New Delhi, 27 Jan: A special programme was organised by SIO Delhi Zone in Abul Lais Hall of SIO headquarters on Role of Muslim Students and Youth in the Revival of Muslim Ummah. Sheikh Alauddin Al-Bakri, Imam and Khatib based in West Valley, California, USA, was the guest of honour.

The eminent personality is on a two weeks tour of India. The programme began after maghrib with recitation from Quran. Sheikh Alauddin Al-Bakri then spoke about 40 minutes on the topic. His speech was simple, lucid yet powerful and captivating. The hall was brimming with enthusiastic listeners, who despite finding no chairs were standing at the back without complaints. More than 200 students benefitted from the programme.

In his speech Skeikh Alauddin Al-Bakri emphasised that time of talking and time of complaining has gone; now is the time of action. For action, one needs an objective, a plan and, efforts to achieve the same. He said that he himself belongs to a country where Muslims are in minority, but he reminded that considerations of minority and majority are irrelevant as what matters is mental strength. Every material defeat is preceded by a mental defeat. We were in the minority in Makkah, in Badr, but we were mentally strong and nothing else matters. “What do you mean by youth?” he demanded. And explained that to-be-a-youth is not a matter of age but a matter of mentality.

Ammar bin Yasir, he said, when was in his eighties would jump from the ground on the back of a running horse and ride it. He was definitely a youth at the age of eighty. Being broadminded, receptive,active, functional and responsive to change are the qualities of being youth and not the age. By this criteria several are youth in their eighties and several are old in their twenties. Drawing from daily-life examples he tried to inculcate the spirit of Islamic activism among those present and ended his enthralling speech on the prayers for remaining youth for the whole life.

President of SIO Delhi Zone Br. Anisur Rehman presented Sheikh Al-Bakri with a gift of honour and the session came to an end with the concluding speech by SIO General Secretary Br. PM Salih. The programme was conducted by Br. Khan Yasir.