Saturday, September 27, 2008

OIC Secretary-General Gives Eid Al Fitr Message

The Message of the OIC Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on the occasion of the End of holy month of Ramadan and auspicious event of advent of Eid Al Fitr.

In these blessed days, the Muslim world is living through the last week of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer, and preparing itself to celebrate Eid Al Fitr, which is an occasion of joy and a time to give thanks to God Almighty who helped us fast and worship him.

In these holy days, I wish to express to the Muslim Ummah my sincere congratulations on the occasion of the Eid Al Fitr, praying to God that the coming month will bring us good tidings for a better future, progress and prosperity and usher in a new era when all difficulties and conflicts will come to an end through dialogue and peaceful means.

I also pray to God Almighty to grant us his guidance to reunite our ranks, strengthen our solidarity towards a prosperous and peaceful world, and enable us to safeguard the tenets of our faith from harm and evil.

The month of Ramadan is the month of peace, serenity and security, a month when Muslims particularly make sure to refrain from all forms of wrong-doing as ordained by the tenets and teachings of Islam.

Unfortunately in this holy month, heinous crimes were committed against innocents, leading to the loss of scores of human lives who were brutally murdered in a number of barbaric attacks including those in Islamabad and Sanaa, causing extensive damage and violating the serenity of the holy month and sanctity of human life.

Those two condemned senseless incidents, like previous terrorist attacks in various parts of the Muslim World, have been a source of tremendous amount of pain, grief, and distress. On this occasion our thoughts and prayers go to the departed souls, the wounded ones, the grieving families.

The sanctity of human life is strongly stressed in Islam. Any violation of this assertion should be vehemently condemned. Committing these atrocious sins particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, should make our rejection and condemnation even stronger and more determined.

In light of these tragic events, we would like to reiterate the steady position of the OIC, in condemning terrorism in all its manifestations, including hideous and misguided suicide attacks, irrespective of their motivations or justifications.

OIC Summits and Ministerial Conferences condemned terrorism in the strongest possible terms. No effort should be spared to bring the perpetrators of these barbaric attacks to face justice. On this occasion we reaffirm and reiterate our unyielding determination to combat this scourge by all means in cooperation with the international community.

We call upon the Muslims, the world over, to unite their stand on this issue and help to put an end to this phenomenon which distorts the image of Islam as a religion of peace, compassion and tolerance.

May we all live in a peaceful, just, tolerant and prosperous world where sanctity of human live is respected and dignity and inalienable rights of human being are upheld.

No comments: