Inaugurating a major international Islamic scholars' meet in Makkah, Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal bin Majed urged the Muslim Ummah to consolidate their ranks to counter the potential challenges facing them effectively. More than 300 eminent Islamic scholars and thinkers from various parts of the world are taking part in the first World Forum of its kind to be organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League. Several working papers are being presented at the conference with the theme of "Unity of Muslim Ummah."
Addressing the conference Dr. Abdullah Abdul Muhsin Al Turky, secretary general of MWL, called on Muslims to stand united in facing the challenges in various fields. "It is the religious duty of Muslims to strive for realizing unity and promote mutual understanding and cooperation. It is an essential factor for achieving progress and development," he said while describing disunity as the root cause of the backwardness of Muslims. The MWL chief also underlined the need for enhanced cooperation to remove the causes of dissentions in the Ummah.
Addressing the forum, Sheikh of the Azhar Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi asserted that it is the need of hour to forget the differences and stand united in solving the problems facing the Ummah. "Our Allah is one, our Book is one, our religion is one our, Prophet is one, there is no reason we should not unite," he emphasized. Sheikh Ali Abdu Rahman Al Hashim, consultant to the President of United Arab Emirate for Religious and Judicial Affairs, said Islamic peace, equity and justice, which spread from the seat of Islam, attracted the people all over the world.
"After hundreds of years of the Muslim rule, which recorded unprecedented peace and security among Muslims and non-Muslims, Islam is undergoing a phase of unfounded accusations and challenges. Islam is the religion of peace and calls for unity among all nations," he said. Several prominent figures, including Ahmad Umar Hashim, member of Islamic Research in Egypt, and Dr. Wahba Mustafa Zuhaili, member of the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League, were among the speakers in the first day of the forum on Saturday.
The conference is mainly convened to work out a strategy to implement the proposals and recommendations contained in the Makkah Declaration approved by the extra-ordinary Islamic summit organized by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Makkah in December, 2005. The participating scholars and thinkers will present their views and opinions in this respect.
02 Apr 2006
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