ABU DHABI // A Muslim Council of Elders had been formed in a bid to find a solution to the violent problems plaguing Muslim countries around the world.
Egyptian Grand Imam, Sheikh Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, Sheikh of Al Azhar, said that “it was necessary that we stood up and say we have to take responsibility as Muslim scholars to face this wave of extremism and fundamentalism”.
“We are witnessing these extremists groups, this fundamentalism where some people pretend to be Muslim and are spreading chaos and terrorism using weapons and killing other and contributing to the bloodshed of innocents,” Dr Al Tayeb said.
Made up of one Emirati woman and 13 men – including another Emirati – the members of the newly former council come from the Mena region and the United States.
The establishment of the group followed recommendations that came out of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, which was held in Dubai in March.
“This Ummah, the Islamic Ummah, we wanted to have peace between its people, between its societies, but unfortunately this is not the case nowadays,” said Dr Al Tayeb.
“We have to ask the questions: how this is turning upside down? Why we are witnessing nowadays these bad situations after almost 1,500 years?”
Dr Al Tayeb said: “In the United Arab Emirates, we thank its leaders for taking the initiatives to launch the Muslim Council of Elders because we are all threatened by the dangers and threats of these groups.”
Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, a Muslim scholar from Mauritius, and chairman of the peace forum, said that “unfortunately, there is a kind of craziness and madness that is exercised in some Muslim countries”.
“There is chaos, people are terrorising each other in the name of Islam,” he said. “No wisdom, not rational thinking, and the result is bloodshed. Victims – and the murderer who doesn’t even know why he committed this murder.
“Given this reality, we called each other, scholars and elders – starting in the UAE – and the leaders of the UAE convened a meeting where we decided to prepare an initiative which generated later this Muslim Council of Elders.”
Dr Kaltham Al Majid, the Emirati woman member of the group, said because the council was in its infancy, it had not been determined how often they would meet or to whom they would advise.
She said they would spread the messages and campaigns on an “as-needed” basis.
The council would work with youth and community groups to spread the correct interpretation of the Quran, said Mr bin Bayyah. Misinterpretation and incorrect application of certain verses of the Quran by misinformed or misguided followers of Islam was fuelling much of the strife, he said.
“The first problem in the Islamic people is that they confuse and mix between the legitimate and illegitimate, he said.
“Here lies the problem, the people who do not differentiate between the two speeches of Islam, they are the most probable ones who can commit mistakes and get confused and mislead others.”
The council’s role would be to “set the right path” using scholarly interpretations of the Quran and spreading a moderate message, he said.
“We should work together, we are not talking here merely rhetoric,” said Sheikh Abdullah “We will work with the youth and we will address these people who are misled, who are mobilised in the wrong way. We will communicate with them. We will discuss what we believe in with them ... we want to stop the bloodshed in the Muslim countries and to establish new trends of reconciliation.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Business Insights
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
How to become a Boglehead
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Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Wicked
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More coverage from the Future Forum
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
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Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
How do Sim card scams work?
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MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
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