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Assalamou alaikoum wa rahmatou Allahi wa barakatouh,
In a show of unity and solidarity with the people of Gaza, over 40
Muslim leaders and imams met Thursday, Jan 1st, 2009, to discuss the
current situation and recommend immediate actions in support of the
Palestinian cause and the people of Gaza. With pain and sorrow at the
deteriorating situation, and the escalation of violence against our
brothers and sisters, all those present at the meeting have
unanimously approved the following actions:
1. To have our imams address the Palestinian cause and the current
situation in Gaza at Jumaa Khutba this Friday, encouraging members of
the community to donate generously for the victims, and to get
seriously involved by acting on all the following recommendations.
2. To set aside all collections at this Jumaa prayer for the victims
of this aggression. All collected donations will be directed to JFM,
which in turn will be sent to credible organisations working in Gaza.
3. To urge all Muslims to make special duaa, and qunoot ul-Nawazil,
asking Allah Taala to help bring peace and prosperity to all the
Palestinian people who have been suffering for so long, and to stop
the attacks and the current blockade on Gaza.
4. To ask community members at jumaa prayer to be present and join the
demonstration taking place this Sunday, Jan 4th, 12:30 PM, at Square
Cabot (corner St-Catherine and Atwater) near the Atwater Metro station.
5. To issue a statement signed by all the organisations explaining the
need to stop the attack and the blockade in Gaza, sending the
statement as a letter to the Canadian prime minister, politicians and
all concerned organisations.
6. To publish the letter in national newspapers, in both official
languages, as an open letter seeking an immediate action to help stop
the attack and cancel the blockade on Gaza.
7. To urge community members in the coming week to sign the letter as
a petition to our Parliament to help find an immediate solution to
this problem and to uphold our Canadian values without bias toward
just resolution.
8. To send letters to Muslim embassies and/or consulates, and more
specifically the neighbouring states to Palestine, to urge their
governments to get positively involved toward reaching a better
solution for the Palestinian problem, and in support of their cause
and their unity.
9. To publish a fact sheet about the situation in Gaza and its causes,
and the Palestinian problem in general.
10. To urge all conscious minded people, Muslims and non-Muslims, to
join us in this cause, and to write letters to politicians and the
media to voice their concern about the grave situation and concern
about the Canadian position in relation to the problem.
11. To have other long term actions organized, such as open door
mosques or rallies, in support of the cause and to engage our society
in an intelligent discussions about the plight of the Palestinian people.
More information to follow in shaa Allah.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who were
present at the meeting, and those who sent their regrets but were
willing to join whatever actions and decisions taken by those present.
However, if you or your imam didn't attend the meeting please make
sure to inform them of the steps above, to make sure that we are all
united in our action across Montreal, in shaa Allahi Taala.
If you feel you can contribute to the above actions, or you know other
brothers or sisters who can join the committees working on the above
actions, please don't hesitate to let us know as soon as possible.
Wishing you and our brothers and sisters in Gaza all the best.
Wa assalam
Salam Elmenyawi
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