Islamic ministers, scholars and clerics from 35 countries around the world signed on Sunday a document renouncing extremism and racial prejudice during an international gathering hosted by Egypt.

The document, titled the Egyptian Letter to Renounce Violence, "renounces all forms of radicalism and terrorism" and "promotes peaceful coexistence."

The document will be passed to the foreign ministry, which will then present it to the world as "a message of peace from the Islamic world,"  Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa told the gathering Sunday.

The conference, whose 26th edition concluded Sunday, was held by Egypt's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, a body belonging to the endowments ministry and tasked with developing the practice of Islam and providing resources on Muslim belief and history.

The international meeting brought together ministers, academics, scholars and clerics from 35 countries around the globe and was aimed at enhancing coordination between Islamic bodies in the Arab and Islamic world as well as bolstering the role of Islamic institutions on major issues and promoting moderate Islam.

In his address during the summit's closing session, Gomaa said the conference has warned against the "political exploitation of religion" as one of the major tools of extremism.

Gomaa urged attention to translation of Islamic texts and publishing "to address the world in its own languages."

The conference's closing statement called for an international resolution criminalizing sectarian assaults against Muslims and Muslim minorities as well as better utilization of electronic communication technologies to counter extremists and the radical thoughts they promote thorough such platforms.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/