Time for Muslim Ummah to rise and deliver

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

“The Muslim Ummah is engaged, for the last three months, in a battle against tiny yet powerful enemy with its undercover force with global reach and capability to move with tremendous speed causing unprecedented casualties and breaking its economic back. The Ummah’s strategic planners tried all weapons in its armory but to no avail. It even looked around to seek weapons from technologically developed nations to fight, but non available!”

This was observed by Senator Nisar Memon, a former federal minister, in his latest newspaper article.

“In this hour of trial and tribulation arrives the blessed holy month of Ramadan 1441 AH which can be a vaccine for faithful to fight the enemy COVID-19 which hides deep inside our body,” he wrote. 

“The Ummah is battle fatigued and aiming to unleash its tried and tested weapon of ‘fast’ to fight back. It is the time for our leadership to call upon its Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to stand resolutely together to fight against common enemy to save the Ummah, this fight will also benefit the humanity at large,” he advised. 

“The OIC was founded half a century back in 1969, subsequent to fire in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Currently it has 57 member states with a total population of over 1.9 billion, about a quarter of world population, with 21% habitable area of the world. It is the second-largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the United Nations,” Senator Nisar Memon reminded. 

“The organization states that it is the collective voice of the Muslim world and works to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony. So here we are, with mighty OIC and its leadership which includes Khadim al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn the Custodian of the two Holy cities, the King of Saudi Arabia, and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who succeeded Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran,” he added. 

“The leaders of Ummah should put their weight behind the OIC to implement the 25 point communique of Executive Committee which met and issued it on April 22, 2020. The communique is commendable in putting a united front against COVID-19. The Rapid Response Initiative of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to launch a US$ 2.2 billion Strategic Preparedness and Response Programme to counter the pandemic and OIC-ISF Urgent Initiative to assist Member States and the ISF’s donation of US$ 1 million to the contingency account,” the former federal minister remarked. 

“This would strengthen the organization of faithfuls to serve their people without fear and favor. What better times than Ramadan to pray for forgiveness from Allah of our past omissions and commissions and seeking the righteous path. Not only will leadership earn the respect of their masses but also of the Creator. The leadership in each of the OIC country need to send Ummah’s message, not their personal or country messages, by their demonstrated capability to bring Ummatis on path ordained for them,” he suggested.