JEDDAH, 25 May — Twenty-first century will see the dominance of Allah’s “Deen” and the destruction of the forces of evil and disbelief, the death of systems of injustice and oppression. The Muslim Ummah will rise again as a dignified nation and give a befitting reply to all conspiracies and machinations against Muslims.
These were the views expressed by a galaxy of speakers at a seminar on “Islam in 21st century” organized by the NRI Mill Forum here on Wednesday. In his presidential address Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, outgoing vice president of the Shoura Council, said, “This century could be the century of Islam provided we take up constructive work for the uplift of the community.” He referred to an international conference held in Makkah in 1975 where Muslim leaders of the world gathered to chalk out the future course of action for the Muslims. “Within a couple of days, Jews reviewed the Makkah declaration and forged their own strategy to act in case Muslims followed the declarations. But till date no action has been taken on those declarations.” He emphasized that “this is high time to take some corrective measures and to capitalize on the opportunities available for Islam and the Muslims.”
Khaled Al-Maeena, editor in chief of Arab News, in his address said that “the future of Islam in the 21st century is very bright. The field is wide open for us to propagate the virtues of this natural religion in the West.” He emphasized the importance of education in bringing about a change in the people’s perspective of Islam. Al-Maeena said “education is the key for our survival and prosperity.” “The thrust should be on educating ourselves to be tolerant, clean and morally elevated to become a role model for the non-believers to follow the path of Islam,” he said.
Al-Maeena further said, “Islam is not about criticizing others, rather it teaches openness of thoughts and knowledge. To spread the message of Islam and to make us prosperous and outstanding in every aspect of life “we must combine Islamic teachings and values with the principles of science and technology... If we succeed in our endeavor, we will win over the world in this century.” He called the marriage between Islamic teachings and scientific knowledge a perfect one.
Al-Maeena also highlighted the importance of women in our society and appealed to give them a better education and a place in society which in turn will make our society healthy and vibrant.
A renowned Islamic scholar, Dr. Omar Chabra, said the West is breaking due to various social problems and Muslims should learn a lesson from them to protect their society. He said strong faith in the religion and dedicated actions in all walks of life could bring the whole world to the Islamic fold. Chabra said “a good Muslim is not the one who only prays five times a day, but the one who in addition to the prayer is honest at his workplace, good in his behavior and respects others.”
A self-reverted Muslim from the United States, Abdul Malik Rasheed, stressed the need for “dawa” among the non-believers, particularly in the West. He said “Islam is spreading steadily in the US which has a strong 15 million Muslims at present.” He also highlighted the various aspects of the American society and said that since Americans study a lot, they are reading our Holy Qur’an and Hadith and are reverting to Islam. He cited examples of a few professors of science who embraced Islam after reading about many scientific facts in the Holy Qur’an, which have been discovered only recently.
“Islam becomes an obvious choice for all those who study it,” Rasheed said. He called for combining scientific knowledge and Islamic virtues for the betterment of the mankind.
Another speaker, Dr. Fareed Ismail Al-Tuny, also spoke about the need for “dawa “ to dispel wrong notions spread by the West about Islam.
The acting secretary-general of the All-India Milli Forum dealt with the problems associated with the globalization and said there are 1.3 billion people below poverty line out of which 70 percent are Muslims. He favored a balanced growth in all sectors. He referred to the advancement in the information technology as an opportunity to take the Message to every corner of the world and said that the world will get solace only in Islam from its present state of unrest.
Earlier, the seminar started with the recitation of the Holy Qur’an by Khalid Abdul Majeed. Milli Forum report was presented by Ali Parker.
President of the forum Muhammad Abdul Majeed conducted the proceedings and thanked one and all for making the event a memorable one.
