RIYADH: A delegation of British Muslims visited Riyadh recently after taking a tour of the troubled Darfur region of Sudan in order to show their support for a peaceful resolution to the protracted conflict.
The delegation visited the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), to discuss the status of Sudanese who have been displaced by the yearslong conflict.
The four-member delegation held talks with members of the Shoura Council and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Muslim World League in order to figure out a solution to the conflict, which according to the delegation involves “Muslims killing Muslims.”
The delegation consisted of Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain; Jehangir Malik, head of the Birmingham-based Islamic Relief Charity; Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, the Leicester imam who heads the Interfaith Relations Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain; lawyer Fatim Kurji; and Shelina Janmohamed, a writer and blogger
“Our Islamic teachings say we have to help everyone in need,” said Sacranie. “We (the Muslim Council of Britain) are an independent NGO; we do not represent the government, we represent ourselves ... we seek poor minorities around the world to offer help,” he added.
“We are one Ummah, so we work together,” said Janmohamed. “We help not only Muslims, we also help non-Muslims in crises. Millions of Darfuris have been displaced by the conflict so far. The scale of the task is huge and is getting worse.”
Members of the delegation said they were pleased with the response of the Saudi officials to the issue.
