Muslim scholars urge aid to needy during upcoming holy month of Ramadan

By Gulsum Incekaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - Muslim scholars called on Islamic countries to reach people in need, especially in war and conflict zones ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Ali al-Qaradaghi, the secretary-general of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, said aid should be delivered urgently, especially to hot conflict zones such as Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine.

Al-Qaradaghi said Ramadan is extremely important that Muslims should reach people in need without any discrimination.

There has been a migration flow due to the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan, he noted, saying the world has faced a new migration wave after Russia's war on Ukraine.

“Thousands of people from Ukraine have become refugees. These people are just like the Syrians, Afghans, and Yemenis. They are running away from death. Nobody willingly leaves their country or home,” he said, adding that they struggle for survival on their way to migration.

Criticizing the policies of European countries towards immigrants, he explained that Muslim refugees in Western countries are faced with racist and discriminatory practices.

"Unfortunately, we hear and see the discriminatory practices against our brothers who have become refugees and migrated to European countries. We have to do something about it. This is not actually due to the hatred towards people, but (towards) Islam. … But we stand by all the oppressed who were displaced by the war, regardless of their faith,” he said.

He said Turkiye stands by the oppressed all over the world without discriminating against Egyptians, Afghans, Syrians, Africans, and Ukrainians, unlike the hypocritical policies of the West.

Turkiye has shown its generosity by opening its door to millions of refugees, he said.

Abderrazak Guessoum, the head of the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulama, said they are against all kinds of war that cause destruction, pain, and hatred, causing thousands of children to be orphaned.

“You know, in recent days, millions of Ukrainians had to migrate due to the war. This is not only the problem of the Islamic world but the whole world. To establish world peace, it is absolutely necessary to put an end to these wars,” he added.

Mohammed Ijvan, the head of the Indonesian Islamic Union, said Islam is a religion of peace.

Expressing that Ramadan is a good occasion to show that Islam is a religion of mercy, he said: "We need to reach all people who need help, whether Muslim or not, during Ramadan. We must show the mercy of Islam to humanity. We will do our best to reach people in need of help in the region.”

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara.