By TCN News,
Riyadh: Almost 200 people from all walks of life gathered at an Iftar Party Cum Dinner hosted by Jamia Millia Alumni Association at a local restaurant in Riyadh. Mr. R. N. Wats, Second
Secretary, Community Welfare, Embassy of India was the chief guest at the occasion.
Keeping up with the traditions of Jamia event started with the recitation of the holy Quran
followed by a speech on the significance of fasting and taqwa by Mr. Najeeb Qasmi. The time after Iftar and before Isha prayer was well utilized by the organizers for the speeches by the Chief Guest, President and other speakers.
President of Jamia Alumni Association, Murshid Kamal addressing the Iftar Party gathering in Riyadh. (From L-R) Dr. Hafeezur Rahman, Head of Jamaat Islami Hind, Riyadh, Mr. R. N. Vats, Second Secretary, community welfare, Embassy of India, Riyadh and Mohammed Shahabuddin, Member Advisory council.
Speaking at the occasion a senior Jamiaet and the Head of Jamaat-e- Islami, Hind, Riyadh chapter called on the audience to donate generously in the holy month of Ramadan. He gave a brief overview of the Jamia Scholarship Committee (JASCOM), which runs scholarship program for the poor and needy students of Jamia and requested the audience to allocate some of their charity spending for JASCOM.
Mr. Wats in his brief speech thanked Jamia Alumni Association for providing him with the opportunity to interact with such a large gathering of Indian community in Riyadh. He said it’s also an opportunity for him to know about Islam and Muslims more closely which he would have missed in the posting of a non Muslim country. He was impressed to know about the philanthropic and community welfare activities of the Association and the dedication of its young and energetic leadership. Mr. Wats enthralled the audience when he talked about the concept of charity in Islam and made a point that “one has to pay high price to buy any quality merchandise; so the will and pleasure of Almighty which is priceless and precious can be
attained by spending money for the poor and underprivileged section of the society”
Mr. Murshid Kamal, President of Jamia Alumni Association thanked Jamiaets and Non-Jamiaets for turning up in such a large number. Mr. Kamal said that Jamia’s history is a saga of dedication, sacrifice and high aspirations. In his thought provoking speech he called on the Jamiaets to carry forward the mission of Jamia’s founders and strive to achieve the objective for which Jamia was established. He reminded the audience of the difficult circumstance in which Jamia was established and how it was bailed out by Dr. Zakir Hussain and his associates when it was on the verge of collapse after the death of Hakeem Ajmal Khan. Mr. Kamal said that Jamia was so close to the heart of Mahatma Gandhi that he even offered to go with a begging bowl to collect fund when Jamia was under deep financial crisis.
Mr. Mohammed Shahabuddin, member of Advisory council anchored the proceeding and Mr.Shafaatullah Khan, one of the founders of Association presented bouquet to the chief guest. Mr.Ehsan Chaudhary delivered vote of thanks. Other prominent Jamiaets who were instrumental in organizing the event were Vice President, Mr. Laique Ahmad Azmi, Joint Secretary Mr. Asif Equbal, JASCOM, Convener, Mr. Atiqur Rahman, advisory council members Mr. Shamsuddin Shams, Mr. Aftab Nizami, Mr. Massoud Farooqi and Executive council member Mr. Imdad
Alam Nadvi.
Prominent among others present at the occasion were Mr. Hussain Zulqarnain, Founder, Taqwa International School, office bearers of AMUOBA, BISWAS, Tanzeem Hum Hindustani,Hindustani Bazme-Urdu, APUS and well-known journalists Mr. Ghazanfar Ali Khan and Mr. K.N. Wasif.