Over 1,200 dignitaries, scholars, senior officials and leading thought leaders from the Muslim world gathered in Makkah for a conference on Islamic values of moderation and preservation of minority rights.
Shaykh Bin Bayyah offered the keynote address regarding the importance of ensuring scholarship reflects the global contemporary reality. Shaykh Bin Bayyah shared the stage with King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and the Grand Mufti.
Following the keynote, Shaykh Bin Bayyah and the Secretary General of the Muslim World 
League, Mohammed bin Abdul-Karim Al-Issa, presented the Makkah Declaration to King Salman on behalf of the globally renounced Muslim scholars gathered at the conference.
Saudi Arabia is committed to, “spreading peace and coexistence and has established international intellectual platforms and centers to promote these principles,” stated King Salman. “We reiterate our invitation to stop the racist and xenophobic speech from whatever source and under any pretext whatsoever.”
This historical gathering significantly contributes to Shaykh Bin Bayyah’s quest for peace by increasing dialogue with Muslim leaders and scholars in Muslim societies. It also signifies his emphasis placed on interreligious engagement for the development of peace among entire humanities. To encourage freedom of religion, based on inclusive societies, this engagement is timely as scholars have been engaging to discuss how deconstructive notions are antithetical to the spirit of Islam, with it being one of the three major Abrahamic religions.
His Eminence Shaykh Bin Bayyah is the author of the Marrakesh Declaration. This historical document champions, “defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries,” and encourages civil dialogue to overcome historical differences. The Declaration was agreed upon by 250 Muslim religious leaders, heads of state and scholars in 2016 and remains a significant document throughout Muslim Nations. To learn more about the Marrakesh Declaration, visit http://www.marrakeshdeclaration.org/