Iran, Turkey sign religious cooperation agreement

Iran and Turkey signed a cooperation agreement yesterday intended to increase religious relations, reported Press TV.

The agreement was inked in the Turkish capital Ankara between Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, head of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Communication Organisation, and Ali Erbas, head of Turkey’s top religious authority, the Religious Affairs Directorate.

The agreement is said to consist of 18 articles ranging from translation and publication of religious books to holding various events, and “teaching of Islamic jurisprudence by Iranian experts at theological faculties in Turkey”, which could refer to the Jafari school of jurisprudence which is enshrined in the Iranian constitution.

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Torkaman said: “The trend and circumstances that exist in the world today [reflect] considerable convergence between Turkey and Iran,” adding that their attitude towards Palestine is “a shared one”.

Erbas said: “We mobilise all our resources to fight the sedition that is targeting Muslims, and the measures that are taken by some Muslim countries in the region, which unfortunately compromise Muslims’ esteem and pride.”

Unity in the wider Muslim world and the threats and challenges of Islamophobia were also discussed. The bilateral talks also focused on the issue of exchanging the scriptures that are archived in the countries’ respective libraries.

Iran and Turkey were present at the recent Malaysia Summit and both countries’ leaders made calls for less global dependency on the US dollar and financial system and stressed on unity among Muslim-majority states.

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