TEHRAN -- The Global Pen Forum has announced its establishment with a founding statement calling for greater cooperation among writers, poets, translators, researchers and intellectuals across the Muslim world.
The initiative seeks to build an international network capable of bringing together the region’s dispersed literary and intellectual resources, strengthening collaboration and increasing the global cultural impact of Islamic thought and creativity.
Opening with the Qur’anic verse, “By the pen and what they write,” the statement presents the pen as more than an instrument of writing. It describes it as a divine trust through which identity can be preserved, knowledge expanded and a new Islamic civilization advanced.
The founders identify fragmentation, weak communication among literary and intellectual communities, the limited international circulation of influential works and the absence of a coherent narrative of Islamic thought and culture as key challenges. The Forum has been created to address these gaps by turning scattered individual capacities into a more coordinated cultural force.
Its program is organized around five strategic priorities: building a global network of literary and intellectual figures; nurturing the next generation; supporting the production, translation, publication and distribution of significant works; fostering specialized intellectual dialogue and freedom of thought; and expanding the international presence of Islamic and humanistic culture.
Among its proposed activities are creating a database of writers and thinkers, organizing literary and academic gatherings, establishing
 specialist working groups, supporting collaborative projects, developing mentorship and training programs, promoting emerging writers, facilitating translation and publication, and creating opportunities for international cultural exchange.
The forum also intends to strengthen cooperation among authors, publishers, translators, universities, cultural institutions and media organizations, while using contemporary technologies and international networks to bring works to wider audiences.
The founding statement invites writers, poets, translators, researchers, intellectuals and media professionals who share a commitment to the advancement of Islamic culture and the progress of the Muslim world to join the initiative.
At its heart, the Global Pen Forum seeks to transform a dispersed community of literary and intellectual voices into a connected cultural network—one capable of expanding the reach of Islamic thought and contributing to the intellectual and cultural future of the Muslim world.