silence,” while most Europeans reject “the bloody genocide and crimes of the Zionists” and demand accountable governments.
Eymen Zeydan, head of the International Jerusalem Institution’s Türkiye chapter, warned that “starvation is escalating” and called for “more actionable decisions” to stop the war, stressing that “the world is fed up with talks.”
South African scholar Sheikh Ebrahim Gabriels said Israeli apartheid “is worse than it was in South Africa,” recalling Nelson Mandela’s words that freedom is incomplete “until Palestine is free.”
From London, Hafez Alkarmi of the Mayfair Islamic Centre noted that youth now turn to social media for “the truth narrated by Palestinians, not the Zionist narrative.”
And Hajredin Hoxha, a Kosovo academic, said Muslim scholars must confront “false accusations” used to justify Israeli occupation.
Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility: Gaza
The conference, titled Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility: Gaza, is jointly organized by the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and the Foundation for Islamic Scholars in Türkiye. Bringing together more than 150 scholars and representatives from over 50 countries, it addresses Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and the broader response of the Muslim world.
In previous days, leading figures such as IUMS President Sheikh Ali Muhyiddin al-Qaradaghi, Türkiye’s top cleric Ali Erbas, and IUMS Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi stressed the urgent duty to deliver aid to Palestinians.
Contributions were also made by Sheikh Ahmed Hassan al-Taha of the Iraqi Fiqh Council and Professor Nasrullah Hacimuftuoglu, president of the Foundation for Islamic Scholars in Türkiye.
The event began on August 22 with prayers at Istanbul's Eyup Sultan Mosque and will conclude on Friday at the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, where the "Istanbul Declaration" will be announced, outlining "concrete steps for political, humanitarian, and legal action" in support of the Palestinian cause.
