News Reel :Grand Mufti: Islamic Ummah at a crossroads

Grand Mufti: Islamic Ummah at a crossroads ref: http://www.saudigaz ette.com. sa/index. cfm?method= home.regcon&contentID=200905243 8862   JEDDAH – Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal-Al Sheikh said here Saturday that the Ummah was at a crossroads, either it accepts Islam as a belief and sticks to it properly or surrender to the enemies and their conspiracies.   Addressing the 8th Islamic Conference of the Islamic Affairs Ministers, the Grand Mufti said the contemporary world was losing security in its broad meaning. Security is one of the greatest demands of life and necessity for all societies, he stressed.   The Grand Mufti called upon the participants to reform their societies, care for the Ummah and its interest, defend its causes and protect its principles. He said the Ummah was an inseparable part of the world thus it was suffering from the alliance of the foes and their attacks against Islam. He also highlighted the intellectual weakness which some of the sons of the Faith were suffering, necessitating the Ummah to unify its ranks and work hand-in-hand to rescue itself.   The conference titled "Intellectual Security and the Role of the Ministries of Islamic Affairs in Achieving it," is being held under the patronage of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.   Addressing the inaugural session, Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Sabhain, Conference's Secretary General, said the conference reaffirms the sincere desire for communication and consultation so as to achieve the Islamic solidarity and spread the call of Almighty Allah. It comes at a delicate time beset with challenges posed by some powers advocating alien cultures and ideologies which have no root in Islam so as to corrupt the minds of the young Muslim generation, a matter that doubles the responsibility of the Ministries of the Islamic Affairs in the Islamic world.   He also referred to the decisions taken in the previous endowment conferences which touched on issues pertaining to the Islamic call and the influencing aspects in the life of the Ummah such as education. He stressed the important role of the Ministries of the Islamic Affairs in correcting the misconceptions about Islam and advocating the genuine Islamic principles derived from the Holy Qur'an and Prophet's Sunna.                   _