To this end, the First Meeting of the Heads of Institutions in Charge of Religious Affairs of the OTS Member States was held in Istanbul on 15 April 2022. In their interventions, participants emphasized the importance of preserving Turkic-Islamic values and transforming them into tangible cooperation among religious institutions, while standing united against Islamophobia and radicalism.

This was followed by the Second Meeting of the Heads of Institutions in Charge of Religious Affairs of the OTS, along with the International Scientific-Practical Conference on “Contribution of the Turkic People to the Development of Islamic Civilization”, convened on 6 May 2022 in Turkistan with the participation of the highest religious authorities of the Turkic States. At the meeting, it was underlined that the International Scientific-Practical Conference is not limited to the Turkic Muslim world alone, but also addresses issues of the global agenda, in particular, countering Islamophobia, xenophobia, extremism, and radicalism.

Furthermore, the OTS Secretary General participated in the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held on 14-15 September 2022 in Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan. The Congress adopted the Declaration of the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which covers key issues of the global interreligious dialogue agenda and may serve as a guiding document for governments, political leaders, and international organizations worldwide. On the margins of the Congress, the Secretary General convened a meeting of Muslim religious leaders of the OTS and held bilateral meetings with a number of world and traditional religious leaders.

The Third Meeting of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS took place in Baku and Shusha on 19-20 October 2022. During the visit to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and to Shusha, the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World for 2023, OTS Muslim leaders signed the Regulation Establishing the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the OTS, marking a significant step towards enhancing cooperation in religious affairs among Turkic States. They also adopted the Joint Statement of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS, thereby committing to improving religious affairs among the Turkic States, developing concrete projects, and strengthening ties between the relevant structures, including through the establishment of joint scientific and religious centers.

The Fourth Meeting of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS was held in Tashkent on 24-25 November 2023. As concrete outcomes of the meeting, the Parties agreed to release the document on “Islam’s Attitude on Extremism”, to establish a Fatwa Committee, to conduct scientific research on religious issues, to organize exchange programs among religious education institutions, and to convene a joint forum reflecting the values of the Turkic-Islamic civilization.

The Fifth Meeting of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS was held in Astana on 3 October 2024. At the meeting, the Council adopted the resolution on “Islam Harnesses from the Traditions of Local People” and endorsed the Guidelines of the Fatwa Committee, which determine the working principles of the Committee.

Since then, the Fatwa Committee of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS convened twice in 2025: in Istanbul on 24–25 February and in Ankara on 21-25 July. During these sessions, each Member State presented its methodology and criteria for moon sighting (Ru’yetul Hilal), after which the Committee reached agreement on a set of common criteria for the unified determination of lunar months across the Turkic States.

In addition, the meetings addressed a wide range of pressing jurisprudential matters. These included the determination of prayer times in high-latitude regions and the corresponding legal adaptations required in such geographies; the zakat thresholds for gold and silver, with a particular focus on divergences in market values and their implications for nisab; and the obligation of ushr (agricultural tithe) on various categories of produce. The Committee also deliberated on the legal definitions and parameters of travel (safar) and residence, drawing distinctions between temporary and permanent abodes in relation to the performance of religious duties.

Furthermore, contemporary issues were taken into consideration, such as the status of gelatin and its permissibility in light of the doctrine of istihala (transformation of substance). The Committee emphasized the need for further joint scientific and scholarly studies on these subjects and agreed to prepare guidelines and reference documents to harmonize practices among the Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS Member States.

These deliberations laid an important foundation for the systematic development of shared religious positions among the Turkic States and are expected to feed into the agenda of the upcoming Sixth Meeting of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Boards of the OTS, scheduled to take place on 10-11 September 2025 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.