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uslim scholars from around the world are committing themselves to promote Wasatiyyah Islam, which was said to have been practiced throughout history since the era of Prophet Muhammad until modern times.

The commitment, which was declared on Thursday as the conclusion of a Wasatiyyat Islam conference in Bogor, West Java, was noted in a statement called the Bogor Message, which was agreed to by the about 100 Muslim scholars who attended.

The message reaffirmed “the role and moral responsibility of Muslim scholars to ensure and nurture future generation” to build an Ummatan Wasatan civilization, “a society that is just, prosperous, peaceful, inclusive, harmonious, based on the Islamic tenets and morality”.

As a central Islamic teaching, Wasatiyyah Islam encompasses seven main values, including behaving proportionately, respecting differences and preferring consultation over confrontation.

The conference, which was organized by the office of the presidential special envoy for inter-religious dialogue and partnership and the Foreign Ministry, was attended by Muslim clerics from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Pakistan, as well as Western countries like France, Canada, Italy and the United States.

Din Syamsuddin, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s special envoy for religious harmony, said the ulema had agreed through the Bogor Message to revitalize the paradigm of middle-path Islam.

“It is our historic responsibility,” he said. “There have been practices of it but it has been ignored lately and we have seen a different expression [of Islam] causing chaos. Hopefully this can snowball into the mainstream.”

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said out of 53 Islamic or Muslim-majority countries, almost half faced conflicts in the form of wars and political tensions. “Indonesia, as a country with the biggest Muslim population, is responsible to improve and create peace through Wasatiyyat Islam,” he said in his closing remarks at the Wasatiyyat Islam Conference in the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

In his speech, Kalla said there were two reasons for the conflicts in those countries. “First, of course, invasion and intervention from the major powers, as we can see in Afghanistan with Russia and America, as well as in Iraq and Syria with America and other countries who started and intensified the conflicts,” he said.

However, he said based on his experience “fragile minds” were also the internal causes of bloody conflicts, making it necessary to straighten out some teachings. The terrorist attacks in Europe, he said, were done by children who did not have good religious understanding.

Kalla had helped bring about treaties to end conflicts in the eastern part of the country, including in Poso, Central Sulawesi and Ambon, Maluku. He was also involved in Indonesia’s truce with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

“The younger generation that committed suicide bombing in the name of jihad did not do it for money or [political] position. They want to go to heaven easily,” he said. “In Ambon, I told those young people that they will never go to heaven, but [will go to] hell because Islam forbids killing women and children; even killing a tree is forbidden.”

Jamal Badawi, an Egyptian-born preacher from Canada, said Muslim scholars should offer something acceptable to younger generations. “When we say to young people not to be influenced by those who are inciting violence, we need to offer them something [...] they should do.”

Fazal Ghani Kakar from Afghanistan’s Nahdlatul Ulama said participants had to practice the principles once they were back in their home countries.