Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 13/09/2012
Mr Chairperson, Your Eminences Honorable Participants Assalamu Alaykom wa-Rahmatullah wa-Barakatuh It is a pleasure for me to participate today in this great Islamic gathering on the occasion of the twentieth session of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in the city of Oran, the second largest city and cultural capital of Algeria, where the torch of true Islam has been glowing, and Muslim scholars have, throughout history and through their studies, books and ideas, enriched the Islamic civilisation, and which proved to be insoluble and enduring even when the foreign colonizer tried to put out its glow. Here are Muslim scholars of our time filling this house, flocking to it from all over the world to take part in this intellectual and scholarly exercise, searching within Islamic jurisprudence for Islam's position on a number of issues and matters dictated by new life circumstances. I am pleased on this happy occasion to extend my thanks and gratitude to the people and government of Algeria for generously hosting this major intellectual meeting which will help enrich Islamic jurisprudence in new areas that the new millennium has brought with it, as contained in the agenda of this session. Nowadays, the Islamic world is going through a historic juncture amidst global changes and challenges which will have huge ramifications for the future. Such challenges must be faced through a strategic and forward-looking vision that enables the Islamic world to address such conditions with collective will and through joint Islamic action. This entails making utmost efforts to promote the spirit of Islamic solidarity and fraternity amongst Muslims. It is relevant here to recall what the late Algerian thinker, Malik bin Nabi, referred to in many of his books, regarding the Islamic civilisation’s position as to the relation with other civilisations, as 'retrieval of the effectiveness of the Islamic Civilisation'. Nowadays, he argues, Muslims have not given up faith but it is rather faith that has lost its effectiveness, and it has become necessary to bring back to the Islamic faith its effectiveness and social impact after the Islamic civilisation's has withdrawn from history. In a nutshell, the problem, for him, is not to provide evidence to Muslims that God exists but rather to make them feel He exists. Honorable Scholars, The history of Islam is replete with schools of thought and jurisprudence, and it has come face to face with many ideas put forward by earlier religions and convictions. However, the Islamic faith remains intact in its foundations. This has enabled it to absorb all these ideas and build a great civilisation that brought forward sublime human principles, not propagated by ancient civilisations. At the heart of these principles, lies the Oneness of God the Creator, and among them are tolerance and freedom of belief. On more than one occasion, the Munificent Quran stresses these principles and tolerates other opinions. For instance, it is said in Surat Al-Kafiroon, 'For you is your religion, and for me is mine'. There are also many other relevant verses, to mention but a few,: 'and we have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another'; ' Allah is our Lord and your Lord. Unto us our works and unto you your works'; 'We make no distinction between any of His messengers'; and 'There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error'. This broad tolerance and intellectual pluralism is what distinguishes the Islamic civilization. It is an evidence of its dynamism as opposed to the intolerance of the followers of other religions. Islam has a legacy of peaceful co-existence and understanding between different schools of thought. However, the history of Islam has witnessed times of intolerance, which prompted the scholars of the Ummah to study and scrutinise this theme long time ago. In diagnosis of this matter, I would like to quote Hojjatul Islam, Imam Ghazali of the 5th Hijry century: 'the initiator of this tolerance is the keenness of a certain group to seek leadership by rallying the masses' meaning that this intolerance comes from the ignorance of the commons and the opportunism of those who seek power. It must also be recalled that Imam Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, showed us the way to avoid this intolerance when he said '[t]here is no salvation but in independence', meaning by distancing one's self from the tendency of intolerance, narrow-minded thinking and mimicry. Today, although some of these aspects exist, a new phenomenon has emerged which is the attempt by some to propagate and use a mazhab (school of thought) to achieve political objectives and convert it to an ideology. This necessitates efforts to combat such phenomenon by rectifying the relationship between politics and schools of thought and abstaining from using the latter as an ideological excuse to exercise political influence. There are some underlying differences between the schools of thought. Such differences have started to surface for the aforementioned reasons. There is an urgent need to address this tension before it intensifies and before its consequences get worse. The Ten-Year Programme of Action (TYPOA) adopted by the Mecca historical summit, held in December 2005, underlines the need to strengthen dialogue between Islamic schools of thought: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i, Jaafari, Ibadi, Zaidi and Zahiri, and affirms the true faith of their followers and the inadmissibility of accusing them of heresy, as well as the inviolability of their blood, honor and property, as long as they believe in Allah Almighty, in the Prophet (PBUH) and in the other pillars of the Islamic faith, respect the pillars of Islam and do not deny any self-evident tenet of religion. This situation evokes our responsibility to end these differences by means of dialogue among these schools. This was the aim of the initiative of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques at the fourth extraordinary summit when he announced the establishment of a center for dialogue among different Islamic schools of thought. There is an urgent need to realize this initiative now, since no country or individual can live in isolation in our globalised world. On the other hand, the reality of the situation today shows that many have come to understand the current Islamic culture as one which the world fears and which fears the world. Therefore, it has become necessary on our part to devote all our efforts to get out of this tunnel as soon as possible by opening onto the world with visions of Islamic tolerance and acceptance of the other, and by going beyond the discourse that dwells in the past and secludes itself in bygone historical eras. We need to engage in an enlightened Islamic process that embraces the spirit of the present time and pursues moderation and a balanced vision in all social, human and academic spheres since we do not and indeed cannot live in isolation from others. We, everyday, share with others life, destiny and life necessities, and we partner with them in various activities such as economy, commerce, administration, medicine, cybernetics, etc. Your Eminences, The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) was mandated to enlighten people as to the need to renounce extremism and fanaticism and promote moderation. The Third Extraordinary Summit held in Makkah Al Mukarramah in 2005 entrusted the OIC Secretary General to restructure the IIFA to adapt to the new world circumstances and the challenges facing the Islamic world. The Ten-Year Programme of Action (TYPOA) adopted by this summit provided for the reformist objectives which the Academy should seek to realise. The Secretary General has to this end set up a committee of Muslim jurisprudence scholars and embarked on the development and restructuring of the Academy and the intellectual convergence of all spectra with their rich and constructive diversity aiming at coordinating between Fatwa authorities in the Islamic world, combating mazhab-based intolerance and religious extremism and attempts by some to accuse other Islamic doctrines and their followers of heresy by propagating the spirit of moderation and tolerance among schools of thought. All of this has been achieved by the grace and blessing of Allah, and now we have a clear methodology guiding our jurisprudence-related work. All these aspects demonstrate the real significance of the great work being carried out by the Academy which discharges its duties in jurisprudential areas and all situations towards the alignment of Islamic Fatwa and dropping out random fatwas issued by unqualified people and imposters who use fatwa to serve their narrow ends. These efforts have therefore illuminated the road of solidarity leading to unity among the Islamic Ummah groups. The Academy has thus become the highest jurisprudential platform of the Islamic world, and a credible, inclusive and unanimous reference filling an institutional gap in coordinating and aligning Islamic ideas and positions towards the unification of visions, statements and ranks, and greater Islamic solidarity. I am duty-bound here to congratulate the Academy and its members for the completion of Zayed Compendium for Islamic Jurisprudence Rules, which is an encyclopedic work achieved by the Academy in collaboration and coordination with Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks and appreciation to this Foundation and its members and the eminent scholars who made it possible to achieve this piece of work. May I also, on this occasion, pray to God Almighty to shower the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahayan with His mercy, rest his soul in peace and make him of the dwellers of Paradise. Let me conclude by saying that the precious and valuable themes of this session comprise both public and private matters, and relate between reality on the ground and intellect. They also deliver the message of the Academy in a balanced and professional fashion, and help enrich the diversity of research with a view to maximising the public interest for the benefit of Islam and Muslims. Based on these facts and the desire to provide sufficient resources that allow the Academy to carry out leading and useful activities, I hereby propose that Member States allocate a waqf (endowment) for the Academy to use its income to fund its various activities, given the great benefit we reap from such activities. Our meeting today comes sadly after the passing away of our beloved Sheikh Ibn Al-Khojah, the one who founded this Academy, for whom we ask Allah for mercy and forgiveness. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my brother Dr Abdul-Salam Al-Abadi who has competently assumed the chairmanship of the IIFA secretariat and worked to set in motion the new perspective laid down earlier by the Working Group. Thanks are also extended to Dr Ahmed Khalid Babakr, the Secretary of the IIFA for his tireless efforts to carry out its work. We wish him and his colleagues full success. I wish also to express my appreciation and gratitude to Professor Saleh bin Hamid, the head of the IIFA Board and the eminent scholars members of the Board for their support and follow-up of the Academy's activities, which has enabled it carry out competently and with high efficiency the tasks entrusted to it. May Allah give you the best reward. Finally, I reiterate my thanks to the Algerian government for kindly hosting our meeting and I pray to Allah to guide you more with your venerable work and to give you all success so that you receive the reward from God Almighty and enjoy the appreciation and praise among His servants. Wassalamu Alaykom wa-Rahmatullah wa-Barakatuh.
