AlHijjah 8, 1433, Oct 24, 2012, SPA -- Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu extended his heartfelt thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people and its leadership, for all the commendable efforts being made to better serve the pilgrims and for all the facilities provided to ensure their ease and comfort. He also addressed a message of sincere and warm congratulations to the Islamic Ummah on the advent of the feast of Eid Al-Adha. The message reads as follows: "On the occasion of the blessed Eid Al-Adha, for the year 1433H, it gives me particular pleasure to address my warm and most sincere congratulations to the entire Islamic Ummah, East and West. The advent of this glorious festive event fills us with spirituality and submerges us in feelings of divine mercy, as millions of Muslims congregate on the immaculate Mount Arafat, in an imposing religious scene which should remind us all Muslims of the need to promote unity, solidarity and mutuality amongst us and to banish all forms and manifestations of discord, conflict or division. The leaders of the Muslim worldwide have harked to the dangers of divergence and dispersal which besiege the Ummah, and have thus responded to the call launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to convene the Fourth Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Makkah, in the last part the past holy month of Ramadan. The Summit was an expression of the leaders' acute awareness of what the Ummah actually needs at this critical juncture, in terms of concertation and unity of rank such as to dispel the sectarian specter which has started raising its ugly head and posing the most ominous threats. The leaders have realized the dangers of strife and infights among the Muslim fellowship, and have therefore welcomed the proposal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to set up a Centre for Dialogue Among the Islamic Doctrines such as to evolve a common ground that would enhance solidarity between the Islamic states and peoples, reaffirm our unity of rank and boost our mutuality as Muslims, and such as to repel the specter of sectarian conflicts, stamp out strife and consolidate security." --More
