Concluding statement of the International panel on Mary announced


Date posted: December 8, 2013

The international panel, titled “Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an,” which was jointly held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADİP), the Tevere Institute and İzmir Intercultural Dialogue Center (İZDİM), was concluded with a statement.

Chaired by Professor Ömer Faruk Harman, the Concluding Statement Committee consisted of Professor Catherine Joseph Droste, Associate Professor Mustafa Alıcı, Associate Professor İsmail Taşpınar and Kadriye Erdemli.

The concluding statement of International Panel on Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an

The concluding statement of the International Panel on Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an, which sought to bring Christians and Muslims together to discuss Mary and help people understand the place and significance of Mary in holy books, is as follows:

1- Mary was the most distinguished, innocent, pristine, and chaste of all women and she attained God’s favor and benevolence before she died. As such, he represents a significant role model for Christians and Muslims to develop a mutual understanding and foster coexistence.

2- Having destroyed many exclusionary taboos of her time, Mary played an effective role in the empowerment of women.

3- We have much to inspire from Mary as an epitome of patience, humility, submission, devotion and belief for treating spiritual crises and diseases that haunt humanity in general and women in particular.

4- It is quite natural that both Christian and Islamic sources have a good level convergence as well as divergence about Mary. However, it is clear that it would be more advisable to focus on common grounds rather than differences and accept everyone as they are.

5- Given the fact that it is a must to have a thorough understanding of Mary, an epoch-making woman, both from a socio-cultural and theological perspective, it is recommended that the panel on “Mary in the Holy Scripture and Qur’an” should be regularly held with differing themes every year.

Source: Intercultural Dialogue Platform , December 8, 2013

Tags: | | |


Related News

Kimse Yok Mu to stop beggary in Sakarya, Turkey

Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) has recently initiated a project, “a card of hope,” in the city of Sakarya, Turkey. The project aims to stop beggary in the city. Volunteers of KYM would distribute “a card of hope” to every beggar in the city, which would contain information and directions on how to receive aid from local Kimse Yok Mu branch.

Hizmet-affiliated schools removed from private school incentive list

The Hizmet schools were in the original list of those institutions which met all the criteria for eligibility to receive financial incentives to accept these students. Announced on Monday, the schools were listed on the ministry’s website until Thursday afternoon, when they were taken off without any explanation. However, an official written notice sent from the ministry to governorates on Thursday said: “It was not deemed proper to give such incentives to education institutions whose managers are under fiscal investigation and interrogation within the scope of the Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of Laundering of Crime Revenues and those that had received punishments fiscal irregularities after due inspections before,” and asked the governorates do what the notice requires.

Ex-diplomats detained over Gülen links subjected to severe torture, says deputy

Some 20 former employees of the Turkish Foreign Ministry who were among 100 detained last week are being subjected to heavy torture, according to claims raised by a member of the Turkish Parliament.

Erdoğan admits gov’t capitalized on coup attempt to pursue Gülen movement

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a speech in New York on Thursday that a failed coup attempt on July 15 presented him with opportunities that are not available in normal times.

HRW: Prosecutions of alleged followers of Gülen Movement lack of evidence of criminal activity

HRW report: “People continued to be arrested and remanded to pretrial custody on terrorism charges, with at least 50,000 remanded to pretrial detention and many more prosecuted since the failed coup. Those prosecuted include journalists, civil servants, teachers and politicians as well as police officers and military personnel. Most were accused of being followers of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. Their charge often lacked compelling evidence of criminal activity.”

‘Mission impossible’ for Turkey’s ambassadors

Erdogan has placed an extremely heavy burden on Turkey’s ambassadors. The same ambassadors for many years have been under instructions to promote the schools and activities of the Gulen movement as Turkey’s “biggest and most effective lobbying operation” and to support them.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

It is shame not to reopen Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary

‘Nigerians and their leaders won’t fall for Erdogan’s harebrained gambit’

Today’s Zaman praised for quality coverage on 6th anniversary

Inability to generate values

Organization (Kimse Yok Mu?) helped 79 Syrian families

Fresh resignation in Turkey’s ruling AKP over graft scandal

One of his sons is with the PKK, the other is with the Gulen movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News