Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef, President of the World Muslim Congress attended many conferences and meetings during the month of July 2011 which took him to Morocco, UK, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
Workshop of Global Commission for Renewal and Guidance (GCRG):
Dr. Nasseef attended a three-day workshop on July 4 to 6 at Rabat, Morocco. Dr. Nasseef said, "This workshop was very important in the context of what is happening to us. The need for Ijtihad is very much due now. We cannot keep quiet for things to happen; the youths are waiting for some ideas, guidance and we are obliged to develop new Ijtehad at this time. We take the original and developed it and fit it to our life today. So this workshop along with two or three other workshops so that people will come to an idea what we are talking about; what we will talk; what are the detailed subjects, political, social, economic and family relations also."
"People are very much puzzled because the way things are happening; agreements are signed; treatises are there. But Islamic input is very important. The next workshop will probably be in England either in September or October after Eid but before Hajj," Dr. Nasseef said.
Conference at Frankfurt, Germany
On July 12-13, Dr. Nasseef was in Frankfurt, Germany to attend a meeting of the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences is headed by Prof Dr. Fuat Sezgin. Prof Sezgin submitted his report detailing achievements of the Institute during the last 25 years.
Commenting on the report
Dr. Nasseef said "We have to make sure how our forefathers contributed towards science and technology and knowledge in general. We know very little and we teach our children very little. So this is a time we have to give our students at the universities and schools and so on and encourage them to dedicate to the study and promotion of science like their grandfathers without any prejudices".
Meeting of Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
The third meeting which Dr. Nasseef attended was in Oxford on July 19-20 held at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Speaking about this meeting Dr. Nasseef said, "There was the meeting of the Board of Trustees, the revival of reports, budgets and so on. It was very well-attended. There was Prince Turki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Nasser al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and many other people and also other members were there. The one who were absent was President Gul who sent his delegates".
Islamic Foundation Meeting Leicester
Dr. Nasseef also attended the Board of Trustees meeting of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester on July 21. Back in the 1990s, The Islamic Foundation, a research and publication complex based in the heartland of England, funded a pioneering lectureship in Islamic Economics at Loughborough University, the first British University to offer a module on the subject at Masters level. From this beginning, the need was felt for a self-standing higher education institute that could offer courses relating to Islam, with curricula devised by Muslim academics but delivered by means of Western critical approach to learning and teaching. The courses would be validated by a reputable British University and the degrees awarded by that University. The result of these early deliberations was Markfield Institute for Higher Education (MIHE), a leading centre of academic excellence for the study of Islam and the Muslim World, which came into being in September 2000".
25 Years of Forum for Social Studies Meeting
Dr. Nasseef also attended the celebration of 25 Years of Forum for Social Studies on July 23 at the London Muslim Centre, London and delivered a lecture as chairman of the Forum for Social Studies.
The Forum for Social Studies (1986-2011) organized several programmes including science competition and quiz, recitation and speech competition for children, the Two Day Islamic dawah conference and lifetime achievement award, award of excellence and award of appreciation, where the Forum was honouring the speakers, those organizations and individuals who have excelled in various Islamic areas and those who have cooperated with the forum for the past 25 years.
Dr. Nasseef as Chairman of the Forum presented the awards. In the category
1: The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to:
1. Dr. Jamal Badawi- Canada
2. Sh. Ahmed Deedat-South Africa
3. Dr. Fuat Sezgin-Germany and
4. Syed Aziz Pasha-U.K.
In the Category
2: Award of Excellence in speaking was presented to:
UK:
1.Dr. Mohar Ali
2.Br. Yusuf Islam
3.Dr. Mozammel Haque
4.Fazlun Khalid
5.Dr. M. Izzedien
6.Suhaib Hasan
7.Ziauddin Sardar
8.Rashid Musa
9.Idris Tawfiq
10.Abdul Hamid Wahid
11.Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari
12.Ali Abd Al Malik
13.Ahmad Thompson
14.Waseem Yaqub
15.Daud Musa Pidcock
16.Makael Maknoon and
17.Yvonne Ridley.
In the same category Award for Excellence Speakers was presented to (from USA):
18.Imam Siraj Wahhaj
19.Sh. Yusuf Estes
20.Dr. M Amir Ali
21.Sr. Mary Ali
22.Dr. William Baker
From Canada;
23.Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick
24.Sh. Shabir Ally
25.Sh. Gamal Manna
26.Abdul Hai Patel
27.Sheikh Faisal Abdur Razak
28.Dr. Ezz E Gad and
29. Ibrahim Downey.
From India
30.Dr. Zakir Naik
From Saudi Arabia
31.Dr. Muhammad Abdu Yamani
32.Mostafa Malaekah and
33.T.M. Abdur Raoof.
Makkah al-Mukarramah: Three-day Conference on Muslim World: Issues and Solutions, organised by the Muslim World League, was held at the Headquarters of the MWL from July 23-25, 2011. More than 250 Muslim scholars and delegates came from all over the world attended the conference.
There were nine delegates, Mufti Muhammad Aslam, Qari Muhammad Ismail, Dr. Suhaib Hassan, Dr. Ahmed Dubayan, Dr. Ahmed Makhdoum and a Mayor and Councillor from UK, Dr. Muzzamil Siddiqi from USA, Minister Mohammad Haniffa from Sri Lanka and Dr. Ayoub Kohler from Germany attended the conference.
The Conference was inaugurated by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Governor of Makkah on behalf of King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. King Abdullah said, "Learned men and government establishments in Muslim countries should jointly strive to solve the issues of the people and bring about reforms to improve their conditions."
At the closing sessions, resolution was read and unanimously passed. The detailed of the conference will be reported in the next issue.
