Sunday 12 September 2010

Eid Messages from African leaders

Be patient, unite and act for peace
Eid Messages from African leaders

Dr. Mozammel Haque

It is very good news that the month of Ramadan is completed this year in 30 days. It’s my pleasure to extend my Eid Mubarak and good wishes to all my Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world on the occasion of the celebration of the Eid after the conclusion of fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan. I pray to Almighty Allah for all the benefits and the rewards. I am in the Haram and I would like to pray to Allah the Almighty for myself and for you all, May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala accept our fasting, our prayers, our worship and all our good deeds done in the blessed month of Ramadan.

As soon as the authorities declared after the Maghreb prayer on Thursday evening that the Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, the 10th of September, I met some of the African dignitaries with whom I have been performing fasting, prayers, Iftars, Taraweeeh and Qiyam al-Lail behind the Imam at the Masjid al-Haram duringr the month of Ramadan, particularly the last ten days, I enquired about their Eid Messages for the Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world.

I interviewed Senator Muniruddin Adekunle Muse from the Lagos State of Nigeria, who is a Member of the Upper House of the National Assembly of Nigeria, about his Eid Message. He said: “We are in Makkah right now and the purpose of coming here is to perform the Umrah. And Umrah, as everybody knows as a Muslim, is a kind of purification. So we are here on the call of Allah and pray to Allah for peace and to enable Islam to continue to grow. I appeal to all the Muslims to be patient about what is going on against us in the world. I wish that everybody, all Muslims, should continue to pray fervently to Allah to enable us and Islam to grow from strength to strength.”

I also interviewed former Governor of the Sokoto State of Nigeria, Attahiru Bafarawa, who said, “My message to the Muslim community of the world is: I want to congratulate them for the Eid and want to advise them to unite and to bring peace to the world. As a Muslim let us show good example and show the difference and the other way the religious people can make. Our Islam is for peace and therefore acts together and looks for peace collectively to put this world forward.”

Mr. Attahiru Bafarawa, the former Governor of the Sokoto State of Nigeria, it is learnt, has bright prospects to be, Insha Allah, the next President of Nigeria.

Former commissioner of works of the Lagos State of Nigeria, Abdur Rauf Aregbesola, who will be contesting as Governor of Osun State of Nigeria in the coming elections in April 2011, sent Eid messages to the Muslims throughout the world. He said: “It’s my pleasure to extend my Eid felicitations and good wishes to all our Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world on the conclusion of fasting of the month of Ramadan and as we are looking forward for the celebration of the Eid. I pray that the Almighty Allah will give us all the benefits and rewards of the month and the prayers exercised. I am in the Haram with Dr. Mozammel Haque and we, Muslims, here of the belief that the desires of the Muslims for peace, the desire of the Muslims to that we banish poverty, misery, hunger and demonisation we try for us Muslim in collaboration with all the Muslims.”

Mr. Abdur Rauf Aregbesola, Mechanical Engineer by profession, was in the government of Nigeria as a functionary of state for the Lagos State of Nigeria for a period of eight years with the involvement of social development of people resources. Today he is planning to lead another State, Osun State, as a governor and supplicating Allah to support winning enjoying all the Muslims and all the good people of the world to join him in the prayer for the salvation of humanity.

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