ISTANBUL
The Chairman of the Turkish Religious Affairs Department, Prof. Mehmet Gormez, said on Friday that certain elements wanted unrest within the Islamic civilization.
Speaking at an international conference titled "Arab Spring and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives" in Istanbul, Gormez stressed that differences based on religion, sect and ethnicity were getting deeper in the Muslim geography and clashes were encouraged.
"On one hand, teardrops continue to fall and bloodshed continues and, on the other hand, the smell of gun powder leads all the differences in the region to fear," Gormez noted.
"I do hope and wish that all segments of this civilization basis make efforts to regain their wisdom and put off the fire of unrest," Gormez stressed.
"Any structure that utilizes violence and terror as an instrument can not take its reference from Islam," Gormez said.
"Our prophets have turned all societies of violence into ones of compassion. We have turned our civilization of compassion to one that is being recognized with violence," Gormez underlined.
"Politics have looked at our religious institutions as a tool of fight for power. We should not let our religions be used by the wrong goals of politics," Gormez also said.
Also speaking at the Istanbul conference, the Chief Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Cuma said that everyone had to stay away from the past's bad scenarios that divided peoples and should come together in solidarity.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theofilos III said that they believed pre-conceived notions and injustice could be turned into peace and mutual respect.
