MUSCAT, 2 January 2005 — Shaken by the untold Asian tsunami disaster, a top Omani Islamic scholar has made an impassioned appeal to the people to come to the aid of the victims whose number is growing by the hour. “This is the time to be generous, this is the time to be charitable and this is the time to share with those in distress what we have,” said Sheikh Khalfan El-Esry, the first Islamic scholar to speak on the tragedy, as quoted by Times of Oman.” Do not just sit glued to TV screens or brush through newspapers, busy highlighting the unprecedented natural calamity.’’
Preaching moderation and mercy as essence of Islam, El-Esry said: “Now is the time to realize that we are all blessed. And if we are blessed, we should rise to the occasion to share with others who need us - and need us most.’’
He said Asia’s worst tragedy of its kind is a reminder to mankind that there is a higher power that creates or destroys things, underscoring the need to “square things off’’ with those with problems. “Because you may wake up tomorrow to find yourself that your loved one is gone for ever.’’
El-Esry, who lectures regularly at mosques and other places, addressing himself to the youth in particular, said such calamities were clear warning to mankind that there was something “amiss” and it was time to fill the gap and seek Divine mercy. “We have to correct our path.’’
As elsewhere in the world, the New Year celebrations in Oman were dampened by the tragedy. At places, one-minute silence was observed in memory of the countless dead. There were special prayers in mosques and candle-lit vigils in churches. “I have lost my strength to celebrate the advent of 2005,” Dr. P. Mohammed Ali, the managing director of Galfar, a leading construction and engineering company, and a best known Indian entrepreneur in Oman, told Arab News.
