[click here for original Turkish]

Sheikh Kabbani, who meets with President Bush often, promised Prime Minister Erdogan for his support for the Turkish candidate's leadership in IDO.

ASLI AYDINTABASH/WASHINGTON

Prime Minister Erdogan, who stressed in his visit to USA that Turkey is a country where civilizations meet, after his meeting with the Orthodox Church and Jewish Lobby in New York, hemet with the leaders of the Muslim World. Sheikh Kabbani , who is known as a reformist, led the meeting which was held at the request of Erdogan.

Sheikh Kabbani, who is of Lebanese origin , has been invited to the White House occasionally by President Bush after 911, and supports a much more reformist line ithan a conservate one.

America's ambassador to Ankara Eric Edilman also participated in the meeting which American Muslim leaders expressed that Turkey could be a role model for the Islamic World. He pointed out that Turkey can play an important role for increasing the dialogue between the Muslim countries. In addition to this they stressed their oppsition about Islam's identification with terrorism. They supported the idea that Turkish Candidate Ekmelettin Ihsanoglu's candidacy for leading the Islamic Organization Conference which is held in Malaysia.

 

Who is Kabbani?
 

Sheikh Kabbani who met with Erdogan is the president of Islamic Supreme Council of America. He is the right-hand man of Sheikh Nazim in America and his son-in-law .

He studied medicine in American University in Beirut, and finished his master degree in Belgium.L ater He went to Damascus to study Islamic Law. He was introduced to the Nakshibendi Tariqat by Sheikh Abdullah Dagistani and Sheikh Nazim who taught him about Sufism. He has visitied the Middle  East, the Far East, and Europe because of Sheikh Kibrisi's order to teach Sufism. In 1991 he came to USA and established the  Nakshibendi Sufi Foundation. He worked hard and was successful in and raising the numbers of his foundations to 30 in a short time in USA and Canada.

Kabbani has established conferences and presented talks and papers in well known universities, religious establishments, and foundations. He is able to enter to many high places that not anyone can be admitted with his jubba , turban and long beard.