ISLAMABAD: An imam of Makkah’s Grand Mosque Dr. Sheikh Abdullah Awad Al Juhany said on Friday that young Muslims were capable of transforming societies and warned them against being exploited in the name of religion.
Juhany arrived in Pakistan on Thursday and will address the Fourth International Message of Islam Conference, scheduled to be held in Islamabad on Sunday.
On Friday, he addressed a seminar entitled “Youth and Contemporary Challenges” at the International Islamic University’s Faisal Mosque campus after Friday prayers, which he will lead.
“You should not fall into the trap of the people who try to deceive you in the name of religion,” the imam said, adding that young Muslims must stay strong and united in the face of modern challenges.
A frequent visitor to Pakistan, the imam urged the youth to seek guidance from clerics on religious matters instead of blindly following people with little understanding of major issues in Islam.
Earlier in the day, Juhany delivered the Friday sermon and led prayers at Islamabad’s iconic Faisal Mosque. Thousands of people from all walks of life, including women and children, attended the congregation where special prayers were offered for the peace and prosperity of Pakistan and the Muslim world.
Speaking at the youth seminar, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Nawaf Saeed Al Malkiy said young people were the backbone of any culture and religion and must be provided with modern education and skills.
Lauding the vision of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman with regards to young people, Malkiy said that a $100 million modern center was being set up in the Kingdom to educate and train the youth along modern lines.
“Ulema should play their role in putting the youth on the right path,” Malkiy said.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said it was the duty of religious clerics to create awareness among the youth about the true teachings of Islam: “The youth must be armed with modern education and skills – just like they were in the age of the prophet [Muhammad].”
In his welcome address, the rector of the International Islamic University Islamabad, Dr. Masoom Yasinzai, said that Pakistan was home to 56 million young people whose true potential could be unleashed if they were equipped with education in science and technology.
Imam of grand mosque urges youth to stay strong in face of modern challenges
Imam of grand mosque urges youth to stay strong in face of modern challenges
- Juhany was addressing a seminar at the International Islamic University’s Faisal Mosque campus after Friday prayers
- Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan says Muslim youth must be provided with modern education and skills
Pakistani PM to attend Board of Peace summit as part of Islamic bloc effort — FO
- Board will hold its first meeting on Feb. 19 in Washington to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction
- Foreign office spokesman says no dates finalized for visit to Pakistan by Saudi Crown Prince
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan confirmed on Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the first meeting of President Donald Trump’s newly formed “Board of Peace” in Washington on Feb. 19, positioning Islamabad as part of a joint Islamic diplomatic initiative focused on Gaza.
A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off.
Under Trump’s Gaza plan, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would be expanded to tackle global conflicts. The board will hold its first meeting on Feb. 19 in Washington to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed Sharif’s participation.
“Yes, I can confirm that the prime minister will attend the Board of Peace meeting... He will be accompanied by the deputy prime minister,” Andrabi said, describing Pakistan’s participation as part of a broader collective engagement by Muslim-majority states.
“We have joined the Board of Peace in good faith… We are in it, not in isolation, not as one voice, but as a collective voice of eight Islamic Arab countries,” he said.
“Our collective voice is resonating in the Board of Peace, and we will continue to strive for the right and progress and prosperity of the people of Palestine. And also aimed at the long-term solution of the Palestine issue in order to create a state of Palestine in accordance with the pre-1967 border with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently supported a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Responding to reports about a possible visit to Pakistan by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Andrabi said no dates had been finalized.
“There was a reference to the visit in one of the joint statements [issued after two visits of Sharif to Saudi Arabia last year] that this visit will take place this year. But I am not aware of its timing as yet,” the FO spokesman said.
Andrabi also addressed Pakistan’s financial engagement with the United Arab Emirates, confirming that Abu Dhabi had rolled over $2 billion in deposits with Pakistan’s central bank.
“The tenure of the rollover is prerogative of the depositor. But what I can assure you is that through the positive role of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister [Ishaq Dar], we can say that the rollover is assured,” he said.
Last month, Pakistan’s central bank confirmed the extension of the $2 billion deposit, which has helped support the country’s foreign exchange reserves as Islamabad implements reforms under an ongoing International Monetary Fund bailout program.
Andrabi added that Pakistan currently faces “no external finance gap.”
