NEW YORK: The vast majority of Muslims are interested in cultural communication with the non-Muslim world and extremism is an abnormal and isolated occurrence, Mohammed Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, (MWL) told a conference in New York on Saturday.
“Cultural communication generates understanding among nations … and this leads to the alliance of civilizations,” Al-Issa said.
Extremism “has little foothold in the Muslim world,” he said, and according to the latest estimates, the term could be applied to only one in 200,000 people. “The impact of intellectual and military terrorism and extremism is shrinking, in a clear and tangible way.”
Al-Issa said extremism was a general and comprehensive concept, and to attribute it only to Islam was false since it also had intellectual, political and racial aspects.
He was speaking on the opening day of the International Muslim World League Conference, attended by more than 450 representatives of Islamic institutions and scientific, intellectual and political organizations from around the world.
The two-day conference will discuss issues including cultural contributions from the US and the Islamic world, the Islamic contribution to the promotion of world peace, Muslims in the US, integration and citizenship, and the relationship between the US and the Islamic world.
Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, told delegates at the conference that cultural communication enhanced linkage between cultures and helped to close the cultural gap. “We look forward to living in dignity and security and protecting our families and Muslims,” he said.
Al-Othaimeen said more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world lived in peace and reflected moderate Muslim ideologies.
Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais, general president for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said cultural communication between nations was important, especially between the US and the Muslim world, and essential to Islamic civilization. Confronting terrorism was one of the main objectives of cultural communication, he said.
MWL: Extremism has little foothold in Muslim world
https://arab.news/mqsya
MWL: Extremism has little foothold in Muslim world
Saudi wildlife center records rare sighting of critically endangered leatherback turtle in Red Sea
- NCW says the leatherback traveled thousands of kilometers to reach the Red Sea
- The closest known nesting grounds are located in India’s Andaman Islands, some 6,500 km distant
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's National Center for Wildlife (NCW) has documented a rare sighting of a leatherback sea turtle in the Red Sea, marking a significant biological record for one of the planet's most critically endangered marine species.
The sighting occurred approximately 30 kilometers off the coast of Al-Qunfudhah within the Blue Holes Protected Area, a newly established marine reserve, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The NCW confirmed that the presence of a leatherback in these waters is an exceptional event. Recognized as the largest turtle species on Earth, the leatherback can weigh up to 900 kilograms. It is easily identified by its unique leathery, black carapace—distinguished by five longitudinal ridges rather than a hard bony shell—and its ability to dive to depths exceeding 1,000 meters.
Noting the species' migratory nature, the center explained that leatherbacks travel thousands of kilometers foraging for jellyfish. The specimen likely navigated through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in search of food.
This is considered a remarkable journey, the NCW said, noting that the nearest known populations reside in the Indian Ocean, spanning waters from South Africa to Sri Lanka (roughly 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers away). The closest known nesting grounds are located in India’s Andaman Islands, approximately 6,500 kilometers distant. No nesting activity has been recorded in the Red Sea.
According to the IUCN Red List, the leatherback is Critically Endangered in the Indian Ocean. While data for the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf is scarce, recent isolated sightings include a juvenile recorded in Jordan in December 2025 and another off Djibouti in 2019.
The NCW emphasized that these rare appearances highlight the ecological importance of the Kingdom's marine conservation efforts in the Red Sea. The center pointed to the Farasan Islands Marine Protected Area, along with the new Blue Holes and Ras Hatiba reserves, as critical sanctuaries that could support the potential expansion of such endangered species' ranges.
