5th Meeting of Islamic Scholars, which is organized annually by ITTIHAD'UL ULEMA, the Union of Islamic Scholars, has been held this year via video conference due to coronavirus pandemic.

Many prominent Islamic scholars from the Islamic countries, including Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Kurdistan and Iraq, took part in the meeting, which have been organized since 2015.

The meeting was being live-streamed on Rehber TV as well as YouTube accounts of ITTIHAD'UL and Ilke News Agency.

The final declaration of the meeting, which is made up six distinct items, has released in Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic and French.

Here is the full text of the final declaration of the 5th Meeting of Islamic Scholars:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace be upon Prophet Muhammed, who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, his family and all of his companions.

We had to hold our fifth meeting via video conference due to the corona outbreak this year. At the meeting, where important evaluations were made by prominent participants with valuable presentations, the following issues were agreed:

1. Two issues should be kept in balance in terms of religious life. Muslims should pay attention to health measures. But They should not allow the health measures to eliminate religious principles by creating an air of panic. In particular, Islamic practices such as five daily prayers, Friday prayers, Hajj and Umrah visits, which have social aspects, should be performed in accordance with health measures and it should not be allowed these practices to lose the importance that they have created in the spiritual world of our people.
2. Heavenly calamities are sometimes sent as a test, and sometimes they are sent because of sins that have become widespread. The widespread calamities, which affect everybody, are mostly due to bad acts that are common in this society and made publicly. The Islamic scholars should make the society understand that such general calamities are caused by sins, and they should widely explain the importance of repentance and forgiveness in order to overcome these calamities.
3. Coronavirus pandemic also caused serious changes in social life. Some of these changes are also likely to be permanent. Islamic Scholars should make efforts to predict the changes and to direct this course correctly.
4. With coronavirus pandemic, we have entered a period in which face-to-face interaction has decreased, and the chance (or opportunity) of being in a social environment has been extremely weakened. Since the communication of a person, who is a social being, will not be severed, the ways of tabligh, communication of a message or revelation, will also differ. It is also necessary to differentiate the methods of tabligh, in accordance with the changing new situation. In particular, one-to-one dialogues withing social distancing measures, and video chat/conference systems will be the two most used methods of communication in this new period.
5. The educational activities, including the classes in Madrasahs, should be carried on under all circumstances. In-person education should be maintained as much as possible in accordance with public health guidance. But online education should be preferred when in-person education poses a threat to the health of teachers and students. At the same time, the infrastructure of online education should be established in advance in order not to interrupt the educational activities. So, if In-person education is not possible, it should be ensured that the education continues in the form of online education without interruption.
6. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people have started to spend more time at home as a result of lockdowns and changes in work environments. If people don’t properly manage their time, there is also a danger that staying at home for a long time will lead to serious problems and conflicts within the family. Spending the time properly will eliminate this danger. These days offer important opportunities both for to strengthen family bonds and for parents to educate their children in certain subjects. The Families should take advantage of this period.

And our last prayer is that Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. (ILKHA)