Reflection: In Indonesia what does MUI and konco-conco? http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=114901&d=28&m=9&y=2008&pix=world.jpg&category=World
Sunday 28 September 2008 (28 Ramadan 1429
Muslims take pledge against terrorism in Kerala
Mohammed Ashraf I Arab News
MALAPPURAM: More than 500,000 Muslims gathered in this Kerala town to
take the pledge against terrorism on Friday as also happened to be the night of
the 27th of Ramadan which is most likely to be the Lailat Al-Qadr, or the Night
of Power.
They chanted prayers for peace and forgiveness and took the oath to
"eradicate the menace of terrorism and work for world peace" at the annual
prayer meet organized by Ma'dinu Saquafathil Islamiyya institutions.
The prayers was led by its leader Sayyid Ibrahimul Khaleelul Bukhari, who
asked Muslims to respect other religions and not to associate themselves with
such activities that would become a threat to the nation.
"In thought, word and deed, we pledge to uphold the sovereignty and
integrity of our nation. As citizens of India, it is our duty to safeguard our
motherland as part of our faith," hundreds of thousands of believers said in
unison.
"We cherish with pride that we are citizens of India. We will not
tolerate any harm to our fellow citizens and we will wholeheartedly resist,
with all our might, any such evil attempts. It's our duty as true citizens of
the country and as Muslims to inform our fellow-citizens of this threat. On
this holy night, we pledge we will do our duty in the great tradition of the
noble souls of the nation".
The annual meet takes place on the 27th night of Ramadan which is most
likely to be the Lailat Al-Qadr or the 'night of power', which the Muslims
believe is "better than thousand months" in terms of chances of prayers to be
answered. The first verses of Qur'an were believed to be revealed to Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) on this night.
The prayer meet were held in 12 venues linked with huge closed circuit
television channels that were located within 10 km from the main venue on the
Palakkad-Kozhikode national highway of the Kerala's only Muslim-dominated
district.
Ma'dinu Ssaquafathil Islamiyya is a society based in Malappuram district,
which runs a number of institutions, including schools, colleges and orphanages
in Kerala.
"Projectors and sound systems were placed at all the venues so that those
attending the prayer could view and hear the proceedings at the main venue,"
Umer Melmuri, media coordinator of the event, said. "Foreigners, especially
from Gulf countries, also turned up in large numbers".
Ma'din started organizing the annual prayer meet with a view to spreading
peace and communal harmony 22 years back and the numbers started swelling year
after year.
He said a number of Hindu families also played a key role by providing
their land and buildings for the meet and by volunteering to help out in
whatever way they could. Out of around 5,500 volunteers in the program, many
are Hindus.
"For believers who could not come here, we also made the proceedings
available on Internet. The prayers were shown on big screens at seven venues
outside the state, including four in the Gulf," said Umer.
"The movement has prevented youngsters going toward fundamentalism. The
fundamentalists have strong presence in the state through their books and
periodicals preaching political Islam," Umer said.
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