December  1, 2002

Address by President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak at the Celebration Marking “Laylatul Qadr”

    In this blessed night, we celebrate, together with millions of Muslims all over the world, the memorable occasion of "laylatul Qadr" which is better than one thousand months.

    Our celebration this year comes amidst extremely critical international circumstances, which have imposed new challenges on the Islamic nation. It is our responsibilities to address these challenges with all resolve and strength in order to preserve our religious, cultural and social idiosyncracies.

    The contemporary international conditions have led to the rise of new challenges particularly to the Arab Islamic identity. For one reason or another, some people have managed to exploit certain events to insinuate a linkage between Islam and the Arabs on the one hand, and terrorism and extremism on the other. This was instrumental in steering the international anti-terrorism campaign to cover an unnegligible number of nationals of Arab and Islamic countries. At the same time, this trend helped escalate the feeling of suspicion, and sometimes of animosity, towards Islam and Muslims. In turn, such feeling has agitated the sentiments of Arabs and Muslims who reacted in defense of their religion and Arabism against those unjust feelings and prevarications.

    In spite of re-assurances by several world leaders that the war against terrorism is not directed towards Arabs or Muslims, we have regrettably seen a dramatic escalation of the trend by some intellectuals and clerics in other countries to label the Islamic faith and Arab societies as undemocratic, resistant to modernization and incompatible with the generally acknowledged norms of contemporary human rights according to western concepts.

    What makes things worse, is that all such calumnies go uncondemned outside the Islamic nation nor deterred by followers of the other religions. At the same time, some people are quite keen to condemn any such act by an Arab or a Muslim that may imply suspicion, even from afar, of any prejudice to other religion. Such a situation can be interpreted only in the context of ignorance of the value of religions and Heavenly Messengers in building bridges of communication and dialogue between civilizations and societies.

    These provocative practices have co-incided with the continuing- and even escalating harassments inflicted on citizens of Arab and Islamic countries in certain countries.

    These have gone to the point of subjecting them to specific legislation that curbs their entry into and restricts their movement through their territories. They were even subjected to specific laws and acts that widen the scope of suspicion and doubt towards them.

    These practices have gone as far as deriding Arab-Islamic customs and traditions, and even further beyond, to attempt to sow seeds of dissension and difference between the Shi'ites and the Sunnites, with the object of stirring internal sedition and turmoil with Arab and Islamic countries, let alone other practices that seriously undermine relations between religions and peoples.

Eminent Ulemas,
Brothers and Sisters,
    We have been accustomed, as we celebrated the memory of this blessed night, that our celebration is not confined to the customary acts of worship, invocation and supplication of Allah. In additon, we have been accustomed, as both individuals and peoples, to have a sincere pause of self-contemplation, where we can explore the truth about the challenges facing us. We can also identify the features of our road to address such challenges.

    As an Islamic and Arab nation, we have started to rally our divided ranks and mobilize our resolve that has been vitiated by our engrossment with side issues and differences, almost diverting our attention away from our major issues and drifting us away from our ambitions, aspirations and legitimate hope for a better future.

    We should also explain to the whole world around us, in an organised collective move, that the phenomena of violence and terrorism, nowadays widely spread all over the whole world, have nothing to do with the religion of Islam or the Arabs specifically. Rather it is ignited by sentiments of injustice, frustration and despair caused by intractable political problems which the society has never exerted any effort to settle, or attempted to do so on bases other than of justice and equality that constitute the main principles on which our noble Islamic religion is founded.

    Moreover, such feelings are kindled by aggravating economic problems as well; accompanied by an abated willingness for international cooperation; thus rendering the poor poorer and the rich richer, in full disregard of the sublime humane values on which Islam is based,ie; solidarity and mutual sympathy being the main grounds for overcoming any psychic negative impact as may be caused by gaps between the rich and the poor.

    It seems that some have pretended to have forgotten, for individual or regional interests, that to occupy others' land , to humiliate, debase and refuse to allow them the opportunity of self-control and self-determination will only leave behind a deep-rooted will for revenge that will be handed down from one place to another and from one generation to another. Hence, there is no way to put an end to violence regardless of the religion, ethnic or ideological origin of perpetrators but to reach just and comprehensive solutions to political, economic or social issues.

    This, first and foremost applied to the situation in the Middle East. In spite of our unstarted efforts to put an end to the cycle of Israeli violence and Palestinian counter-violence that result in civilian victims from both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, our efforts for stopping violence in the occupied Palestinian territories will never succeed unless direct and serious negotiations for peace start, and the Palestinian people, with their various religions, feel a real hope for establishing their sovereign independent state .

    Events of mutual violence that have recently taken place in plenty, claiming the lives of many innocent victims, have proved the truth of our vision in this respect. Hence, I call upon the Israeli leadership and people to recognize - before it has been too late - that using force in attempting to impose security will lead only to aggravating violence and blood-shed. I assure that the opportunity is still available to the Israeli people to adjust their course and sincerely seek to pursue a road conducive to real peace, security and stability through entry into direct political negotiations on the final settlement solution with all its components and on the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. At the same time, we will continue our efforts to train Palestinian leaderships in assuming their responsibilities with increasing efficiency in all fields.

    Should the Israeli leadership and people so determine, they will receive full support and backing from us and from all Arab countries. Undoubtedly, they will see from the Palestinian people a different stance that will categorically curb acts of violence and they will proceed together with the Israeli people along the road to peace and stability.

Reverend Ulemas,
Brothers and Sisters,

    We live in a unique age where everything around us have changed. We all have to grasp the magnitude of these changes and to prepare the nation, internally and externally, to address such changes. To this end, we should be able to respond to argument with counter-argument; to set right misconceptions and misrepresentations, which some seek, for one reason or another, to propagate as regards our lenient religion of Islam and our time-honoured Arab civilization.

    How can Islam be termed as unable to keep pace with civlization. How come, while Islam had played a pioneering role in building civilizations in a marvellous sequence, leaving behind its visible fingerprints on human history. It even contributed to the European Renaissance itself based on solid foundations that led to the advancement of the Europeans and other socities. How can Islamic faith be termed as undemocratic. How come, while it was the Islamic Sharia that had established the oldest foundations of democracy in the Quranic statement :"and whose affairs are a matter of counsel". This principle has been the guiding star for our endeavours. We have adopted it as a basis for expanding popular participation in our national and partisan work, for bolstering our development efforts and even for ensuring that all without discrimination will enjoy the fruits of development, prosperity and stability.

    In so doing, we were driven by a strong belief that the difference in democratic concepts and contents with other cultures and religions is in itself a strength. While this had made possible human interaction between civilizations, religions and cultures, no specific culture had overpowered nor sought to change the concepts and beliefs of any other one. How can Islam be accused of indifference to human rights, while it is entirely based on choice rather than on compulsion, on facilitation rather than on distress as evidenced by the words of Allah in the Holy Quran,:" There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error." Also in the words of Allah addressing prophet Muhammad:"Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?" How can this accusation be directed to Islam at the time when other countries and religions usurp Arab and Muslim rights without real objection and in a way that daily affect their fundamental freedom and rights.

    How can all these unjust accusations be slurred on Islamic and Arab countries while the Arab countries alone invest according to various estimates about 800-2400 billion US dollars beyond their territories. These investments do contribute to the prosperity and advancement of other countries while others are always ready to express their suspicion, doubts and apprehension towards Arab and Muslim intentions and conduct.

    Ultimately, the question, brothers and sisters, is how to face the external misconception of the content, orientations and practices of the Islamic religion which is associated with a similar misconception of the concepts, orientations and practices of Arab -Islamic culture.

    We have admitted that we have not exerted enough effort to inform and aquaint others around us with such efforts of development and modernization made by us, thus, contributing to the glorification and elevation of our noble human values. In so doing , we were guided by the principles stated in the QurÕan and Sunna. We were even led, in good intention, to believe that others will seek, on their way, to know more about our religion, culture and practices, given the trust in the significance of mutual acquaintance, continued communication and dialogue. However some - unfortunately- ignored these bases and principles and sought to exploit some of the negative aspects that have contaminated the conduct of a deviant minority of Arabs and Muslims in order to start disillusioned attempt to impair the Islamic religion and Arab civilization, in obvious contradiction with our common pursuit to deepen the spirit of tolerance and harmony in the interest of humanity at large.

Brothers and Sisters
Reverend Ulemas,

    On the occasion of this blessed night, we have to renew our belief in the straight Islamic approach which has been and will be the guiding star for our work in the face of challenges and changes. This approach is represented in the Quranic verse:"Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way,"We have also to increase our openness as an Islamic nation to the outside world with self-confidence and self respect inorder to correct the misrepresented image of Islam in the world around us in the context of a constructive and meaningful dialogue ; based on reasoning and power of logic.

    Thus, Muslims Ulemas have a major responsibility to elevate the standard of religious discourse, not only to confront sentiments of rage in the Islamic street and to convert them into constructive energy towards reviving, strengthening and enhancing the status of our Islamic nation, but also to send clear and consecutive messages to the outside world of our civilized values, principles and conduct, and our efforts for self-development in light of compliance with the teachings of our religion and the traditions of our gracious Prophet (Sunna).

    Here also, al-Azhar al-Shareef Ulemas and Islamic Countries Ulemas have a major responsibility to widen the scope of advocacy for Islamic religion and to continually and properly disseminate it abroad. This exercise should go far beyond merely observing the nights of the holy month of Ramadan or other Islamic religious occasions. Thus, advocacy efforts should be at all times addressed to both Muslims and non-Muslims abroad. This should effectively help rectify any misconceptions, before they have spread far and wide in other societies around us.

    It is our duty, severally and jointly, to further acquaint the world around us with our efforts to enhance democracy and popular participation, to promote our Islamic nation, economically, scientifically and technologically, to cope with the spirit of the time, and to entrench respect for human rights viewed in light of our deep-rooted conceptions and values.

    We should also promote our conduct so as to cope with the nature of current stage. Thus, we should be more alert and more conscious of all that is said or published about ourselves and our true religion. We should, further, more rapidly move to proactively prevent any calumnies or slurs against us through worldwide structured communications and campaigns, we should launch without delay relying on our resources.

    The Organization of Islamic Conference should play a principal role in this respect, by expanding and properly directing joint Islamic action to where it responds to the spirit of the age, in defense of our great Islamic values and principles within and outside the Islamic world.

    We have to take advantage of the distinct relationships of both the Islamic and Arab worlds with the outside world, and partcularly the huge volume of our investments abroad to realize our objectives, re-inforce our stances and beef up our Islamic nation's pursuit of progress and prosperity.

    Finally, we have to foster our young people and children on the proper values of Islam, that are free of extremism, but based on tolerance, moderation and facilitation, as well as on the noble sublime values that have governed our societies for several centuries and made us truly"the best nation created for mankind"

Eminent Ulemas,
Brothers and Sisters,
    As Allah had bestowed victory upon His soldiers twice during the month of Ramadan; once in the battle of Badr on the seventeenth of the month and second in the glorious war of October 1973, on the tenth, He, Exalted He be, is quite capable of equally bestowing victory upon our Islamic nation in its endeavours today to adopt a new approach that guarantees an elevated status for Islam and Muslims.

    It still remains , brothers and sisters, for us to beseech Allah, with sincere and submissive hearts in this blessed night that Allah rendered peaceful up to the rise of of dawn, to strenghten our resolve on the right path; to guide us to maturity, to bless our efforts to unify our viewpoint and unite our ranks.

    Let us pray to Allah to help us launch signs of a new comprehensive revival, whereby our conditions can be changed and whose fruits our people can enjoy. May Allah help us build the peace that is based on justice and right, to activate co-operation and co-existence with all religions and civilizations on the basis of mutual respect and confidence. Allah is Most Responsive to supplications.

    Many happy returns of this occasion for you, our nation and all the world.

May Peace and Allah's Blessings and
Mercy be upon you