JEDDAH, 7 April 2006 - Saudi Arabia can become a unifying force in the Islamic world, says the president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a major Islamic organization in India. He also noted the political reforms introduced by the Kingdom and its openness policy.
Speaking to Arab News, Muhammad Abdul Haque Ansari said the emergency Islamic summit held in Makkah in December last year at the initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah would contribute to changing the present scenario of the Muslim world for the better.
Ansari, who arrived in the Kingdom on Thursday to attend the Muslim unity conference organized by the Muslim World League in Makkah, also referred to King Abdullah's successful visit to India in January this year, saying the royal visit would take Indo-Saudi relations to new heights.
Ansari announced his organization's plan to take part in local body (Panchayat) elections in order to make constructive contributions toward India's development and boost the progress and prosperity of its people. However, he stressed that the thrust of its work would be Islamic propagation.
Ansari, who is a well-known thinker and author of several books, referred to Jamaat's endeavors to unify the Muslim vote bank in India during the last parliamentary elections, adding that it helped in stopping the fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from regaining power in New Delhi.
He said the Jamaat spearheaded a campaign against the BJP with the support of secularist forces to unseat the BJP as minorities could not afford to the Hindu extremist party having another four-year term in the center.
"If the BJP had regained power we'll see the repeat of Gujarats," he said in reference to the bloody communal riots launched by Hindu zealots against Muslims in the state.
Ansari, who took charge as Jamaat president in 2003, said he had introduced a new department to supervise relief and welfare activities among Muslims as well as non-Muslims, inspired from a Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who once said: "All people are the family of God." He narrated an incident in which the Prophet approached Abu Jahal, the leader of the infidels in Makkah, to win the right of a foreign man.
Referring to his visits to Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain before his arrival in Jeddah, Ansari said, "Our meetings with government officials, Islamic scholars and social workers in these countries were very successful."
Professor Siddique Hassan, secretary for social service, who is accompanying Ansari, spoke about Jamaat's relief activities in the quake-hit Kashmir.
"There are millions of Muslims in India living in poor economic, educational and social conditions who need help. We'll soon set out a plan and program for the uplift of these people," he said.
