Speaking at the 10th annual Scholars Meeting organized by the Union of Scholars and Madrasahs (ITTIHADUL ULEMA), prominent Iraqi Kurdish scholar Dr. Imad Guwani delivered a powerful address warning that the Muslim Ummah is facing one of the most dangerous and ideologically charged eras in its modern history.

The conference, hosted at the Saladin al-Ayyub Mosque Conference Hall in Diyarbakır’s Yenişehir district, gathered scholars, academics, and religious leaders from across the Islamic world — including representatives from the Kurdistan Region, Türkiye, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine. Notably, officials and delegates from the Hamas movement were also present, underlining the deep spirit of unity and solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.

This year’s gathering was held under the theme “Ideological Initiatives Targeting Our Islamic Identity,” aiming to address the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual challenges confronting Muslims worldwide — from secularization and liberal materialism to targeted propaganda campaigns seeking to reshape Islamic societies from within.

“We Are Living Through a Historically Critical Moment”

In his passionate speech, Dr. Guwani emphasized that the Ummah stands at a crossroads, facing immense external pressures and internal weaknesses that threaten its unity and divine mission.

“The Islamic Ummah is going through a very difficult and sensitive period,” he said. “We must read our reality accurately and understand deeply the magnitude of the tests we face. Our nations have endured extraordinary crises and made great sacrifices, yet our struggle against the global powers of oppression remains unjust and unequal.”

Citing the Qur’anic verse, “Say: Truth has come, and falsehood has perished; indeed, falsehood is bound to perish” (Surah Al-Isra, 17:81), Guwani reminded scholars that despite the global campaign to dilute Islamic values, the truth of Islam remains firm and destined to prevail.

He lamented that many Muslim societies had neglected their sacred responsibilities — in education, governance, and moral leadership — leading to deep divisions and a loss of self-confidence within the Ummah.

“This negligence,” he said, “has caused both internal disintegration and external exploitation. The enemy has studied us well, discovered our weaknesses, and now exploits them skillfully — spreading ethnic, sectarian, and ideological conflicts to weaken us further.”

“They Have Turned Our Diversity Into Division”

Referencing the Prophet Muhammad’s hadith — that nations will gather against Muslims like diners around a dish — Dr. Guwani warned that the enemies of Islam have systematically sowed seeds of discord among believers.

“Allah created diversity as a mercy, a means to know one another,” he said. “But they have transformed this divine diversity into a source of conflict and fragmentation. Instead of mutual respect, they promote nationalism, tribalism, and sectarianism to keep us divided and paralyzed.”

He particularly highlighted the Kurdish people’s role and suffering within this global ideological struggle.

“The Kurdish people gained their honor through Islam,” he stated firmly. “Islam gave the Kurds their intellectual and moral identity. It produced leaders like Saladin al-Ayyub and generations of scholars who carried the light of knowledge and justice.”

Guwani cautioned that foreign powers have long sought to exploit Kurdish grievances for their own interests, turning segments of the Kurdish community away from Islam and towards secular ideologies alien to their heritage.

“The Kurds Have Been Deceived by the Sellers of Illusions”

Reflecting on the rise of secular and leftist currents within Kurdish political and cultural life, Dr. Guwani described how Western-influenced ideologies such as Marxism, secular nationalism, and feminism entered Kurdish society under the pretense of modernization but ultimately aimed at destroying Islamic consciousness.

“They began with the slogan of ‘women’s liberation,’ and then moved to normalize gender ideology, homosexuality, and even bestiality — all in the name of freedom,” he warned. “These are not signs of progress, but of moral decay. They are tools to cut our youth off from their faith, their families, and their civilization.”

He accused Western institutions and NGOs of targeting the Kurdish youth, using education and media to implant alien ideas that detach them from their identity.

“They are stealing our children,” Guwani said with emotion. “Our sons and daughters are being taken from us not physically, but intellectually and spiritually. Schools and universities have become laboratories of secular indoctrination, where faith is ridiculed and immorality is praised.”

He further criticized the rise of so-called ‘domesticated intellectuals’ — Westernized elites who imitate Western thought and reject Islamic values.

“These are people who have lost the ability to think independently,” he said. “They reproduce the language and ideas of the West without understanding their poison. They have become tools against their own people.”

“The Abrahamic Religions Project Is a Deceptive Trap”

Turning to the “Abrahamic Religions Project,” Dr. Guwani condemned it as a deceitful attempt to place Islam on the same level as distorted and corrupted faiths.

“It is a vile initiative,” he said, “that seeks to erase Islam’s divine uniqueness and equate truth with falsehood. Under the slogan of ‘Three Religions, One Faith,’ they aim to blur the distinction between tawhid (the Oneness of Allah) and shirk (association with Allah). This is one of the greatest threats to Islamic activism and identity today.”

He called for strong awareness campaigns among scholars and educators to expose such ideological traps and reaffirm Islam’s absolute truth and universality.

A Call to Revive Knowledge and Resistance

Dr. Guwani ended his speech with a powerful call to action, urging Muslim scholars, teachers, and community leaders to revive Islamic education, purify curricula, and reconnect the new generation with the Qur’an and prophetic guidance.

“Our salvation lies not in imported systems or Western philosophies,” he declared. “It lies in returning to the message of Islam — to rebuild our societies on justice, knowledge, and divine unity.”

He also emphasized that solidarity among Muslims — from Kurdistan to Palestine, from Türkiye to Yemen — is essential to confront the ideological and political assaults facing the Ummah.

“As long as we remain attached to the Qur’an and Sunnah, the Ummah will not perish. But if we abandon them, we lose everything — our identity, our children, our future.”

The 10th Scholars Meeting continues through the weekend, featuring sessions on education, media, youth, and ideological resistance, with participants calling for a unified vision to defend the intellectual and moral independence of the Muslim world against global cultural hegemony. (ILKHA)