Scholars stress need for dialogue, cooperation to solve global issues

A two-day symposium during which Islamic scholars from 80 countries exchanged views about ijma, an Islamic term meaning religious consensus, took place in Istanbul over the weekend with participants discussing methods of achieving consensus and stressing the importance of solidarity and cooperation in solving global problems. The event took place at Istanbul's Halic Congress Center on the Golden Horn. The symposium was titled "Ijma as a Common Roadmap and Collective Awareness." Among the speakers of the event were Professor Ahmed Abbâdi, Muhammed Saad Ebu Bekir, former Egyptian Mufti Professor Ali Gomaa, Professor İsam Beshiri, Professor Muhammad Imara and Islamic scholar Selmân Hussein en-Nedvî and Cairo University political science professor Saif Eddin Abdel Fattah. A total of 4,000 people followed the symposium. There were simultaneous translations in five languages -- Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, English and French -- during the event.