Azerbaijan, Baku, April 26 /Trend, U.Sadikhova/
World religious leaders should take a strong position to overcome the confrontation between religions and enhance mutual understanding that will lead to improvement of religious dialogue, said Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).
"Strengthening the position of religious leaders will assist political leaders in solving today's problems," Altwaijri, who attends a summit of religious leaders, which was opened in Baku on April 26, told Trend.
The summit will last for two days, and according to participants, it should promote inter-religious dialogue.
According to Altwaijri, conducting a summit of religious leaders at the present time is very important, because the world has faced a strong moral crisis and problems that cause the deterioration in relations between peoples and states.
"Baku summit should make the religious factor one of the keys in solving global problems, improving people's living conditions and increasing mutual respect between peoples," said the head of ISESCO.
One of the problems of intercultural and inter-religious confrontation is a generalization of the action of one person under a common symbol and way of religion, according to Altwaijri.
For example, the prevalence of Islamophobia and negative views about Muslims in Western countries is due to the fact that some political forces in Europe denigrate Islam, therefore, indicate criminal actions of individuals as a general picture of Islam, says the Director-General.
"This is a moral error, because the crimes or violations committed by individuals are not connected with the culture or religion. Furthermore, it is wrong to state that there is a concept of "Islamic terrorism", because no faith in the world propagates terrorist acts, said Altwaijri. - It is therefore necessary to punish offenders, but not followers of religion".