Summit closes with religious leaders’ session

A three-day Eurasian Economic Summit was finalized on April 6 with two landmark sessions titled “Contributions of the Religions to Peace in Order to Environment of Violence and Terror Within the Framework of Islamic Solidarity” and the presidential session on “Humanity at Crossroads.” 

Akkan Suver, head of Marmara Group Foundation, the organizer of the summit, thanked participants for their precious contributions at the end of the presidential session. 

Edward de Bono, a Maltese thought leader, was the guest of honor at the session. 

Earlier in the day, Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos told other religious leaders at the session that the Orthodox world should do more for the refugees. 

“We want to make a call to anyone who has the power to end this refugee problem and demolish the reasons that leads to it. We demand that they make the necessary decisions. We make this call to all officials and members of civil authorities of the Orthodox religion and all the people in the world. We believe that religion can really play a vital role in ensuring that all people can be reconciled and that peace can prevail in the world. This can only be done by removing prejudices and fear barriers,” he said. 

Ali Bardakoğlu, the former head of the Turkish Religious Affairs Ministry, said people should unite under a roof of religious tolerance on a global level. 

“It is not enough to use the word ‘tolerance,’” he said. 

“Religion tells you about the right thing, shows the path; but you are the one who will do the right thing and prevent what is wrong,” he added.  

Cengiz Balkan, the mayor of resort district Küçükkuyu; Adil Osmanovic, Bosnian minister of civil affairs; Yusuf Sağ, the deputy patriarch of the Turkish Syriac Catholic Church; Mubariz Gurbanlı, chairman of the State Committee on Religious Association of Azerbaijan; Yusuf Çetin, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church; Burbulis Gennadiy, former first deputy prime minister of Russia; Hayim Pinto; Iryna Vereshchuk, president of the International Center for Black Sea-Baltic Sea Studies and Consensus Practices and Müfti Salman Musayev, the deputy chairman of Caucasian Muslims were other leaders who joined the session.