UAE to hold Muslim Minorities Congress in May to tackle challenges, enhance image

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced launching a new platform to address the challenges faced by Muslim minorities around the world.

Called International Muslim Minorities Congress (IMMC), the platform will be headed by the Muslim Council of Elders and will comprise representatives from 140 countries.

Its first meeting is scheduled for May 8-9, 2018, in Abu Dhabi, Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, the chairman of the International Muslim Minorities Congress, told media here during a press conference. Nuaimi was accompanied by Dr Mohammed Bechari, another IMMC member.

Nuaimi said the organisation will help bridge the gap between Muslim minorities and the governments. He expressed hope that the conference would offer a platform to tackle issues such as marginalisation and disenfranchisement in non-Muslim countries.

“Muslims in non-Muslim countries are facing many challenges, whether in terms of services or education … but the biggest challenge is for them to fit in with their societies."

Speaking with this correspondent, he said the UAE has created an opportunity to form a platform for Muslim minorities across the globe to serve them and help them to integrate into the societies

He acknowledged that Islam had been presented to the world with a distorted image, with some countries, unfortunately, having abused that notion to serve their political agendas.

“If a person wants to live in Germany, they have to live by German laws and as a German citizen given their rights and fulfilling their obligations”, Nuaimi said.

He believes that the conference's success will help bring more security and stability across the world and to showcase Islam as a religion of peace and love.

The event would be one of the biggest conferences to be held in the Emirates next month, the organising committee said.

Muslim leaders and government officials will meet in Abu Dhabi next month to discuss ways to prevent radicalisation among an estimated 500 million people.

Bechari, the vice chair of the conference’s high committee, said: "This is a unique event because for the first time in history, Muslim minorities will gather under one roof to discuss their issues and interact with each other".

Speaking to this correspondent, he said the platform would discuss setting up a strategy to prevent ideologising the "Islamic world" outside the Islamic countries and to teach the Muslim citizen to be a good citizen in their host community.

The conference comes out of the UAE’s civilisational message to promote the culture of peace and tolerance between the followers of different religions and cultures and as an effort to protect the children and youth of the Muslim minorities from the currents of violence and extremism.