JEDDAH, 10 February 2003 — The Makkah-based Muslim World League has urged Muslims all over the world to shun extremism and become advocates of peace.
“The companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) were advocates of peace and their example will continue to serve as a torchlight for the Ummah in the modern age,” Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the MWL, said.
In his message to pilgrims on the occasion of the Standing at Arafat, when more than 2.5 million pilgrims gather to pray on Mount Arafat near Makkah, Turki reiterated the Muslim world’s total opposition to the planned US-led war on Iraq.
“The Muslim Ummah rejects war and calls for a peaceful solution to the present standoff between Baghdad and the United States,” the MWL chief said, adding that his league backed the peace initiatives of the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Saudi Arabia. He also urged Arab countries to cooperate with the Saudi initiative to bring about reforms in the Arab world.
Dr. Turki called upon world governments to understand the principles of human rights in Islam, declared by the Prophet Muhammad in his Arafat sermon more than 14 centuries ago. “In his historic speech the Prophet prohibited the killing of innocent people, the destruction of their property and the violation of their honor,” he pointed out.
Turki urged the pilgrims to absorb the spirit of Haj and the meanings of its rituals. “Muslims have to make a self-appraisal and make sincere efforts to foster Islamic unity and solidarity,” he added.
He urged Muslim governments to implement the Shariah or Islamic law and conduct their affairs in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
“The main reason for the backwardness of the Ummah is their negligence of the Shariah,” he pointed out.
Turki warned that the Ummah would continue to face dangerous challenges if they did not return to God and follow His teachings as revealed in the Qur’an. “Hold fast the rope of God and do not disunite,” the MWL chief told Muslims quoting a verse from the Qur’an.
Turki denounced the continuing Israeli aggression on unarmed Palestinians in occupied Arab territories and the Jewish state’s efforts to Judaize Jerusalem. “Reports received by the MWL show that the Israeli authorities have threatened to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque — the direction toward which Muslims first prayed — to build a Jewish temple on its debris,” he said.
The MWL chief opposed the move to make Jerusalem the permanent capital of Israel. “The Arab and Islamic characteristics of Jerusalem must be protected to make it the capital of an independent Palestinian state,” he stressed.
Turki highlighted the significance of the Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon at Arafat and said it contained teachings for the spiritual, social, political, educational and economic progress of Muslims. “The Islamic Ummah is badly in need of such prophetic guidelines today to establish peace and stability in the entire world,” he added.
Turki called for cooperation between Muslim governments and Islamic organizations to confront ongoing anti-Islamic campaigns by parts of the Western media. “We have to establish joint institutions to carry out Islamic activities,” he added.
