Religious leaders urged to action for peace at Kuala Lumpur summit

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim has called on religious leaders to take a stronger role and assert their voices and values in a society facing declining trust and hypocrisy.

“We are living in an era of declining trust, a deficit not only among political leaders but also in upholding the values of justice, humanity, and truth. This is why religious leaders have no choice but to take up the banner of peace and morality," he said.

Ibrahim was speaking at the 2nd International Summit of Religious Leaders which took place in Kuala Lumpur under the theme of ‘The Role of Religious Leaders in Resolving Conflicts.”

Prime Minister Ibrahim’s comments signal the country’s commitment to promoting religious leadership as a catalyst for achieving global peace. 

He was joined at the conference by secretary general of the Muslim World League, Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa who told Euronews, “We bring together religious leaders with modern leaders, and we say to everyone, we don’t want just words we want deeds."

"We have listened a lot. Now we want to see action and you must create something tangible. And you are well capable of that by using your religious influence," Dr Al-Issa explained.

"The world is now almost 8 billion and 80% of them believe in faith but one voice is not enough. We must all come together for the call for peace.”

The summit aims to provide inclusive international dialogue in promoting peace and strengthening global unity. The war in Gaza and Ukraine was high on the agenda and dominated conversations. 

“This event sends a clear message for the importance for stopping the war and having peace there. And of course, the Orthodox church is present and all the Muslim leadership and other faiths from Ukraine are here," Dr Al-Issa said.

Everyone is here and they are listening to the messages of this event, and they are only attending because of their good intentions, and good intentions means peace,” he added.

“We have listened to the different discourses that have taken place at this event talking about the importance of peace both in Ukraine and Russia.”

Over 1,000 participants from 54 countries attended, including scholars, political leaders, parliamentarians and academics, as well as Islamic and non-Islamic leaders. 

Sadhguru Brahmeshanandcharya Swamiki, founder and president of the International Sadhguru Institution in India discussed the combining of faith and governance saying, “When religious leaders come together in the spirit of dialogue, modern leadership and religion can go together hand in hand.” 

Dr Kirinde Sri Dhammaratana, the Buddhist chief high priest of Malaysia, also expressed his thoughts on the importance of interfaith dialogue.

“We need to have a healthy society," Dr Dhammaratana said.

"Therefore, I strongly appeal to all the religious leaders and all the global leaders to have a bit of an understanding of other people’s cultures and traditions and then a little bit about basic teaching and then we can live peacefully and happy,” he added. 

Organisers hope the summit highlights that religious leaders can play an even more significant role in promoting peace, reconciliation and social cohesion.