Doha: Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin has praised the distinguished and solid relations between Turkey and Qatar in various fields, thanks to the keenness of the leadership of the two countries to develop them to serve the interests of the Qatari and Turkish peoples.
Kalin said the Republic of Turkey and the State of Qatar have strong relations and a solid partnership in various fields, praising the comprehensive development that Qatar is witnessing at various levels.
Kalin made these remarks during a lecture on “Islam and the West” he delivered at Ibn Khaldun Center for Humanities & Social Sciences of Qatar University.
A number of university leaders, faculty members, students and members of public attended the lecture.
The Turkish official spoke about the relations between Islam and the West, their historical roots and future prospects, calling for managing these relations according to the approach of dialogue and understanding rather than conflict and scepticism.
He said that we have to be smart to be able to manage the relationship with the other and to search for the most effective means of communication and dialogue with him, and to erase the negative effects of the propaganda against us. Kalin reviewed the foundations established by Islam to build a relationship with the other, the experience of Islamic civilization in which all religions lived in peace and harmony, the developments that occurred in the wake of the European Renaissance and the consequences of western denial of the role of Muslim civilization in that renaissance.
He believed that many of the political problems that occur today between the West and Islam are due to each side’s lack of understanding of the other, stressing the need for a common understanding of each party’s culture away from preconceptions and ready-made judgments, to build trust and dialogue instead of conflict and scepticism.
He also criticised the deliberate distortion of Islam and Muslims by some media and cultural media in the West, and said confronting this distortion requires a scientific and cognitive effort to study the West and respond with a sober scientific approach, focusing on the common points of convergence instead of exaggerating differences and fuelling conflicts that do not serve both sides.
He explained that Muslims have to work in an organised and conscious manner to change the negative image and not dissolve into the other or conflict with it, but rather dialogue, cooperate and coexist with it, as the moderate view is that based on dialogue and common understanding, and that each party builds a true picture of the reality of the experience of the other and not through misleading propaganda.
