Displaying items by tag: unity

MAKKAH, Saudi ArabiaAug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Muslim World League convened the "Forum of Iraqi References" today with eighty prominent Iraqi Sunni and Shiite religious leaders and scholars to promote unity and reconciliation around the threads that connect all Muslims, regardless of their sect, nationality, or ethnicity.

Gathered in the Holy City of Makkah, home of the Qibla, the MWL led a full-day conference, where participants developed a framework on the roles of scholars in combatting sectarianism and religious extremism, promoting intra-faith coexistence, and providing support to Iraqi government efforts to achieve a lasting peace.

MWL Secretary General His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa spearheaded the effort, which included:

  • His Eminence Hassan Ibrahim AbulQasem Al Khoei, Professor in the House of Knowledge
  • His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al-Taha, Senior Scholar of the Iraqi Fiqh Academy and Imam and Preacher of the Hanafi School
  • Zaid Muhammed Abboud Bahr Al Uloom, Professor at the Hawzah in Najaf
  • Saleh Mahdi Baqer Al Hakim, Office Director of Marja Muhammed Saeed
  • His Excellency Dr. Saad Hamid Kambash, Head of the Sunni Endowment Office
  • His Eminence Sayyid Mohammad Ali Mohammad Ali Bahr Al-Uloom, Supervisor of the Teachers Institute for Graduate Studies, spokesperson for the Shiite References
  • His Excellency Dr. Haider Hassan Jalil Al-Shammari, Head of the Shiite Endowment Office
  • His Excellency Dr. Pashtun Sadiq Abdullah, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

Beyond these senior leaders, the depth of support from both sides demonstrated the unwavering commitment to fostering real change in local communities throughout Iraq.

"Today's event represented the true principles of Islam," said Dr. Al-Issa. "Islam teaches us to always strive for peace and reconciliation. It instructs us to embrace diversity and respect each other's differences. It tells us to live in coexistence and harmony with all. And it directs us to build bridges of cooperation and understanding. The Muslim leaders and scholars gathered in the Holy City of Makkah demonstrated their commitment to promoting these values."

The leaders agreed to establish a new coordination committee which will serve as a direct platform for resolving disagreements within Iraq where Islamic leaders can foster unity and address any disputes before they escalate.

Consensus also emerged to plan and create a new high-level permanent commission for cooperation on Iraqi Islamic affairs that will focus on outreach domestically and outside Iraq throughout the Ummah and between other faiths. The commission will be led by a rotating Presidency, with a Secretary General providing oversight to follow through on the ideas set by the esteemed scholars.

The regular communication between these clerics will serve to counteract those that would seek to twist the peaceful message of the Qu'ran to inspire hatred and political violence, and ensure the necessary infrastructure exists for consistent messaging of the true tenets of Islam.

The senior religious leaders will continue to focus on teaching the Prophet's true message and aim to ease sectarian tensions in Iraq across their diverse followings.

SOURCE Muslim World League

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muslim-world-league-convenes-sunni-and-shiite-leaders-from-iraq-in-makkah-to-bridge-the-divide-301348723.html

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Thursday, 03 June 2021 14:09

National Cohesion - The Missing Vaccine

When a nation is facing a severe crisis it is crucial for the elites to demonstrate that they are capable of upholding the highest moral standards. The decision by Federal Ministers and deputy Ministers to forego their salaries for 3 months is an example of a moral principle which will impact upon the nation. It is significant that the civil service has chosen to emulate the government elites. One hopes that state governments will also follow suit. The savings from all these should be channelled to the National Disaster Relief Trust Fund for Covid 19 related expenditures.

Private sector elites should also freeze their salaries for a 3 month period and channel them to the same fund. They should show that they are also capable of rising to the occasion especially when we know that some private entities have done rather well in spite of the pandemic and the economic slowdown. This will be the time for both the private and public sectors to work together for a larger cause.

The government should also seize the moment to do a comprehensive review of all aspects of public sector expenditure with the aim of creating a trimmer, more dynamic service. Recurring leakages recorded in the reports of the Auditor-General over the decades could serve as guidelines in this exercise. In this regard, Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) should also become more professional and more efficient.

As part of this endeavour to rationalise public expenditure, the government should ensure that the self-employed, and those who operate micro and mini businesses are given priority. They, rather than the regular wage-earners, are in desperate straits and need a helping hand. It is the duty of the government to reach out to them

Finally, now more than ever, all of us should work together to accelerate Malaysia’s recovery. We should forge stronger links transcending our political and ethnic divisions. An overwhelming sense of common purpose should bind us together. The people’s well-being --- and not individual ambitions --- should take precedence over everything else.

To achieve such a goal at a time like this, I had proposed in an interview with a regional newspaper just two weeks ago, a National Unity Government which would bring together the government, the opposition and independent individuals connected to the health sector. It would set the right tone for national cohesion ----- the missing vaccine.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar.
Kuala Lumpur.
1st June 2021.

 
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Thursday, 03 January 2013 14:30

Law of the jungle governs us now

I DON'T know whether it has been reported in Malaysian papers but the Israelis bombed an arms factory in Khartoum two weeks ago. This outrageous act is an example of Israeli disregard of international laws.There is no war declared between Sudan and Israel. But that does not prevent Israel from bombing Sudan. As with the bombings of the Egyptian airbase, Iraqi nuclear facilities, again without war being declared, Israel feels entitled to bomb other countries in the pursuit of its own security........... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

 

Thursday, 06 December 2012 10:02

Iron Empires, Iron Fists, Iron Domes

I WENT to a synagogue on Saturday not far from the Syrian border in Antakya, Turkey.  Antakya is home to a tiny Jewish community. It is also famous for its mosaic of mosques and Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian and Protestant churches. On Friday, just across the Orontes River in Syria, I had visited with Sunni Free Syrian Army rebels embroiled in a civil war in which Syrian Alawites and Sunnis are killing each other, Kurds are creating their own enclave, Christians are hiding and the Jews are long gone.......... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

 

Friday, 01 June 2012 09:55

Use people power to outlaw war, too

FOR the past few years, the Perdana Global Peace Foundation has been trying to convince people that war is a crime; that war should be criminalised. If one thinks deeply enough, one must conclude that war is indeed a crime. We all, the whole human race, regard the killing of a person by another as a crime; a crime so serious as to warrant the stiffest punishment, including the death penalty.......... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

 

Wednesday, 02 May 2012 11:39

Afghan peace talks hit brick wall

IN recent months, Kabul, Washington and the Taliban have made overtures to work out a negotiated settlement for Afghanistan and plan the impending exit of foreign troops from the country. Yet those gestures have not been followed through and the prospects are not getting any better -- as the spate of recent violent episodes and perverse behaviour of some American soldiers over the war dead have shown......... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

 

Given the fact that the basic principles of international law, which today is generally accepted to govern relations between states within the international community, originate from the traditions of “just war” It would be appropriate to see to what extent the basic doctrines of major religions,particularly Christianity and Islam, accord with the principles upon which the “just war” tradition is based. More specifi cally, it seems to be appropriate to see to what extent these general principles are intrinsic to both traditions, even if it has been Christianity that has most overtly been involved in their evolution. Of course, this assumes that the principles of international law are acceptable to both religious traditions and thus to the states that have evolved within the cultural domains in which they have emerged.)........ Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

Often, but loosely, referred to as a “religion”, Islam may more accurately be depicted as a religiously based way of life, or Din—the Arabic term by which it is described in the Qur’an. This Quranically sanctioned way of describing Islam has the two important merits of, firstly, avoiding the dangers of misunderstanding which can easily arise from using the term “religion” with all the socio-cultural nuances and associations derived from the historical (mainly Christian) heritage and experience of the West in the context of which the term was primarily honed. Secondly and more importantly, it captures the essential characteristic of Islam as a comprehensive system of values and principles which encompasses the entire range of human experience—personal and social, economic and political, artistic and intellectual, creative or otherwise. All of these are sustained in Islam, by faith and endowed with religious meaning and ethical significance.......... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

 

Wednesday, 14 September 2011 10:57

Peace & Security: Islamic Perspectives

IAIS Malaysia & Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) will convene a One-Day Forum highlighting Islamic teachings on Peace & Security from Islamic perspectives. Seven speakers offer presentations addressing theoretical and pragmatic issues on how Islam conceives of peaceful relations within society, and harmonious relations between nations.

 

Venue: IDFR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jalan Wisma Putra, 50460 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 

Date: 4rth October 2011 (Tuesday)

 

Time: 09:00am - 04:30pm

 

Read more from the event link here >> Peace & Security Forum,  Tuesday 4th October 2011

 

Wednesday, 18 May 2011 14:07

Palestine's Hidden History of Nonviolence

Last weekend, as tens of thousands of unarmed refugees marched toward Israel from all sides in a symbolic effort to reclaim their right of return, the world suddenly discovered the power of Palestinian nonviolence. Much like the "Freedom Flotilla," when nine activists were killed during an act of nonviolent international disobedience almost a year ago, the deaths of unarmed protesters at the hands of Israeli soldiers drew the world's attention to Palestine and the refugee issue............ Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

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