Highlighting its religious influence, Saudi Arabia brought more than 1,200 Muslim scholars together to sign the «Mecca Charter». The document aims at preserving moderate Islam values. In the wake of the Arab League summit, Mecca hosted the global conference for moderate Islam, a meeting that was organized by the Muslim World League (MWL). More than 1,200 prominent Islamic scholars from 139 countries attended the conference to celebrate the moderate values of Islam, the Saudi Press agency reported. The conference in mecca was attended by Mohamed Abbadi from Morocco's Muhammadiyah Association of Scholars. At the end of the event, Saudi Arabia presented the «Mecca Charter», which «aims to preserve Islamic values, safeguard and defend the national sovereignty and independence of member states and to contribute to international peace and security», Al Jazeera reported. A charter with political objectives The signatories of the Charter say that the document is meant to «establish the values of coexistence among followers of religions, cultures, races and sects in Islamic countries as well as to achieve peace and harmony among various segments of society». This charter, which was presented by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, comes as the Muslim World is at the heart of a war of influence. This war involves the Muslim World League, which is behind the Mecca Charter, and the International Union of Muslim Scholars, a religious body that is close to the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar. The two bodies are trying to be the only representatives of the Muslim scholar community. The Muslim World League is close to powerful scholars in several Islamic states, while the International Union of Muslim Scholars is more related to religious groups that oppose governments in the Muslim World. Moroccan scholar Ahmed Raissouni is one of the Union's representatives. The signing of the Mecca Charter was preceded by the World Islamic League on Jewish organizations. The body's secretary-general, Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa co-signed, earlier in May, with the president of the American Jewish Committee, a memorandum of understanding that «codifies the commitment of the two global institutions to further Muslim-Jewish understanding and cooperate against racism and extremism in all its forms». The Saudi also stated his intention to attend the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January 2020. «I believe that by paying tribute to the victims of Auschwitz, I will encourage Muslims and non-Muslims to support mutual respect, understanding and diversity», said Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
