L to R: Abdullah Omar Naseef, Ehsaan Saleh Taieb, Abdullah Al-Turki, Ahmed Mohammed Ali and Abdullah Obaid during the 9th General Assembly of IIROSA at the Crowne Plaza in Jeddah on Satuday. — Courtesy photo.
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — The International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia (IIROSA) will be fulfilling its role in providing humanitarian relief globally after it was cleared of all terror-funding accusations by the United Nations, European Union and the United Kingdom.
“We have been cleared of all accusations by the UN, EU and he UK and we condemn terrorism in every form,” Ehsaan Saleh Taieb, eecretary-general IIROSA said during its 9th General Assembly meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jeddah on Saturday.
“We denounce terror and will stay away from people, entities and parties who sponsor, practice or have links to terror,” he added.
Earlier, Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, opened the meeting with a call for unified and concerted relief work.
Al-Turki called upon the members of the General Assembly to develop humanitarian and relief work to keep abreast with the requirements of the age and follow the latest developments in the field.
“These humanitarian work comes within the framework of the great status the Kingdom enjoys as the cradle of Islam and the hosts of the two holy mosques. King Abdulaziz founded the Kingdom on the basis of piety, mercy and love. The Kingdom encourages and supports the humanitarian work of the IIROSA, an affiliate to the Muslim World League,” he said.
Al-Turki said the organization is ready to cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all over the world in order to work for a collaborative global relief network.
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank Group, asked the board, prior to the passing of the audited accounts, why the group held SR216 million in liquid assets, which will lose in value due to depreciation if left in the bank for long.
Al-Turki replied that there are two reasons for the existence of liquidity of SR216 million.
Due to certain reasons, some of the projects that were to be completed by this fiscal year was not finished so the money for these projects remained in the account and would be carried forward to the next fiscal, and secondly, there have been issues in money transfers and until the transfers were done the money would remain in escrow account.
To a query on mosques being abandoned after being built by IIROSA, Al-Turki said: “Mosques that are usually built by the relief organization in different parts of the world should be managed by IIROSA and run by people espousing moderate Islam. It should not be left alone or neglected after it has been built. Such neglect would allow others to take over — others who may profess a different strain of Islam — and exploit the mosque.”
During the interactive session, a question was raised about inclusion of women in the IIROSA workforce, while many called for the enhancement of the professional capabilities of the employees and volunteers in order for a smooth organization of relief work.
