During the opening session of the 6th African Conference for the Promotion of Peace in Nouakchott, Moroccan Minister of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, delivered a poignant appeal for Muslims to restore the ethic of peace as a “living model” of faith.
Speaking under the theme “Africa and the Building of Hope,” Toufiq argued that true peace is not merely a verbal commitment but a practical necessity for the collective good of the global community. He emphasized that the primary obstacle to global stability is unregulated human nature, specifically identifying selfishness as the epicenter of all conflicts.
Toufiq elaborated on a psychological and spiritual analysis of war, stating that internal selfishness fuels friction at every level of society, from personal inner turmoil to international combat. To combat this, he urged a “liberation from desires through monotheism,” suggesting that the reform of the individual is the essential precursor to the reform of the state. He specifically called on scholars and educators to modernize their religious discourse by bridging traditional concepts with contemporary language—rebranding “avarice” as selfishness and “freedom” as the liberation of the soul from its own impulses rather than just a social right.
A significant portion of the minister’s address was dedicated to the intellectual defense of Islam against extremism. He referenced the 2007 landmark seminar by Moroccan scholars, which systematically refuted 11 specific claims used to justify terrorism, proving they lacked any foundation in Sharia or the Sunna. Toufiq highlighted the Moroccan project “Tasid al-Tabligh” (Strengthening the Transmission of the Message) as a primary example of how faith and good deeds can be structured to build a social model based on a “good life” and complete peace.
The conference, which concludes on February 12, serves as a high-level platform for hundreds of academics, policymakers, and religious leaders to draft concrete initiatives for Africa’s future. The organizers underscored that the goal is to provide African youth with a vision of hope built on science, work, and stability, offering a robust alternative to the tragedies often associated with irregular migration and extremist ideologies.
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