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 General Coordinator of the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) Cihangir Isbilir had speech to the participants of third international youth gathering in the historical building of Bandung, West Java where Bandung Declaration had been announced.
Auzu Billahiminash Shaytaanir Rajeem Bismilllahir Rahmanir Raheem,
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, Wassalatu Wassalamu Ala Rasoolina Muhammadin wa ala alihi wa sahbihi Ajmaeen.
Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wasallam), his family and his companions.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
Praise be to Allah who made us brothers and sisters to each other.
We offer our thanks to Allah (subhanahu wa taala) for this bounty.
We are very glad that we have come together here in Indonesia.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I greet you all with respect and gratitude.
On behalf of UNIW Secretariat and the participants, I’d like to thank the Indonesian government for their kind concern for this organisation to be held in such a warm atmosphere and the Indonesian brothers and sisters for their hospitality. Thank you.
I would like to emphasize the concept of “Islamic World” and the need for Unity in the Islamic World.
In the twentieth century, the Islamic world witnessed great changes and transformations as well as the shocking tension. We can make a better analysis of the transformations of the Islamic World by studying the Twentieth Century in four stages.
The Islamic world, composed of the Ottoman Empire as well as the countries which were colonized by imperialists at the very beginning of the century, suffered the most depressed time from the First World War to the Second World War.
After the saddening collapse of the Ottoman Empire, all the other Islamic countries shattered like the units of a rosary and unfortunately they were colonized by the Western countries. There were almost no independent Muslim countries in existence, apart from Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.
A new era started with the independence of Pakistan in 1947, we could say.
As result of the battle of independence in Indonesia between 1945 and 1949, alhamdulillah, the biggest country of the Islamic World came into existence gaining her independence.
Pakistan was founded upon Islamic references, followed by the other Islamic countries and governed by various regimes and founded in different geographical areas and went on in this way until 1970.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Islamic world was exposed to the intervention of Western countries in the last quarter of the century. The current international system was seriously criticized and questioned for the first time.
Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Caucasia and many other problems appeared in this period or deepened.
In the meantime, the Islamic countries decided to get together. The Organization of Islamic Conference was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Morocco in 1969 as a result of criminal arson of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Twenty years later, in the aftermath of the Cold War, the concept of “Islamic World” has changed a lot and gained a broader meaning.
The Islamic World gained a wider geography and demographical movements with the joining of Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosova and Middle Asia which made them more active in the Western countries.
From then on, the Islamic World had a meaning far beyond the land just limited to territories in one particular geography.
We reached such a period that we can pronounce Baghdad and Paris, Damascus and London together, we can think of Istanbul and New York at the same time as the Islamic world. The concept gained a demographic and cultural ‘perspective’.
For the first time in the history, Muslims had to live in Western societies in quite big numbers.
This brought about new opportunities as well as the challenges.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Let us discuss about our current situation explicitly!
Nowadays, the Islamic world is to discover itself again and find responses to the following questions:
• Which mechanisms are needed for the Islamic world to act together and how?
• How could the rights of the Muslims in the West be defended?
• What kind of a representation and presentation system could be established in order to invite all of humanity to the authentic message of Islam?
• How could the authentic Islam and the truth within Islam be presented to humanity?
• How could Muslims tackle the challenges they face?
• How could the Islamic World improve spiritually, materially, socially, culturally and politically?
• How can the youth and family structure of the Islamic World cope with the challenges of globalization?
With the incentive of these opinions, we have founded the Union of Non-governmental Organisations of the Islamic World in Istanbul, on May 2005.
Until now, our union has reached 175 members from 44 countries.
With all our strength, we are struggling for the peace and welfare of the Islamic World.
We have quite a long way to go ahead of us and many obstacles to deal with.
However if there is belief, there is no place for sorrow and grief.
Each obstacle makes us more powerful
Every action makes us more vivid.
Lastly, the reality that we shouldn’t forget is that:
- While we are thinking about our Holy Masjid al-Aqsa, we also have to think our brothers in Chechnya.
- While we are trying to solve the problems of our Kashmiri brothers we should also look for ways to be in cooperation with Muslims living in Europe and America.
- Our brothers in Pristine, Skopje and Bosnia Herzegovina are as valuable and important as the ones in Istanbul and Islamabad.
Therefore, we have to get refreshed, revive and resist.
I wish that this historic meeting will yield fruitful results and I greet you with my best regards.
Thank you.
Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh…
9 Safar 1431 / 24 January 2010, Bandung
UNIW
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