THE WORLD ISLAMIC CALL COUNCIL
CONSEIL MONDIAL DE L'APPEL ISLAMIQUE

Report on the congregational prayer in Chad

The Leader of the World Islamic People's Leadership (WIPL) has paid a visit of Jihad to N'djamena, capital of Chad, to lead the Muslim congregation in prayers on the first Friday of Muharam, Al Haram of this year.

The World Islamic Call society (WICS) by its involvement has contributed towards the success of this large gathering in which Muslim activists from various African states as well as Sheikhs of Sufi Tariqas from 44 countries gathered in N'djamena to take part in this unique event reflecting Islam's strength.

The head of the WIPL, lead hundreds of thousands of Muslims in a congregational prayer that was attended by eight African heads of state and observed by the president of the Central African Republic as well as a number of non-Muslim African ministers.

The payers were also attended by envoys of presidents Abdou Diouf of Senegal, president Alpha Omar Conare of Mali and President Lansana Conti of Guinea who were unable to attend this major Islamic gathering.

The prayers were attended by Sufi Tariqa leaders from all over the world as well as Emirs, Sultans, tribal leaders, youth leaders, representatives of Islamic organisations in Africa, members of the Islamic diplomatic corps accredited to Chad and officials and ministers of the Chad government.

The Leader delivered the Friday Khutba in which he stressed a number issues crucial to the Muslim World. These included:

1. The use of the Gregorian calendar, which is based on idolatry, in the Muslim World thereby imitating the west and depriving us of our Islamic identity. The months that are of concern to us are those in which are marked by the appearance of the early moons (crescents).

2. If the Ummah were to adopt the Lunar calendar in which fighting and conflicts are forbidden during one third of the months, it will open the door to peace. Therefore, the Ummah will serve world peace by being an example of peace and not terrorism as is portrayed by the West.

3. The Muslim Ummah is an Ummah of dialogue and not of bigotry and fanaticism. We name our boys Eissa (Jesus) and Moussa (Moses) and our girls Mariam and Sara after Prophets and religious figures recognised by other divine faiths. However, westerners, both Jews and Christians, never name their children Mohamed or any name Muslim name which is proof on our love and tolerance and their hostility and isolation.

4. Acceptance of Islam is an advancement because it is an embracing of the Seal of all Divine Messages. When a Christian embraces Islam, therefore, it does not mean he/she has changed his/her faith and but rather that he/she has moved forward and has not gone backwards. This is based on fact and the sequence of Divine Messages.

5. We must fight injustice as our Prophet (SAW) never accepted it. He was considered a lunatic or at best a poet and this is unjust, so we must defend him and resist their scorn. They have drawn caricatures of our Prophet in the form of a pig in Tel Aviv and the Holy Qur’an as feed stuff for that pig and the Israeli courts found the perpetrators innocent.

Also, heads of state of Christian countries honoured the Indian writer Salman Rushdie for his Satanic verses in which he attacked our blessed Prophet (SAW) and his family. Therefore, injustice is being committed against us and we cannot remain silent. We must defend our faith until they recognize us.

The most prominent event of the visit was the attendance of (2307) men and women who were guided to Islam at the hands of the doat of the World Islamic Call Society (WICS). They came from Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad and appeared before the WIPL Leader to declare their acceptance of Islam. A huge ceremony was held on the occasion, at which time the Leader addressed those present highlighting the importance of Islam and its role in raising the level of its followers if they practiced its teachings properly.

Because of its concern for the newly guided Muslims, the WICS has conducted a social survey to help bring services to them in their regions. WICS has also organised courses to train and assimilate them in their new community. It has provided material assistance to take care of them and organised an intensive cultural course for Chadian Sultan who declared their shahada at the hands of the WIPL Leader.

During the occasion, large numbers of copies of the Holy Qur’an were distributed as well as WICS publications in various languages.

Guided by the directives of the WIPL leader to the Muslim masses and in implementation of the crucial issues he put forward, an intensive programme was embarked upon. Intended to strengthen fraternal ties and consolidate Islamic culture as well as spread Arabic, it was first conducted in Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad.

A number of other activities were also carried out in neighbouring states such as Senegal, the Gambia and Benin. Included were three topics, education, culture and information. Following are some of the achievements in area:

3. 94 Libyan teachers and 11 from Al-Azhar Asharief were sent to supervise and inspect programmes for teaching Arabic language and Islamic culture.

4. 7 university lecturers were appointed to teach at Chadian universities and to work to Arabize education there.

5. Reprinting textbooks of Arabic and Islamic culture approved by WICS. 1,860,000 copies have been printed and distributed in the above mentioned countries. 225,000 copies of the book "Arabic for non-natives" were printed to cover the shortage and help spread the language.

6. 1,350,000 copies of the blessed Mushaf in three narrations, viz Qaloun, Hafs and Warash were printed in equal numbers and distributed to mosques and educational institutions.

7. The Faculty of Islamic Call (FIC) has admitted 68 students from the fore-mentioned states to study Arabic language and Islamic education at both the graduate and post -graduate levels.

8. A consignment of accredited books from the Great Jamahirya containing 600,000 copies of educational textbooks, were distributed to schools in Chad to meet the demand for Arabic language textbook.

Culture:

1. 66 doat, graduates of FIC were appointed in the target states.

2. Books emphasizing the Arab origins of Africa were printed.

3. Scientific symposiums were organised in cooperation with Islamic universities and specialist research centres to study the cultural and social origins of the states in the Sahara region.

In consolidating the unique Islamic identity and to help Muslims perform their rites, construction of Maiduiguri mosque in Nigeria was completed. It was inaugurated in huge, impressive Islamic ceremony attended by over a million Muslims as well as by prominent Muslim figures including former president Mohamed Bukhari, a presidential representative, the state governor and the Secretary of the World Islamic Call Society (WICS).

The Enigmatic Treasure mosque was inaugurated in Kano. The World Islamic Call Society contributed to the mosque construction. The inauguration was attended by Muslim figures. WICS also participated in the celebrations of the Qadiri Tariqa in Kano during which the foundation stone was laid for the largest Islamic library in Kano named after the late Qadiria Sheikh, Naser Kabara.

The Grand mosque and Arabic school in Senegal were also inaugurated. WICS built the two to help serve Islam in the region. The opening ceremony was attended by leaders of Sufi Tariqas and leading Senegalese government officials.

The first international conference of the Qadiri Tariqa in Senegal was held in coordination between WICS and Tariqa leaders under the auspices of president Abdou Diouf

In order to enable the Muslim masses from all over the world to benefit from the Leader's speeches and issues that concern Islam and Muslims, WICS has printed the Leader's speeches and translated them into a number of African and Asian languages. It has also published audiovisual recordings of the speeches and the prominent Islamic event.

Activities