Abdullah renews call for Muslim unity
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday outlined four imperatives, including renewing the spirit of unity among Muslims, for Islamic states to seek a wider and more active role in a globalising world and reclaim the golden legacy of the Islamic era.
The prime minister said Muslims must also start to revive their economic position, invest in education and skills and establish social justices, based on timeless Islamic principles.
He said that for more than a thousand years, Muslim civilisation was the zenith of human achievement with the Muslims as the leading philosophers, scientists, and innovators of their era and as such, they needed to reclaim this golden legacy that had been lost to the ages.
Abdullah said Muslims often forgot that through the spread of the empire, they gave birth to a Muslim wave of globalisation more than a thousand years ago, where Muslim states were shining examples of economic progress, scientific innovation and social justice.
"We cannot remain mere spectators in a world that is rapidly moving ahead. We must commit ourselves to enhancing our competitiveness in order to play a contributing role to the advancement of human civilisation, as was the legacy of Islamic states in the past," he said. Abdullah said this in his address at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia's international conference on "The Role of Islamic States in a Globalised World".
His speech was delivered Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Touching on the need to renew the spirit of unity among Muslims, Abdullah said Islam is a global faith that binds many races together, but today Muslims find themselves pitted against each other, such as Sunnis against Shias and most tragically Palestinians against Palestinians. In this context, he stressed that Muslims must also renew their understanding of Islam and put aside any sectarian differences.
"Ultimately, we must begin to move beyond politics and conflict, and focus on the issues that truly concern us as an ummah — tackling poverty, eliminating illiteracy, combating ignorance and raising the quality of life. This is the immediate concern for us all, as Muslims," he said. On another key imperative, Abdullah said Muslim nations must begin to revive their economic position because Muslims' share of the global economy was poor and even the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries had collectively recorded a declining share of trade within developing countries. In 2005, the OIC's collective Gross Domestic Product was less than five per cent of the total world figure.Bernama
The prime minister said Muslims must also start to revive their economic position, invest in education and skills and establish social justices, based on timeless Islamic principles.
He said that for more than a thousand years, Muslim civilisation was the zenith of human achievement with the Muslims as the leading philosophers, scientists, and innovators of their era and as such, they needed to reclaim this golden legacy that had been lost to the ages.
Abdullah said Muslims often forgot that through the spread of the empire, they gave birth to a Muslim wave of globalisation more than a thousand years ago, where Muslim states were shining examples of economic progress, scientific innovation and social justice.
"We cannot remain mere spectators in a world that is rapidly moving ahead. We must commit ourselves to enhancing our competitiveness in order to play a contributing role to the advancement of human civilisation, as was the legacy of Islamic states in the past," he said. Abdullah said this in his address at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia's international conference on "The Role of Islamic States in a Globalised World".
His speech was delivered Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Touching on the need to renew the spirit of unity among Muslims, Abdullah said Islam is a global faith that binds many races together, but today Muslims find themselves pitted against each other, such as Sunnis against Shias and most tragically Palestinians against Palestinians. In this context, he stressed that Muslims must also renew their understanding of Islam and put aside any sectarian differences.
"Ultimately, we must begin to move beyond politics and conflict, and focus on the issues that truly concern us as an ummah — tackling poverty, eliminating illiteracy, combating ignorance and raising the quality of life. This is the immediate concern for us all, as Muslims," he said. On another key imperative, Abdullah said Muslim nations must begin to revive their economic position because Muslims' share of the global economy was poor and even the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries had collectively recorded a declining share of trade within developing countries. In 2005, the OIC's collective Gross Domestic Product was less than five per cent of the total world figure.Bernama
Business Besides Oil
