1 Shawwal 1427
Tuesday 24/Wednesday 25 October 2006
CoEJ President’s Eid Message
Dear members of the community, In The Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful On behalf of The Council of European Jamaats, I wish you all a happy and joyous Eid-ul-Fitr. May Allah (SWT) accept our aamals and ibadaat, redeem us of our shortfalls and may the spirit of goodwill, which has prevailed through the holy month of Ramadhan, continue for the rest of the year. Ameen I pen this letter, with the thought that this Eid is a turning point in the history of our community. This Eid is unique in that it is the dawn of a new era, an era of change, an era of advancement and an era of enhanced collaboration.
The real catalyst for this change has been the recently concluded World Federation Conference in Dubai, which unanimously agreed that the Regional organisations such as CoEJ would gain greater responsibility and would focus more on delivery of many strategic objectives. I believe that this can only be achieved by a close and unified bond between CoEJ and yourselves, as its members. This would mean that the World Federation would instead focus on creating strategy and making policy.
On this day of Eid, we must as community, remember the troubles that have occurred throughout the world. In the past year we have seen the victims of natural disasters such as the Tsunami, Kashmir Earthquake and we have seen our brothers in Lebanon suffer deeply. We must stand up in support and provide relief as necessary. In addition, there is no question that we have a multitude of problems here on our own shores. For example, the issue of Islamaphobia is rife and the backlash from terrorist activities has affected our communities. Again, the community has responded with constructive discourse but more must be done to dampen the fuel on the fire that is Islamaphobia.
These challenging times are all encompassing. The survival and growth of our community can no longer be nurtured in isolation. Let us move forward in unison by reaffirming our commitment to the advancement of our community .The Council of European Jamaats for its part promises that it will work in the interests of all Jamaats: big or small. After all, it is only through this spirit of strong co-operation and unified movement can we as a community traverse this new era. Finally, on this occasion let us remember and pray for the safety and long life of our Marja-e-Taqleed and Ulema; and pray for the safety of our Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world. It is with the following inspiring words of our Imam, that I wish you all a heartfelt “Eid Mubarak”
"O Allah! Bless us in the day of our Eid and our fast breaking and let it be the best day that has passed over us" - Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (A.S.)
May Allah accept our efforts and give us tawfeeq to serve Him with Ikhlas.
Munawer Rattansey President | 
