Dr Al-Issa Participates in the World Economic Forum 2026 at Davos

On “The Moral Responsibility of Religious Leaders in Conflicts”

The Secretary General of the Muslim World League Participates in the Main Dialogue Session at the 2026 Davos Forum

Davos:

His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the MWL and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, participated this morning in the main dialogue session at the 2026 Davos Forum on “The Moral Responsibility of Religious Leaders in Conflicts.”

In his remarks, His Excellency emphasized the importance of religious leaders endorsing and supporting the New York Declaration, issued last July by the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, co-chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic. The declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly by a majority of 142 votes, as the just and wise option.

His Excellency also stressed the importance of a “sincere” and “tangible” understanding by religious leaders that human life and human dignity—including the protection of lives, rights, and legitimate freedoms—constitute a supreme value to which every human being is entitled as a general principle.

He called for stripping any approach that fabricates justifications for injustice and oppression of any immunity or sanctity, affirming that silence in such matters is not neutrality, but complicity. He urged exposing the falsity of exploiting religious texts as tools to ignite unjust wars or to deny legitimate rights.

Speaking about the tragedies of killing, he said: “Any text that is selectively extracted to legitimize killing is a betrayal of the text,” adding that “justice is indivisible, and there can be no selectivity in dignity and compassion.”

He continued: “Dehumanizing the other is the first step toward every humanitarian catastrophe—and indeed toward the chaos of our world. Innocent blood does not carry a classification that elevates some lives over others.” He added that “true religious leaders are not spokespeople for power; rather, they are guardians of virtue and justice, and advocates of dialogue and peace.”