The 8^th Conference on Foreign Religious Services, which is held by the General Directorate of Foreign Relations of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, started in Konya with the participation of the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş.

The President of Religious Affairs Erbaş expressed that he thought that the conference, whose opening speech was given by him,  was important for our citizens in the World and for all Muslims and said that they were going to discuss today and tomorrow of the Muslims in the World and negotiate the opportunities, difficulties, and strategies.

Giving information about the international meetings that are organized by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, President Erbaş stated that they organized Muslim Minorities Summit and Jerusalem Summit in the year 2018 and the Meeting of European Muslims at the beginning of the year 2019.

President Erbaş expressed that participation of the institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkish Maarif Foundation, Yunus Emre Institute, and Ombudsman Institution is important.

"Being in solidarity with the mentioned institutions and organizations in the foreign services in the fields such as information and experience sharing and joint works and projects are going to accelerate the works and multiply, strengthen, and increase the services," he said by thanking the participants.

President emphasized the importance of knowing the founding dynamics of this age and the political, cultural, and economic journey of recent history in order to understand the current situation of the world and to identify the reasons of problems correctly.

"Islamic geography has been sentenced to difficult and troublesome processes under wars, occupations, violence, and poverty"

"It is a clear fact witnessed by history that World met with humanitarian values and peace and trust dominated life in the periods when the principles of Islam guided life," said and continued as follows President Erbaş,

"As a matter of fact, the age of negligence, which blacked the World out, turned into the golden age in the seventh century anno domini in the light of the revelation and Muslims introduced the bright face of Islam to the humanity within a period of one century in a great geography from Andalusia to Central Asia.

Many beautiful examples of justice, peace, and living together were recorded in the history İn the civilizations founded by Muslims and in the geographies where Muslims lived from 7^th century to 18^th century.

However, there were radical changes in the World after the 18th century in terms of social, political, economic, cultural, etc. aspects.

Muslims have been affected by the mentioned chaotic process mostly; Islamic geography has been sentenced to difficult and troublesome processes under wars, occupations, violence, and poverty."

President Erbaş underlined that the processes that Islam and Muslims went through should be understood well within the ontological panorama of the last two century and summarized the process went through by them as follows;

"19th century passed with the fight of existence and sovereignty of Islamic geography in the geographic sense and with the efforts of overcoming with the West-centered claims in the cultural sense.

In the first quarter of the 20th century-in the year 1918- there was no independent state in the Islamic geography. In the second quarter struggles for independence and states appeared.

For Muslims, the third quarter passed with finding their place in the world that was becoming polarized and with trying to understand what happened.

In the last quarter of the 20th century the World had to face with a sad situation under the effect of hopelessness and distrust due to falling apart of global groups, failure of the ideologies introduced as hope for humanity, and the organizations', which were founded by claiming to bring peace and tranquility to the world, losing their credibility."

"That the existence of Muslims is an unignorable fact is also the sign of critical opportunities"

President Erbaş drew attention to the fact that the 21^st century started with new problems, fluctuations, and polarization in terms of humanity and that the Islamic geography had become an area of internal conflicts and power struggles.

Expressing that in this process went through Muslims started to create existence areas in the different parts of the world from Europe to Latin America and to be organized as non-governmental organizations, President Erbaş said, "In the mentioned regions, there are crises but there are also new opportunities.

We all know about the discussions on Muslims’ institutional entity and non-governmental organizations, the difficulties about their freedoms of belief and worship, and citizenship rights, and the oppressions related to individual freedoms. In addition to this, that the existence of Muslims is an unignorable fact in the mentioned continents and regions is also the sign of critical opportunities."

"It should be considered as a promising picture that when we bring the bright face of Islam which establishes civilizations there is a great courtesy in that place"

"Today, each geography has its own dynamics and problematic areas specific to it.  In these regions, it is noticeable that a rude, exclusivist, and marginal understanding of Islam, which sets the morals of mercy and the surrounding world of Islam back, tries to form a basis with different reasons and works.

However, it should be considered as a promising picture that when we bring the bright face of Islam which establishes civilizations there is a great courtesy in that place," stated President Erbaş by pointing out that Muslims went through different processes during the last century in Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Caucasia.

Erbaş expressed that Africa should be addressed separately in the context of Islamic communities and its communication and integration with the world.

"Today in the point where we stand, the most basic needs of the Muslim communities in the said geographies are to interpret the developments in the world and especially in the places they live correctly, to understand Islam healthily, and to strengthen their existence by means of their own opportunities and dynamics.

They need guidance to achieve these. Therefore, I think that our contributions to the said communities should focus especially on understanding and interpreting the developments in the world correctly, adopting the universal principles and the civilization founding dynamics of Islam and determining their futures with their own opportunities and dynamics."

"Islamophobia is a serious issue of human rights behind which there are dirty relationships of interest and racism"

Erbaş drew attention to the fact that anti-Islamism started to lead to Islamophobia and become a global challenge.

Emphasizing that Islamophobia was a project of anti-Islamism, Erbaş continued as follows,

"Islamophobia is a serious issue of human rights behind which there are dirty relationships of interest and racism.

It is a traitorous and dark project which shows Islam as if it was nothing more than an ideology that feeds violence and terror and which works for expanding this view in World public opinion by means of an artificial fear.

It is noticeable that political parties in many European countries run election campaigns over propagandas based on Islamophobia in order to receive votes and that they try to associate the dark face of terrorist organizations with a bright religion.

Therefore, Muslims should create alternative discourses and working plans in relation to fighting with Islamophobia, disclose the ill intention of the Islamophobia industry, and expand it across the world."

"Racism, social exclusion, and attacks on mosques have been restricting the freedom areas of Muslims day by day"

Erbaş uttered the following issues especially on the rising racism movement in Europe,

"Discourses and practices based on discrimination such as racism, social exclusion, attacks on mosques and masjids, etc. that have reached to concerning levels have been restricting the movement and freedom areas of Muslims, restricting their rights, and leaving their social and cultural institutions functionless.

Today when all kinds of humanitarian rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed under international agreements, negligence, exploitation, violation, and attacks have been affecting the future hopes of Muslims who live in those places negatively.

A comprehensive roadmap on how an astute fight can be put up against this situation without losing hope and confidence, by sticking to humanitarian and moral principles, and within the context of the law and universal values, should be adopted.”

Erbaş stated that the terrorist organizations each of which was a Project and were established and supported as a result of deep plans, global power struggles, and dirty relationships of interest kept producing materials for Islamophobia industry by means of their inhuman practices continuously.

"The dirty relationships of interest behind terrorist organizations such as FETO, DEASH, Boko Haram, and al-Shabaab is crystal clear."

Uttering the responsibilities of Muslims in the face of these negative situations, President Erbaş continued as follows,

"At this point, our prior responsibilities and duties are to work with might and main in order to present Islam's understanding of right and justice and the example and supreme moral qualifications of Prophet Muhammad which still applies to today, to every member of the family of humanity with soft words and an erudite tone.

We should make comprehensive and global size projects and studies in order to eliminate the artificial fear and concern by removing the negative images that are tried to be associated with Islam.

Therefore, we should represent and tell about our supreme religion Islam in the best way and remove the wrong perceptions on this subject by learning the authentic information. We should assure benevolence and the known truth again in the world under the guidance of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah."

Underlining that the issues such as living together, a better future, equal rights, and justice were basic issues that interested everyone who lived in the world, Erbaş said, "Today it is possible to think that our World is a big house in which we all live together.

Therefore, it is against to the law of the instrument to live in comfort in one side of the home while there are poverty, misery, and all kinds of difficulties on the other side and this cannot continue like this forever.

Therefore, the entire family of humanity needs each other and all of it should be sensitive about these problems. On the contrary, each neglected issue and every ignored and rejected problem will affect everyone more or less eventually."

Erbaş stated that law is universal and said, "Law exists in order to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all humans everywhere and every time. In fact, the existence of law is measured with its function towards the others and the weak, the lonely, and the unprotected people."

Erbaş pointed out that he considered the difference in races, languages, and colors of Muslims as a verse of Allah (SWT) and an occasion of His mercy.

"In this sense, it will lead the people who look for a way out to you and facilitate your work to speak and perform works in a way to give hope to everyone in your service areas within the framework of universal principles."

Expressing that the fight against the problems faced by women and the youth should be among our prior objectives in today’s world where social problems have surrendered our lives increasingly, Erbaş said,

"We should attach more importance to bring up generations which have the ideals of rights, justice, mercy, and peace that will contribute to the tranquility of the entire humanity, authentic faith and information, and awareness and good morals.

Because the generations that are not close to their faith and identity and their consciousness of being a nation and Ummah hare subjected to harmful habits more and waste their lives within the pace of life.

Especially the generations who lack authentic religious information and strong faith become vulnerable to exploitation.

The conditions of the young people who cannot find a way because they are away from their faith and culture are exploited with wrong religious information, are made members of terrorist organizations, and become vulnerable against the Islamophobic structures are our immediate problems which we need to handle and make studies about them.

In order to do this, it is needed to create and implement comprehensive, lasting, long term, and social facts-driven studies and reports related to the problems, solutions, and methods.”

Erbaş gave following warnings on the perversions that cause family and generation to be spoiled,

"When it came to our family, young people, and future, I would like to also express one point here, we are witnessing that sometimes some perversions are brought forward and people make a fuss under the disguise of slogans such as some concepts, organizations, and gender equality.

That the mentioned propaganda, which destroys the family and disregards humanitarian and moral values is served with concepts such as freedom and honor is a perception operation and deception.

The concept of women who exclude maternity from their lives and men who exclude paternity from their lives are deviant situations that are against human nature and creation.

This situation, which has come to the extent of a marriage of the man and woman who do not want to be mother and father, is a problem of both Muslims and the entire humanity. It is our responsibility to educate, raise their awareness, and protect our children and young people against the pervert stances." (ILKHA)