The Problem of Muslim world lies in mixing religion with politics, says Al Murr

Tehran: The Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, has said the problem of Muslim world lies in mixing up the religion with politics, adding that the problems of many Muslim countries were attributed to this phenomenon. He noted the religion has set general rules that are viable for all times and places. Al Murr said, "The nation state is a developing organisation. When we think to cooperate with the Muslim states, we have to cooperate with those which have provided civil peace and capable to display leadership and development felt by citizens." He stressed the need for preserving the sovereignty, adding that the civil peace and development are the prerogatives of better Islamic cooperation. The remarks were made during the visit of Al Murr and the FNC parliamentary division to the Iranian Shura Council, where they were received by Ali Larijani, Chairman of the Iranian Shura Council. The two sides discussed ways to strengthen the UAE- Iranian relations. The visit comes on the sideline of 9th Conference of Islamic Inter Parliamentary Union of OIC, which kicked off yesterday in Tehran. The UAE is represented by the FNC high-profile delegation. Al Murr said he wished for the conference to discuss the issues of development and services, but regretted that the Muslim world passes through problems and differences. He hoped that this period will be a temporary one in the history of Muslim Ummah. He cited the opinion of Islamic scholar, who discussed the issue of susceptibility to colonisation, "When a state has pillars, resources and ideas, and fail to develop its scientific and military system, it is enticing others to colonise it, as they will find it a soft target to grab." Al Murr added, "There are a lot of sincere scientists who called since the beginning of friction of Islam with the West to build on authentic heritage and national capacity. There is no doubt that the dependence of Islamic states on their resources and development of technology could spur them to be in the ranks of developed countries." He wished well to the Islamic Republic of Iran during this critical era to bring all parties to build a modern state that calls for peace and plays a reconciliatory role with both Saudi Arabia and Egypt to tackle all the crises. He referred to the growing trade and economic ties between the UAE and Iran. Al Murr stressed the importance of reaching just and permanent peace deal between Palestine and Israel to set up a sovereign Palestinian state, whose capital is Eastern Jerusalem, in the Palestinian territories of June 1967 borders. For his part, Larijani thanked the UAE for its keenness on strengthening the bilateral relations, describing the ties between the UAE and Iran as historic. He assured the health of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wishing him speedy recovery. Larijani said the Muslim states enjoy diversified capacities, possess wealth, including huge sources of energy and human resources, and have achieved scientific progress, adding that there should be trade exchange among them and avoid differences that should not be allowed to turn into enmities. He welcomed the visit of Al Murr, noting that such visits could contribute to developing of the bilateral relations. He underlined that the government of President Dr. Hassan Rouhani looks forward to developing more cooperation ties with the neighbouring countries. Al Murr invited Larijani to visit the FNC. – Emirates News Agency, WAM