STATEMENT
BY CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH
[Islamabad, Pakistan - October 19,
2003]
Praise
be to Allah, who said in His
Glorious Book: "And hold fast,
all of you together, to the Rope of
Allah, and beyond bounds." And
Prayer and peace be upon Prophet
Mohammed who said: "The Muslim
is the brother of another Muslim
whom he never fails or exposes to
injustice."
From
the land of the two Holy Mosques,
the cradle of the true message, the
site of the revelation that
descended on Prophet Mohammed, and
the quiblah for all Muslims, I came
to bring with me the genuine
affection and friendship of your
brothers in Saudi Arabia.
The
relations that bind us are not
transient nor founded on material
interests, but are relations that
are bound in spiritual brotherhood
which the passage of time has
deepened and fortified.
The
birth of Saudi Arabia and the birth
of Pakistan reflect the embodiment
of a great Islamic vision that led
the journey of our founding father
King Abdulaziz and Your founding
father Mohammed Ali Janah, may Allah
send His mercy on them.
My
Brothers,
We do not claim perfection because
perfection is God's alone. And we do
not claim infallibility, for
infallibility is a trait of the
Prophet's alone. What we can say is
that you and us have proven that
Islam can serve as a strong basis
for the state at all places and
times as it had always been
throughout the lone centuries and
formed the foundation of a glorious
civilization for which we both
belong. The feeling that our history
and destiny are the same is what
derives one in this auspicious
occasion to speak to you as a
brother to his brother inspired by
the saying of the Prophet Mohammed
peace be upon him as saying
"Religion is advice."
My
Dear Brothers,
The immediate duty that
awaits Muslims in every
Muslim country is of two
parts: The first part is
deepening and
strengthening national
unity within each Islamic
state, and the second part
is the establishment of
relations between Muslims
and non-Muslims on a
healthy and sound base.
Please permit me to
mention with some details
these two issues which
represent a serious
challenge to all Muslims.
We cannot establish real
progress in an Islamic
society that is burdened
with differences and torn
by quarrels and
dissension. I believe,
with a little reflection
we can daresay that the
reasons for these
differences and
contradictory views in
every Islamic country lies
in the plague of
fanaticism which the Holy
Qur'an repudiated totally.
Fanaticism leads to
extremism which in turn
breeds terrorism and that
threatens the social order
all together. |
The
immediate duty that awaits
Muslims in every Muslim
country... ...the
establishment of relations
between Muslims and
non-Muslims
on a healthy and sound
base... ...Fanaticism
leads to extremism which
in turn breeds terrorism
and that threatens the
social order all together.
|
Our
religion is the religion of
tolerance and moderation, and there
is no place in it for the purveyors
of hate and grudges. Our Prophet
Mohammed, peace be upon him, has
exemplified kindness, mercy,
compassion, and the highest ethical
standards. There existed with him in
Medinah those who manifested their
faith but covered the opposite
thereof. Yet he did not question
their intention and accepted what
was apparent in their behavior. He
said, "I shall not allow people
to say that Mohammed turned against
and killed his companions." He
entered into a truce with his
adversaries in Hudaibeyah which was
described in the holy Qur'an as a
glorious victory. And when Allah
honored him with the conquest of
Makkah, thus gaining mastery through
the grace of God over his enemy, he
graciously pardoned them saying: Go,
you are free.
This
is the Sira of our Prophet, a Sira
filled with love, shining with
kindness, gentleness and high
morality. He was taught by God
Almighty the highest degree of
compassion and forgiveness as is
testified in the following
tradition: "Kindness ennobles
all things; absence of kindness
spoils them." He further said:
"No Muslim shall terrorize
another Muslim."
These
are the real teachings of God and
the Prophet. And yet those
criminals, who sow corruption on
earth, shed blood and kill the
innocent, claiming always that they
do their evil things to please Allah
and his messengers: "Mighty is
the word that comes out of their
mouths. They utter nothing but a
lie."
The
only guarantee, after God, for the
stability of the Muslims and their
advancement is the fraternal love
that links them together. The
Islamic land is the possession of
all Muslims - men and women. There
is no difference between one sect
and another. And since we concede
the right to everybody to follow the
school of thought which he prefers
and thinks to be the right one, we
must grant the same right to others.
Dialogue
cannot be conducted with bullets.
The daw'wah cannot be carried out by
violence. And Jihad can never be an
act of aggression. Real dialogue is
the dialogue of wisdom and fair
preaching in accordance with God's
command, "Invite (mankind O
Muhammad) to the way of your Lord
with wisdom and fair preaching, and
argue with them in a way that is
better." Thus the real daw'wah
is the one that is based on goodness
and persuasion. True Jihad is
conducted only against aggression.
| It
is high time to rid our
society of the seeds of
fanaticism and hatred,
and, instead, plant the
seeds of tolerance and
unity.
Dear
Brothers,
A small group of murderous
terrorists were able to
spoil our relations with
non-Muslims, and distort
the image of Islam and
Muslims. We have to
confront this deviant
group and its false
claims, and establish our
relations with non-Muslims
on a sound basis of mutual
understanding.
It
was Allah's will to create
mankind into distant
individuals and individual
tribes and nations, not to
kill each other, but for
the purpose of coming to
know each other and to
cooperate into a glorious
human enterprise, which is
the creation of
civilization on this
planet:
|
A
small group of murderous
terrorists were able to
spoil
our relations with
non-Muslims,
and distort the image of
Islam
and Muslims. We have to
confront this deviant
group
and its false claims, and
establish our relations
with non-Muslims on a
sound basis
of mutual understanding.
|
- Perhaps
Allah will make friendship
between you and those whom you
hold as enemies. And Allah has
power (over all things) and
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful."
- "O
mankind! We have created you
from a male and a female, and
made you into nations and
tribes, that you may know one
another. Verily, the most
honorable of you with Allah is
that (believer) who has At-Taqwa.
Verily, Allah is All-Knowing,
All-Aware."
- The
good deed and the evil deed
cannot be equal. Repel (the
evil) with one which is better,
then verily he, between whom and
you there was enmity, (will
become) as though he was a close
friend."
- There
is no compulsion in religion.
Verily, the Right Path has
become distinct from the wrong
path. Whoever disbelieves in
Taghur and believes in Allah,
then he has grasped the most
trustworthy handhold that will
never break. And Allah is
All-Hearer, All-Known."
Our
relations to non-Muslims should not
be based on disinformation,
misinterpretation, or false slogans,
but on God's eternal dictat,
"Allah does not forbid you to
deal justly and kindly with those
who fought not against you on
account of religion nor drove you
out of your homes. Verily, Allah
loves those who deal with
equity."
Those
who incite us to antagonize the
world, they bring upon us loss and
extinction. Those who want to
isolate us from the world, they mean
to inflict weakness and backwardness
on us.
The
natural place for a Moslem is not in
dark caves nor in secret terrorist
cells, but in the front lines
joining in the making of Islamic
civilization in the brightness of
the day, as was done by our
ancestors in the golden age.
It
is a significant duty to Ummah, as
described by Almighty, to show by
its behavior and conduct a shining
example of moral interaction as
exemplified by its Prophet Mohammed,
whom God Almighty described:
"And Verily, you (O Muhammed)
are on an exalted (standard of
character)." This
responsibility is further clarified
in the verse: "Let there arise
out of you a group of people
inviting to all that is good (Islam)
enjoying Al-Maa'ruf and forbidding
Al-munkar and it is they who are the
successful."
My
Dear Brothers,
Experience taught us that wars
result only in destruction, and
accordingly we decided to pursue our
legitimate rights through peaceful
means, and to knock on all doors
seeking solutions, including the
adoption of the Arab peace
initiative at the Beirut summit.
This initiative institutes a true
example of the choice of peace that
we hope will realize the legitimate
rights of our brothers in Palestine,
foremost of which is the right to
establish their independent state
with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its
capital. For this, I praise the
efforts of my dear brother Pervez
Musharraf on his initiative to
announce a plan of action to finish
the problem of Jamu and Kashmir by
way of negotiations. I hope that God
will help him in his efforts to
achieve a peaceful settlement that
safeguards the legitimate rights of
the people of Kashmir, and avoid
destructive war between India and
Pakistan.
My
Dear Brothers,
Our path is not free from thorns,
and the horizon is not clear of
black clouds; but the believer does
not despair or accept
disappointment. The believer is
patient in crisis, optimistic in the
face of adversity with infinite
trust in his God under all
circumstances.
All
our problems are amenable to
solution, if we face them with
bravery, relying on God's
assistance, lightening our path with
the Holy Quran, following the Sunnah
of Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon
him. God never fails to deliver on
his promise, and he has promised us
victory and the strength to stand
firm if we achieve his victory. In
God's will, we shall do so. I cannot
find a way to end this talk better
than the words of Allah Almighty:
"O you who believe! Endure and
be more patient (than your enemy)
and guard your territory by
stationing army units permanently at
the places from where the enemy can
attack you, and fear Allah, so that
you may be successful."
|
