Sisi protects religion, culture from extremism: Saudi minister

CAIRO - 15 September 2019: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh described on Sunday President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as an inspiring president who bravely protected religion, civilization, culture and security of the Egyptian people from extremist and terrorist groups.

Sheikh Sunday also praised Egyptian-Saudi relations and constant and full coordination between the two countries' leaderships regarding various current Arab and Islamic issues.

This came during the activities of the conference of Egypt which is held by the Ministry of Awqaf in the 30th session of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in the presence of 500 personalities, including 150 muftis and ministers from all over the world.

Sheikh added that extremist groups ignited countries and caused unrest,noting that the most important rule to build a state is to establish justice, coexistence and fight corruption.

Sheikh praised the kingdom's directives and the vision of King Salman bin AbdulAziz and Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman. He also commended the kingdom's vision 2030.

He denounced Iran's moves in the region which aim at the security and stability of some Arab states. Iran seeks to spread sedition and turbulence among the Islamic states, he warned.

He voiced hope that the ministers of Islamic affairs would issue a message in support of the Palestinian people in facing conspiracies against their nation.

The ceremony was attended by Undersecretary of the House of Representatives Sayedal-Sharif, Mufti of Egypt Shawqi Allam, Lebanon's Mufti Abdul Latif Darian, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, the minister of awqaf of Yemen and his UAE counterpart, in addition to a number of Egyptian ministers.

Earlier, The Ministry of Awqaf's Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is kicking off its 30th international conference under the theme of nation-building in Islamic jurisprudence.

The conference, which is being held under the patronage of President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, brings together ministers of Islamic affairs, muftis, senior representatives of Muslim communities, besides a raft of experts from Arab, Muslim, African, and European countries.

The event aims this edition to discuss main topics related to nation-building from an Islamic perspective, Islam's stand regarding modern and contemporary ruling systems, the negative impact of terrorism and violent extremist ideologies on nations and the pillars of building a viable modern state

The 29th edition of the conference discussed the foundations of national religious and cultural discourse.

It also highlighted education and its effect on building personality and the role of the family, media, scientists and national institutions in building national character and the strategic vision for the development of religious discourse and its impact in preventing extremism and terrorism.