R20 Interfaith Summit Launches Forum to Build Bridges Between East, West

Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Al-Issa.
Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Al-Issa.
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R20 Interfaith Summit Launches Forum to Build Bridges Between East, West

Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Al-Issa.
Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Al-Issa.

The R20 Summit, the first official engagement group on religion in the history of the G20, has announced the launch of a forum titled “Building Bridges Between the East and the West: For a More Understanding and Peaceful World and More Coexisting and Harmonious Communities.”

Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Al-Issa said the forum is part of the interfaith group recently adopted by the G20 presidency as part of the activities of the group formed by the world’s 20 largest economies.

The forum will discuss several pressing issues, including the inclusion of religious minorities, the refugee situation, and divisive religious, intellectual, and cultural issues, along with relevant political matters.

“The forum will constitute the biggest, most important and most welcoming and professional platform between the East and the West,” stressed Al-Issa.

“It will witness the participation of senior specialists in the religious, intellectual, social and political fields, namely political parties and parliamentary committees dealing with humanitarian and social affairs,” he added.

In keeping with the aims of the forum, the R20 Summit is expected to issue decisions on the establishment of scientific chairs at universities in the East and West, in addition to mechanisms that ensure positive communications between them.

Several academics, institutions, research and supervision centers, and orientalists will also participate in the event through the presentation of research, studies, and reports.

The forum will include the participation of senior academics from Harvard University, including colleagues of late Samuel Huntington, the author of a thesis titled “Clash of Civilizations” that caused widespread controversy as a result of its argument that future wars will be fought not between nations but based on cultural and religious identities.

Al-Issa received the Norwegian Bridge Builder Award in 2021, the World’s Religions Peace Award from Sri Lanka in 2019, and the Italian Galileo International Award in 2018 for his efforts in promoting religious and cultural harmony worldwide.



UAE Sentences Killers of Israeli Rabbi to Death

The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence. (WAM)
The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence. (WAM)
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UAE Sentences Killers of Israeli Rabbi to Death

The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence. (WAM)
The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence. (WAM)

The United Arab Emirates on Monday sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country, state news agency WAM reported.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal Court ruled the murder of Zvi Kogan, 28, was committed by the defendants in pursuance of a "terrorist purpose," according to WAM.

Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi had ordered the four defendants to be brought to a swift trial in January 2025, following investigations conducted by the State Security Prosecution, which revealed that the defendants had tracked and murdered the victim.

The evidence presented by the State Security Prosecution to the court included the defendants' detailed confessions to the crimes of murder and kidnapping, along with forensic reports, post-mortem examination findings, details of the instruments used in the crime, and witness testimonies.

The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence followed by deportation from the country after serving his sentence.

Under UAE law, sentences of capital punishment are automatically subject to appeal and are referred to the Criminal Division of the Federal Supreme Court for review and adjudication.

The Attorney General stressed that the verdict reflects the UAE’s unwavering commitment to combating terrorism in accordance with the highest standards of justice and the rule of law while ensuring fair trial guarantees. He stressed that the UAE judiciary resolutely confronts any attempts to undermine national security and stability.

Furthermore, the Attorney General added that the United Arab Emirates stands as a global model of coexistence and tolerance, where its laws protect all residents, regardless of religion or ethnicity, ensuring their safety and security.