UNIW Delegation Attends Dinner Hosted in Their Honour by Malaysia’s Minister of Religious Affairs

The Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) held a four-day programme in Malaysia from 24 to 27 September 2026 as part of its 40th Council Meeting, hosted by its member organisation WADAH Pencerdasan Umat Malaysia. On the first day of the programme, the UNIW delegation attended a dinner hosted in their honour by Senator Dr. Zulkifli Hasan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) of Malaysia.

The dinner, held on 24 September 2026, brought together UNIW Council members, representatives of civil society organisations from various countries and invited guests. Nevzat Uyanık, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Kuala Lumpur, and Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Chairman of the Palestine Support Platform, were also among the attendees.

During the programme, UNIW Secretary General Eyüp Akbal, WADAH President Dato’ Ahmad Azam bin Ab Rahman, Senator Dr. Zulkifli Hasan, Prof. Dr. Halis Yunus Ersöz, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye, and Serkan Bayram, Istanbul Member of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in the 28th Legislative Term, addressed the participants.

UNIW Secretary General Eyüp Akbal thanked Senator Dr. Zulkifli Hasan, the Government of Malaysia and host organisation WADAH for the dinner held in honour of the UNIW delegation and for their warm hospitality. Akbal noted that UNIW represents a broad international civil society network comprising more than 400 member organisations from 66 countries, and described Malaysia as an important partner in the fields of civil diplomacy, education, family affairs and humanitarian development.

Referring to humanitarian crises in Gaza and Palestine, as well as Syria, Sudan and Arakan, Akbal stressed the importance of strengthening unity, solidarity and concrete cooperation among civil society organisations. He also highlighted UNIW’s cooperation with WADAH and expressed his hope that the Malaysia programme would contribute to strengthening relations among civil society organisations across the Islamic world.

Speaking on behalf of the host organisation, WADAH President Dato’ Ahmad Azam bin Ab Rahman spoke about Malaysia’s Islamic civil society tradition and the relationship between PKPIM, ABIM and WADAH. He highlighted the continuity across generations, beginning with PKPIM, founded as a student movement in 1961, followed by ABIM in 1971 and later WADAH. Today, the three organisations continue to work together within the WADAH–ABIM–PKPIM (WAP) framework.

Ahmad Azam also expressed his pleasure at welcoming the UNIW delegation to Malaysia and voiced his hope that relations between the organisations and international civil society cooperation would continue to grow stronger.

In his address, Senator Dr. Zulkifli Hasan expressed his pleasure at welcoming the UNIW delegation to Malaysia. He referred to major global challenges including wars, humanitarian crises, poverty, inequality, climate change, technological transformation and Islamophobia, noting that the role of Islamic NGOs now extends beyond conventional charitable activities.

Hasan highlighted the important responsibilities undertaken by civil society organisations in areas such as education, healthcare, humanitarian relief, environmental protection, family and youth development, and inter-community dialogue. He stressed that today’s challenges cannot be addressed by any single country, government or organisation alone and underlined the need to strengthen cooperation, knowledge-sharing and social solidarity. He expressed his hope that the 40th Council Meeting would pave the way for concrete strategies and sustainable joint initiatives.

Prof. Dr. Halis Yunus Ersöz, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye, thanked the organisers for the invitation and expressed his pleasure at participating in the UNIW programme in Malaysia. Referring to his previous participation in a UNIW programme in Bangladesh, Ersöz spoke about the Union’s international activities and highlighted the importance of Türkiye–Malaysia relations and cooperation in the field of civil society.

Serkan Bayram, Istanbul MP in the 28th Legislative Term, also thanked the organisers for the invitation. He spoke about his book “Buğday Tanesi” (A Grain of Wheat), which tells his life story, as well as the film adaptation of the same name. Bayram also referred to the attention the production has received on various platforms and the awards it has won.

Following the dinner, UNIW’s Malaysia programme continued with the 40th Council Meeting held on 25 September 2026, along with a series of institutional meetings and engagements.