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Conflict in Syria

Outcome of war in Syria to shape world in 21st century says Russia's chief mufti

Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin compared the current situation to the situation in the beginning of the twentieth century

Local residents in the Syrian capital, Damascus Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Local residents in the Syrian capital, Damascus

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

LONDON, December 15. /TASS/. The outcome of the civil war in Syria will be a determining factor in the organization of the whole international system in the 21st century, Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin said on Tuesday opening the 11th Muslim International Forum titled "Religion, Identity and Politics in a World of Changing Values" in the British capital.

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"The outcome of the Syrian war - the final and bloodiest episode of the Arab war - will be of decisive influence in devising new approaches to and principles of organizing the state system and world order in the 21st century," Gainutdin said.

He compared the current situation to the beginning of the past century when "World War I sucked into its vortex many empires of the world."

"Today, the battlefield has moved to the Middle East. World powers are involved in the ongoing political and military processes. The current impact of the Middle East drama is felt on the entire Eurasian continent in the form of the monstrous acts of terrorism, the migrant crisis and other complex socio-political phenomena," the chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis said.

The participants in the two-day forum, which brings together the leaders of the Muslim communities and muftis from nearly 20 countries, will discuss a wide range of challenges currently facing Muslims across the globe - from youth radicalization and terrorist threat to the lack of imams in mosques and difficulties with preserving the cultural identity. The forum is held outside Russia for the first time.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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