Daily Times

The secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa met prominent Pakistani religious leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and other Pakistani religious scholars in Islamabad on Monday, Rehman’s party said, as the MWL official’s nine-day visit to the country concludes today.

Dr. Al-Issa arrived in Islamabad on April 7 on a nine-day trip aimed at fostering interfaith harmony, strengthening bilateral ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He heads the MWL, a Makkah-based non-governmental organization that represents followers of Islam around the world.

During his visit to Pakistan, Dr. Al-Issa delivered the Eid Al-Fitr sermon at the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad last week in which he called on Muslims to keep Palestinians close to their hearts and in their prayers.

Rehman, who heads the right-wing Jamiat Ulama-e-Pakistan Fazl (JUI-F) party, met Dr. Al-Issa at the house of Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Pakistan, the JUI-F said in a statement.

“We welcome Muslim World League Secretary-General Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa and his honorable delegation,” Rehman was quoted as saying by the JUI-F.

The JUI-F leader said thousands of madrassahs or religious seminaries were being run by Pakistani scholars in the country. He added that Pakistani scholars have played a prominent role in awakening the Muslim community.

“Pakistani scholars have a longstanding spiritual and brotherly relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Rehman was quoted as saying by the JUI-F.

Speaking on the Gaza crisis, Rehman criticized the Jewish state for its relentless military campaign and said that the “brutality” against Palestinians cannot be ignored.

“Zionist Israel has the patronage of international powers where human rights are being trampled and children, women and the elderly are being killed,” he said. “The Palestinian situation demands unity from us and the entire Muslim Ummah is looking toward Saudi Arabia in this regard.”

During his visit to Pakistan, Dr. Al-Issa visited the Ali bin Abi Talib Orphanage in Islamabad to spend time with the orphans there on Eid Al-Fitr. On Saturday, he attended the foundation laying ceremony of the Seerat Museum in Islamabad. The museum, the first of its kind, would exhibit relics related to the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).