Muslim Council of Scotland & IMAMS

UNITY CONFERENCE 2017

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INTRODUCTION

Muslim Council of Scotland and Imams/Scholars of Islam held a round-table unity conference. The Imams and community leaders from the all sects of Islamic faith of Glasgow and abroad got together and expressed the strongest desire to bring the Ummah of the final Prophet of Allah almighty Muhammad PBUH together. Among the attendees were International guests who were here for the annual Peace & Unity conference. The aim of the conference was to foster unity and a spirit of co-working between the communities who are often perceived as being disunited.

SUMMARY

The first part of the Conference was a series of speeches by our esteemed guests- beginning with with a welcome speech from Dr Muhammad Adrees- convener of MCS, who talked about the suffering of the Ummah worldwide and the need for unity as the basis of our strength. Azzam Mohammed, Vice Chair of MCS, talked of the need to be a united Scottish community, and to come together for our future generations. Imam Tufail said the first step for unity is Taqwa- only people of Taqwa will be successful. Shaykh Abo Deya spoke of theamanat that we have a duty to protect- we must protect the image of Islam and Muslims. Sayed Jafar Fazlullah said that continual dialogue is important to iron out differences. Dr Habib Rafiq talked about a Golden formula for unity- That is to promote commonality through interfaith and intrafaith work. Dr Shomali said that we won’t seem like a religion of peace in the eyes of non-muslims as long as we are infighting, or while contradicting Islam ourselves so Tawheed and the message of Rasulullah SAWS is key for us.

The second part of the event was open forum workshops on three key areas; Facilitating youth, Women in Mosques and the Role of Faith Communities in Secular Society. Everyone had the opportunity to put forward heir viewpoints and udeas on how to progress these areas.

The meeting then concluded with a symbolic linking of hands and reciting of a communal Duaa and a final vote of thanks from MCS Convener Dr Muhammad Adrees.

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ART 1 - SPEECHES

Opening remarks- Dr Muhammad Adrees Convener, Muslim Council of Scotland

Dr Muhammad Adrees began by welcoming and thanking all the guests especially those who have come for far to be here. Main points:

Unity is the strength of any faith

Our hearts are full of love for Rasulullah SAWS and his family RA and his companions RA

Differences of opinion shouldn’t lead to division

Ummat is suffering all over the world

Selfish separatists are vocal while the majority who want unity are silent

By promoting commonality, we can come to peace, unity and progress for all

“Let us stand together for unity as stressed by Allah swt and Rasulullah SAWS”

Aazzam Mohammed- Vice Chair Muslim Council of Scotland

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My mother is Sunni and my father is Shia and I say from the heart we are the same in our core belief.

Our priority needs to be a united Scottish community.

My dream is to see the kind of unity where come and go naturally in each other’s mosques

In Scotland we have a big responsibility towards our community because those who hate us don’t look at our denomination. We need to come together for the sake of our future generations

Imam Syed Tufail Shah- Convener Glasgow Council of Imams

Bringing unity is a very important subject and the concept Of Ummah is a wonderful one. How can the ummah be united? By holding fast to the rope of Allah swt as stated in surah Ale Imran.

Allah’s rope means full Deen. And full Deen can unite us. First step in unity is Taqwa- only people of Taqwa will be successful. Empty hearts and minds can be filled with hate- we need to fill our hearts with love of Allah, Rasulullah SAWS, Ahle Bayt RA and Sahabah RA, then we can come to unity.Division comes from moving away from Deen and prioritising groups over uniting upon haq.

We called Muslims by Allaah swt himself and must come back to calling ourselves Muslim before anything else.

Shaykh Hathim Abo Deya- Scholars council of Lebanon

Shaykh started by congratulating MCS , Ahle Bayt Society and everyone present for holding such an event in such challenging times.

The community which unites for the sake of Allah swt will be successful and that unity will give us strength. Many Ahadith of Rasulullah saw talk of unity. If we do not unite, we will be weak. The spilled blood of muslims around the world is calling us to unite. We need to close the gap between the scholars and the public Scholars need to share their knowledge so people can see a community true to its tradition. There is so much happening socially and economically that shouldn’t divide us. We need to be courageous, the Quran is calling us; the Prophet SAWS is calling us.

We have an Amanat we need to protect- we must protect the image of Islam because Islam is in danger and Muslims are in danger

Syed Jafar Fazalullah- Beiruit

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Ijtehad and its diversity let to sects but diversity is to be proud of, it’s natural to have diverse views. Islamic unity is to find common ground. We must cooperate on that which we agree on. We must keep unity simple and use our diversity to solve the big issues of today. Continual dialogue is important to iron out differences. Unity will serve the community. I think with sadness that many leaders aren’t living in today’s reality rather in history

Dr Habib Rafiq- Glasgow

The times that we are living in necessitates us to come together. Factors of disunity are many. Our mentality is that we are comfortable with our differences and not interested in coming together. If we are serious about unity we need to stop the infighting. Golden formula for unity is to promote commonality through interfaith and intrafaith work.

We must focus on what unites us.

Dr Mohammed Ali Shomali- Islamic Academy of Qum

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The main reason for interest in faith is peace and contentment- people are looking for internal and external peace. All the Prophets AS came with a unifying message for those who started deviating- This happened again and again throughout history. If we look at Muslims today through the eyes of non-Muslims, we aren’t presenting Islam as a religion of peace. We won’t seem like a religion of peace as long as we are infighting, or while contradicting Islam ourselves. Tawheed and the message of Rasulullah SAWS is key. Islam can set the groundwork for peace internally and externally. We need to work on our own unity and then extend that out to show Islam has the tools for peace and unity. Our own [Imams & scholars] unity is a step towards fulfilling our duty of unity to the community.

PART 2- OPEN FORUM

Facilitating the youth

Sister Linsay- Youth are the future; we need to protect our Deen for future generations; we need to understand and use social media as effectively as those who seek to take the youth away from Deen- this is the new battleground for the youth;

Sister Feroz- youth need to be freed from the baggage of older generation; ethics and akhlaq is the key;

Sayed Jaffri- we are a minority [Muslims] in a minority [faith groups]; the main issue is ignorance of each other; we need to teach our children about each other;

Rehan Raza- Plan a strategy to move forward with; we don’t even know the requirements of the youth; we need to teach about unity and focus on common issues; we need to avoid Takfir; counsel our youth; monitor the media who spread doubt and fear;

Azzam Mohammed- we need to really believe in unity in our hearts;

Allama Rabbani- MCS should arrange youth groups to go to other mosques.

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Women in Mosques

Sister Linsay- spaces in mosques for women is important; mosques need to become community hubs- where else have we got?; lack of welcoming may turn some to other paths This may take them away from Deen;

Dr Adrees- We must facilitate our sisters as they are half the population; the same standard of facilities for men should be available for women;

Shaukat Sultan- We should promote the examples those masjids with perfect facilities to encourage others to do the same.

Role of Faith Communities in Secular Societies

Dr Shomali- Seek out opportunities to share our values; we should be pioneers in community work and through those actions, show our excellence;

Sister Feroz- we need practical steps- a strategy of engagement; we must speak to people in a way they can relate/understand;

Omar Afzal- we need to open up mosques more and be open and welcoming; don’t be scared to face tough questions- that is our chance to dispel misconceptions.

The event concluded with a symbolic linking of hands and prayer led by Aazzam Mohammed vice chair of MCS

Vote of thanks by the convener of MCS, Dr Muhammad Adrees.

Special thanks to Al Furqan Masjid for hospitality and kind support

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www.mcscotland.org.uk

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