The following is a speech made by Presidential Candidate of Khemraj Ramjattan at the Eid Festival at the Anna Catherina Islamic Center, WCD on September 4, 2011. The festival was attended by more than 500 Muslims and featured legendary Mohan Nandu and Jameer Hussain. Mr. Ramjattan was delighted at the warm wel...come he received.
Mr. Chairman, Imams, Dignitaries and my Muslim Brothers and sisters – Assalamu Alaikum
To members and executives of the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex and Muslim Youth League I want to say thank you for the invitation and I have seen your development over the years. It is your initiatives and others like this that will ensure Guyana becoming a better place – I am so proud of you and your work – keep going.
On this day when we celebrate Eid, I know it is a day of victory for Muslims, having fulfilled their duties during the Holy Month of Ramadan. This celebration or Eid-ul-Fitr comes after a month long physical, mental and spiritual rejuvenation for the purpose of gaining control and transforming oneself. This is fundamental to any society or any people that believes that it can do and must do better. I know that you and many Muslims in Guyana are now ready to recommit yourself to the change that is necessary to bring about a better society, Ramadan teaches us that it begins with each individual.
I want to remind myself as I share a quote from the quran that is so relevant today “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)”. (13-11)
Many of you are doing just that. During Ramadan, you worked hard to cultivate a sense of charity, humility, consideration for the poor and needy and a spirit of community, cooperation and compassion - this is the beginning of that transformation for you, your family, your community and your nation – your fasting is a commitment to do “what is right and forbidding that which is wrong” can only mean well for Guyana today and tomorrow.
You know more than I, that what we do today will impact and determine what happens tomorrow, what we do this year will impact our lives next year. Today, more than ever, our nation craves and is desperate for the wisdom of moral and religious leadership. For too long, our collective efforts at governing our country has been devoid of the teaching of our diverse religious mosaic that can give us and take us out of our moral stagnation – this must stop. I believe and know that Guyana can do better, I just know it. We have to put morality back into leadership and governance in Guyana, I believe and you will agree with me that any deviation will take us further from the ‘straight path’.
Festivals like Eid have been a universal feature of all cultures and communities from ancient times. They generate harmony; forge unity and refresh the sense of identity among communities. They also put a spirit of life and rejuvenate the existence and sustenance of a community or nation. To this end the I salute the Muslim Community for maintaining their religious and cultural practices that has served to enriched the Guyanese landscape and spirit, this must be supported.
But as we celebrate on this festive occasion, and I am enjoying every moment of it, we all must remember those less fortunate, including those impacted by poverty, joblessness, hunger, crime, , corruption, conflict and disease around the world and especially in Guyana. Throughout the month, Muslim communities collect and distribute zakat-ul-fitr so that all are able to participate in this day of celebration – this is the true spirit and essence of our worth.
I on behalf of the members and executives of the AFC wishes all Muslims and their fellow Guyanese a most blessed and joyous Eid-ul-Fitr and join with you in prayer and celebration for a better tomorrow which begins today.
Assalaamualaikum!
