President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "Muslims should now take responsibility for their own peace and well-being, as well as for the security and future of all humanity, and raise their voices against the injustices they witness."
President Erdoğan sent a video message to the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF)'s 4th General Assembly.
Wishing that the General Assembly would be successful and beneficial to the youth and the entire Islamic world, President Erdoğan addressed the youth from across the Islamic world who were in attendance at the General Assembly in person or online.
Noting that the world is witnessing one of the most turbulent times in human history, President Erdoğan said that security problems, terrorist activities, and the pandemic were constantly on the world agenda, preventing long-awaited peace.
Pointing out that these problems, which threaten humanity as a whole, have tragically left indelible marks on the Muslim world, President Erdoğan said:
"While Muslims are struggling with conflicts, migration, poverty, and diseases across a wide region from Syria to Afghanistan, they are also forced to combat Islamophobia and cultural racism, which are on the rise, particularly in Western society. Almost every day, we hear of brothers and sisters who have been harassed and discriminated against because of their religious beliefs, headscarves, or clothing in countries that claim to be the cradle of democracy. Similarly, our hearts break for the oppressed who died in the desert or at sea while migrating due to the instability in their countries. This unjust order, in which hunger, war, and extreme poverty exist on the one hand, and luxury, debauchery, and exploitation exist on the other, cannot last any longer."
"None of us has the luxury of standing back and watching this disaster course unfold"
Emphasising that Türkiye draws attention to global injustice by proclaiming "The world is bigger than five," on all grounds and at every opportunity, Erdoğan said, "As people who were commanded Amr-bil-Maroof and Nahi Anil Munkar (enjoining the right or honourable and forbidding the wrong or dishonourable), none of us has the luxury of standing back and watching this disastrous course unfold. Muslims should now take responsibility for their own peace and well-being, as well as for the security and future of all humanity, and raise their voices against injustices they witness."
Stating that the first step to achieve this is to establish the brotherhood of Islam and put out the imperialists' relentless fire of sedition, President Erdoğan said, "We all know that there can be no mercy without unity. We are also aware that hearts that believe in the same holy book, belong to the same Prophet's ummah, and pray five times a day towards the same qiblah cannot be separated. We must avoid the traps that imperialists want us to fall into by acting with the foresight and discernment befitting Muslims."
"We must never deviate from law and legitimacy in our struggle for rights and justice"
Emphasising that everyone, particularly the Muslim youth, who are the guarantors of the future, has vital responsibilities in this glorious battle, President Erdoğan noted the following:
"We should bolster alliances, rather than conflicts, affection, rather than hostility. We must never forget that the strength of our faith in Islam is proportional to the significance we place on this brotherhood. We must never engage in terrorism, give credit to violence, or deviate from law and legitimacy in our struggle for rights and justice, which we wage on behalf of both ourselves and the oppressed. As the ummah of a Prophet, who prefers to be a part of a 'knowledge circle' rather than the 'dhikr circle' inside a mosque, we must continue to prioritise scientific and academic studies. We want you to take active roles in politics, academia, sports, business, and social life. I expect you not to allow anyone to come between us and divide you over ethnic, sectarian, or cultural differences. I believe that through your endeavours, sincere efforts, and prayers, the ummah's future will be far brighter and more prosperous than it is today. May Allah help us all, help you all. When you return to your country, I kindly ask you to convey my greetings to all your citizens, particularly my younger brothers and sisters."
