BAGHDAD -- A religious panel held this week in Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region discussed ways to standardize mosque sermons, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports.
The gathering in Irbil was attended by some 1,000 religious community leaders, clerics, mosque speakers, academics, and foreign diplomats.
Ahmad Mustafa, dean of the College of Shari'ah and Islamic Studies at Salahuddin University in Irbil, told Radio Free Iraq that introducing training courses would help religious leaders promote ecumenical relationships between faiths and convey the true teachings of Islam.
Othman al-Mufti, a member of the conference organizing committee, told RFE/RL that the gathering is the result of a two-year survey of worshippers, mosque speakers, and clerics in which experts concluded that mosque speakers must respect all faiths and refrain from slander or incitement in their sermons.
The gathering in Irbil was attended by some 1,000 religious community leaders, clerics, mosque speakers, academics, and foreign diplomats.
Ahmad Mustafa, dean of the College of Shari'ah and Islamic Studies at Salahuddin University in Irbil, told Radio Free Iraq that introducing training courses would help religious leaders promote ecumenical relationships between faiths and convey the true teachings of Islam.
Othman al-Mufti, a member of the conference organizing committee, told RFE/RL that the gathering is the result of a two-year survey of worshippers, mosque speakers, and clerics in which experts concluded that mosque speakers must respect all faiths and refrain from slander or incitement in their sermons.