By Ruslan Kurbanov

MOSCOW – A host of Muslim scholars and religious leaders will gather in the Russian capital this week to issue a fatwa condemning radicalization and extremism.

In a conference themed “Islamic Doctrine Against Radicalism”, about 50 Russian muftis and imams and nearly 40 prominent Muslim scholars and thinkers will meet in Moscow on May 25.

The two-day conference is organized by International Center “al-Wasatya” (Kuwait), Scientific-Educational Center (Russia) and the International Union for Muslim Scholars.

The main purpose of the conference is to issue a fatwa condemning radicalism and extremism and condemning the use of terms as Jihad, Takfir and Caliphate for political gains.

The fatwa is expected to play an important role not only for Russian Muslims, but also for all Muslims worldwide.

The event will feature a host of Muslim thinkers, scientists and experts as well as federal Russian ministers.

Prominent scholars from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunis, Oman, Sudan, Turkey and Iran will also partake in the event.

Leading among attendees are  Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah ,IUMS Secretary-General Sheikh Muhiddin Ali al-Qaradaghi,  Tunisia’s minister of religious affairs Nur ud-Din al-Hamidi, Kuwait’s deputy minister of Islamic affairs Adel al-Falyah, Omani Mufti Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad al-Khalili, Lebanese Mufti Muhammad Rashid al-Qabbani and Secretary General of the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Salih bin Hussain bin Abdullah al-Aid.

The Conference is supported by the Foundation for Supporting Islamic Culture, Science and Education, established by Russian government, and Ahmad Kadyrov Foundation.

Both Russian officials and Muslims are impatiently waiting for the conference and the issuance of the fatwa to be used in the prevention of radical ideas spearheaded by extremists, which spoil the image of Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance and freedom.

The Russian Federation is home to some 23 million Muslims in the north of the Caucasus and southern republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.

Islam is Russia’s second-largest religion representing roughly 15 percent of its 145 million predominantly Orthodox population.