Rationality and moderation are two main features of religions- West is the source of religious extremism

Ebrahimi Turkaman

The Head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization in his speech at the webinar of "25 years of dialogue and cooperation, the current situation and future perspective" said dialogue is an important element for using rationality and avoiding violence. He said rationality and moderation are two main characteristics of religions adding that  the West is the source of religious extremism.

According to the Public Relations of Department of Islamic Culture and Relations  Organization (ICRO), Mr. Abuzar Ebrahimi Turkaman speaking at the webinar of "Review of 25 Years of Dialogue and Cooperation, Present Situation and Future Perspective" being held on the 25^th anniversary of start of interreligious and cultural Dialogue  and the World Council of Churches  said at the beginning of this webinar, I would like to mention the late Ayatollah Taskhiri, who was one of the founders of these talks that fortunately today we are witnessing its impact and development, especially in the field of cooperation and empathy among followers of various religions.
Ebrahimi Turkaman added religious extremism and its opposite pole, namely belittling religions and attacking religious sanctities, religious sites and spreading hatred, which unfortunately we see today in some countries, especially France, are two blades of the same scissors and try to fully eradicate religion which is a hevonly blessing that preserve the mankind from wrongdoings. Fortunately, the two main wings of rationality and moderation, have kept the true followers of religions from falling into the abyss of extremism.
The member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution considered dialogue as an important element for using rationality and avoiding violence and emphasized that we have always welcomed dialogue with you in the past years and we believe that it has been useful for both of us and now after years of  cooperation I hope that in the future, we will advance the talks more purposefully than in the past.
Chairman of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization added that dialogues aimed at finding  solutions for crises and problems facing the humanity at present time can paint a more effective perspective a vision that brings humanity closer to peace and put aside enmity . I do not see this day far away and I hope for God"s grace our friendship, cordiality and cooperation to be always extended to our friends.

A religion that calls for rationality, shuts the door to violence in advance

He considered the essence of the divine religions as an invitation to worship God and said this invitation has two fundamental conditions. One is the heartfelt belief and the other is the appearance of the effects of monotheism in deeds of a believer. The fundamental problem among believers today is converting beliefs into action. Bad or lack of practice, both can degrade religion to the point of mere pretention.
Ebrahim Turkaman added spiritual and moral advice in religions is to encourage the believers to pursue the path of righteousness. In this essence, there is no difference between Islam and Christianity, and this is the basis of commonalities and is so strong that it can overcome minor differences.
He went on to say extremism and the tendency to violence, namely elimination of others, have never been accepted in Islam and Christianity because the religion that calls for rationality first closes the way to violence, because violence arises when rationality disappears.
Ebrahimi Turkaman stated that a clear example of this empathy can be seen in the positive response of the world"s religious leaders to my letter.  And Your Excellency"s letter, as the Executive Secretary of the World Council of Churches and other Christian Institutions, to the President of the United States in defense of the Iranian people and rejecting the cruel and unjust sanctions is one of the fruits of this cooperation, and I once again express my gratitude for your writing.
He welcomed the preparation of a joint document by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Dialogue of Religions by the Vatican, titled "Serving a Wounded World through Interfaith Solidarity: A Christian Invitation to Ponder and Act in time of breakout of Coronavirus and beyond. I found many similarities in this document with Islamic teachings.
The member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution continued by saying that in these twenty-five years and during the 9 rounds of talks, many successes have been achieved. During this relatively long period, a magnificent and strong structure has been established, which is based on mutual trust, broad commonalities, the will of the parties to develop mutual knowledge, as well as cooperation in various fields.
At the end of his speech, the head of the ICRO added that we also believe that following this path is not easy and that the question of dialogue is based on formalities and ethics. Our religious belief considers good listening as a blessing from the God Almighty and a good question to be half knowledge.
In the concluding part of this international webinar, a joint letter of commendation of the experts and scholars who have participated in the arrangement and implementation of these talks over the past 25 years was signed by the President of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and the Executive Secretary of the World Council of Churches.