LAHORE, Oct 20: Leaders of Islamic movements and students’ organizations from across the globe have urged the Muslim countries to adopt a collective strategy to counter the challenges facing the Ummat.

Speaking at the final session of the three-day Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba (IJT) convention here, they urged the Muslim states to forge a greater unity in their ranks and file.

They stressed the need to promote Quranic teachings and Islamic values of justice, equality and peace besides helping out Muslim brothers in distress across the globe to achieve the objective of unity.

They also offered fateha for the late president of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic who died on Sunday.

Jamaat-i-Islami Amir and MMA vice-president Qazi Husain Ahmad, who presided over the session, urged the Muslim countries to adopt collective policies in order to thwart the Jewish plans being carried out by the US against them.

Chief guest Auz Khan Asel Turk of the Saadat Party of Turkey said Jews had been working for the last five thousands years to implement their plan of establishing a greater Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates.

He said all the recent invasions and bloodshed in the Muslim countries were part of this plan which necessitated immediate, sincere and unanimous efforts by Ummat.

He urged the Muslim countries to establish a joint strike force, banks and formulate a joint media and foreign policy to protect the independence of their young generations.

Auz Khan Asel Turk also read the message of former Turkish prime minister Necmatin Erbekan.

Mr Erbekan said in his message that the Muslim world was suffering only because of its disunity. “The Western people think they are God-chosen people and have been created only to rule while other nations have been born to serve them.”

He said the anti-Muslim forces have hijacked the US military power and were now working to promote secularism in the world and establishing greater Israel. They conquered Afghanistan, Iraq and other central Asian countries to check and neutralize the rise of Muslim movements. Now they were advancing towards other Muslim countries like Syria, Iran and Pakistan.

Under the present circumstances, this congregation and the OIC summit should send a message to the entire Muslim world to forge a complete unity among its ranks to salvage its security and honour, Mr Erbekan said. Sri Lankan Asim Alvi said the confrontation between colonial powers of America and Europe had proven a prediction of Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him).

He said all man-made and unjust systems have to evaporate as Maulana Maudoodi had predicted about communism in its heyday that it would not find refuge anywhere in the world.

Bangladesh’s Islami Chatro Shibbar secretary-general M. Salimuddin urged all students unions in brother Muslim countries to unite themselves to launch a unified struggle for Islam.

He suggested helping brilliant students across the Muslim world, extending social services for the needy and creating a powerful media network to counter negative propaganda of the west.

Bosnia’s Muslim Shabab president Abdul Noor said Muslims must think and act collectively to thwart Bosnia-like massacre of innocent men, women and children whose only sin was that they were Muslims.

He said now our right to fight for survival was being snatched in the name of terrorism and before that all Muslims were killed unarmed, they must get united.

Dr Omar Al-Ajili of Turkey’s Saadat Party urged mutual tolerance and brotherhood and removing all mutual differences.

Sri Lanka’s Islamic students movement president Hidayatullah Ajmal said unity and discipline was a must for students to succeed in future and become an asset for their religion and country.

Bangladesh’s Jamaat-i-Islami assistant secretary Muhammad Abu Tahir said Pakistan was dismembered and Bangladesh was created in order to frustrate and fail Muslim movements.

He, however, said that despite this ugly incident Islamic movement in Bangladesh was now in a position where no national decision could be taken without consulting it.

UK’s House of Lords Member Nazir Ahmad said following 9/11 attacks, Muslims were hunted like animals in the US and Europe. Thousands were victimized and jailed without any justification. He held UN responsible for these atrocities.

He condemned the double standards of the West and declared that the movements in Kashmir and Palestine were freedom struggles which could not be termed terrorism under any circumstances.

Lord Nazir said freedom of expression in the West was also a farce and cited targeting of Al-Jazeera by US planes for screening American forces’ atrocities on people of Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said 70 per cent Britons opposed the Iraq war but the Labour Party government ignored it and twisted the facts to justify the attack.

Jamaat-i-Islami secretary-general Munawwar Hasan said the rulers raised the slogan of Pakistan first to cut off the country from the rest of the Ummat.

He regretted that there were many Muslim rulers like Karzai and Musharraf who were creating obstacles in the rise of Ummat.

He said the US was afraid of Jihad for it had closely witnessed the charismatic battles of Afghan Mujahideen.

Abdul Rasheed Turabi, former amir of Azad Kashmir JI and other leaders also spoke on the occasion.

Ahmad Rasheed of the Centre for Islamic Studies, Sri Lanka; Muhammad Shaheed of Sri Lanka’s Jamaat-i-Islami; Muhammad Nizam Jaffri also from Sri Lanka; Nsubuga Ali, Abdul Hamid Mpoza and Muhammad Ahmad Musungule from Uganda; Abdullah S. Bulawa of Zambia; Abdul Razak Kalib, Mustafa Zilika Malijane and Brahim Tembane from South Africa; January Ahmad G.S. Bwanali, Abdul Majeed Hassan Dyton and Saidi Klanja Mjaidi from Malawi; Rohit Ahmad from Nepal, Ali Adnan Ali, Abubakar Said and Muhammad Mwangi Karanja from Kenya; Reza Azim Khan and Moussa Khalilullah Koodoruth from Mauritius also attended the session.