Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Saudi King Abdullah: Islam is a religion of ‘love and responsibility.’ By Sarah Sfeir

Alarabiya.net English

King Abdullah told participants at a Jeddah conference that they were responsible for the doctrine of true Islam. (File Photo)
King Abdullah told participants at a Jeddah conference that they were responsible for the doctrine of true Islam. (File Photo)
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that Islam is a religion of “love and responsibility,” said divisions within the faith needed to be healed and that Islamic scholars should step up their role in promoting the relevance of Islam’s values in a world beset by conflict.

Speaking at a major conference in Jeddah, King Abdullah urged participating scholars: “I welcome you, ask you and urge you to follow your Islamic doctrine. If you, sons of Islam, did not defend your Islamic doctrine, who would do it? You are the cornerstone, you are the role models. Be ready and let your Lord be above all.”

The king continued: “You are responsible for the doctrine of true Islam, the doctrine of love, the doctrine of loyalty, the doctrine of faith and Islam... This is Islam, and you as sons of Islam, you all bear this responsibility.”

“It hurts the feelings of all Muslims when they see their brethren themselves causing harm to Islam,” King Abdullah told the three-day conference, which was organized by the Muslim World League in Jeddah and Mecca.

“There is a group among Muslims which is destroying the Muslim world by discrimination and matters that have nothing to do with the Islamic Aqeedah,” the monarch said. Aqeedah is the term for Islamic creed,

“While it causes pain to us, it provides an opportunity to the enemies of Islam to gloat over the unfortunate trend,” the king said. Over 400 to 500 people embrace Islam every month despite the destruction taking place in the Muslim world, regrettably due to our own sons. Therefore, you should reject them and abide by the correct Islamic Aqeedah, the creed of love, sincerity, loyalty and belief.”

The conference focused on “problems and solutions” in the Islamic world. It attracted participants from scores of countries, many of them secular but with Muslim minorities. The event was led by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh and Secretary General of the Muslim World League Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Turki.

Participants discussed ways to “heal” the divisions in the Muslim community according to the Quran and Sunnah.

The king told them: “My brothers, I am a member of my world, our Islamic world, but you, the leaders of the Islamic world should bear the responsibilities. Please keep God’s Takwah above all, and the Islamic faith is your aim and goal.”

The king, who is also the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques concluded his speech by saying: “I wish you luck and success, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ready for all that is needed in the service of Islam and Muslims.”

The King asked the Muslim World League secretary general to make the meeting an annual occasion.

A communiqué at the end of the conference in Mecca, which was read out by Dr. Abdur Rahman Abdu Zaid, Assistant Secretary General of the MWL, in general reaffirmed on the importance of inculcating the values of Islam into young generations and securing means that assist them to understand its objectives.

The communiqué warned people against disunity and its subsequent elements such as sectarian calls, narrow party tendencies that break down ranks of Muslims and negatively impact their formidable unity.

The participants urged the scholars and political leaders of the Ummah to cooperate fully among themselves in addressing the problems with Islamic viewpoints.

Security and stability of Muslim communities will be a priority, the communiqué said, to confirm the inviolability of people’s lives, dignity and property according to Islamic Sharia that safeguards the achievement of security through the establishment of justice as well as combat of injustice and corruption.

The conference, the communiqué said, reviewed the complications of problems in certain Muslim countries, which led to “bloodshed, exodus of population, insecurity, and destruction of property,” and stressed the importance of cooperation and unity among all sections of society to stop needless bloodshed.

Furthermore, the conference called upon the Muslim countries, Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and other international institutions to take every possible step to prevent these acts of seditions, which entailed killings, tortures and forced migration.

Organizers of the conference said they “thoroughly reviewed” the newly emerging situations in the Muslim world and that an understanding emerged that there was a “huge gap in relations between the rulers and the scholars and the peoples in some of the affected countries.” The participants underlined the importance of a united stand for reform.

The conference participants said they considered it significant for Muslim countries to adopt the same formula of dialogue as means for surmounting disagreements and a way for finding effective solutions to the challenges confronting the Ummah.

Addressing the media later, Dr. Al-Turki said the conference was “a wakeup call for the Muslim countries to get their houses in order and take into consideration the unabated unrest due mainly to unemployment and bad economy.”

“People too have their responsibility toward their rulers,” Dr. Al-Turki said and cautioned them “not to fall prey to acts of sedition.”

He said that the conference was not coming to an end but was a beginning as “we will hold this conference on annual basis and all of you will remain members in the effort to bring succor to Muslim Ummah including its peoples and leaders in bringing their countries back to normal.”

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