RAQQA, Syria — Since the city of Raqqa was freed from the Islamic State (IS) in October 2017, the Religious Affairs Foundation in Raqqa held its first Islamic forum in the city. The conference — titled, "The eternal message of Islam: concepts and challenges" — attracted 140 representatives of religious institutions from the various northern and eastern parts of Syria, members of the Raqqa Civil Council, Raqqa tribal elders, representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces and officials at the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava).

On the first day of the event, on Feb. 1, Sheikh Anas al-Hamad, a member of the Religious Affairs Foundation, said that the forum’s goal is to rectify the religious path of Islam that IS in Raqqa misinterpreted, to counter IS extremist ideas that mushroomed among some of the youth segments that were influenced by IS ideology, to turn the mosques into places to disseminate peace and charity, and grant the rights that IS denied to women and advance their status.

Commenting on the forum’s axes, Sheikh Hassan Ziad, also a member of the foundation, told Al-Monitor, “Our discussions focused, among other things, on the role of religious scholars in spreading the true [teaching] of Islam and shedding light on [the Islamic teachings] that IS misinterpreted, especially when it comes to demonstrating respect for the rights of other religious communities in the region.”

He added, “IS perceived [these communities] as infidel, executed Raqqa’s Christians, and captivated and enslaved Christian women. The forum called to renounce violence and grant women their rights in accordance with Sharia.”