The founding forum of the International Federation of Islamic Book Publishers was launched on Saturday at Sabah Al-Din Zaim University in Istanbul, Turkey, with the participation of publishers from 30 countries.

The forum aims to establish the “International Federation of Islamic Book Publishers” organized by the Turkish Islamic Book Publishers Association in cooperation with “Sabah al-Din Zaim University”, with support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture, and the presidency of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

The two-day forum will be attended by publishers from 30 countries, including Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and France.

In his speech during the opening of the forum, the Dean of Sabah Al-Din Zaim University, Muhammad Bulut, referred to “the Ottoman Sultans’ interest in science, teaching and science and their respect for scholars.”

Bulut added, “Reading is the first command that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, which confirms that Islam is a religion of education and development.”

He continued, “The commandment of Islam is for us to spread its teachings, which were published by the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their followers to achieve justice in the world.”

For his part, a member of the organizing committee of the conference from Jordan, Khaled Belbeisi, praised, in his speech during the opening session, the role of the city of Istanbul for hosting the forum.

Belbeisi said: “The time has come for us to start publishing the Islamic book towards the world, for the message of Islam is universal, and we are not forgiven for being closed to ourselves.”

He continued: “The Islamic world throughout the ages has distinguished itself in the sciences of algebra, chemistry, medicine and others, at a time when Europe built its renaissance on translating what it means and left Islamic sciences, and we must restore the dissemination of these sciences in the ways that we see and not what they impose.”

In turn, the media coordinator of the forum, Kamal bin Jaafar, considered that “the goal of establishing the International Federation of Islamic Book Publishers is to unify and coordinate efforts around the world in pursuit of the lofty goals of spreading Islamic thought.”

The new International Union will be based in Istanbul, and aims to unify and coordinate the efforts of Islamic book publishers around the world in pursuit of the lofty goals of spreading Islamic thought and developing the means for that, according to the organizers.

Anatolia