Muslims must recommit to ideals of Islam

LEADER of the Muslim lobby group Ummah T&T of Chaguanas has appealed to Muslims to recommit themselves to the ideals of Islam following their observance of the month of Ramadan.

Imam Rasheed Karim was at the time speaking to a guest list of more than 300 people at the second annual Ummah T&T Eid Dinner staged at the Felicity Diplomatic Centre. The event was staged under the patronage of Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar who delivered the feature address which included several top officials of the United National Congress.

But it was Imam Karim, spiritual leader of the Felicity Masjid who roused the conscience of those Muslims attending the dinner with his call to further strengthen the faith of all who observed the fast of Ramadan.

“We saw the large crowds attending the mosques during the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims were observing the dawn to dusk fast. We stayed late at night praying the Tawaareeh salah. We opened our hands to give charity to the poor and needy,” said Karim.

“So, we must continue to do this out of Ramadan. These are the principles of Islam we must not take for granted and believe that it is to be done only during Ramadan,” he said.

The Imam said the life of Muslims has never been examined before as it is now so it is very important that all those who follow the religion in truth to be exemplars for society. Karim said Muslims must strive to develop praiseworthy characteristics and shun the impulse to perform acts that will bring the noble religion into disrepute. The Ummah T&T chairman thanked Persad-Bissessar, who he said during her stewardship as prime minister between 2010 and 2015 did much to assist the Muslim community.

He pointed to the $25,000 grant handed out to all mosques before Ramadan which was used to help the respective communities prepare meals during Ramadan, for charitable purposes to assist the underprivileged and poor, and to develop the infrastructure of the places of worship. A feature of the Eid Dinner were special awards presented to three outstanding members of the media who were presented with plaques for their exemplary contribution to the central community, and the nation at large.

Azlan Mohammed, senior photographer of Newsday; Shastri Boodan of Guardian Media; and Ramdeo Heeralal, a veteran videographer/freelancer were acknowledged for their years of dedication to the journalistic profession.