On Friday January 20, 2006, a delegation from Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz.
The delegation, which was led by Mr. Shaukat Jafri, exchanged views with the Prime Minister and raised concerns regarding sectarian violence in Pakistan, in general, and target killings and discrimination against Shia Muslims at the time of recruitment in the Pakistan Armed Forces, in particular.
The Prime Minister responded to the concerns by stressing that his government has greatly curtailed the sectarian violence. However, he noted, there are still pockets of some dangerous elements fermenting the culture of hate and bigotry. Mr. Aziz, assisted by his Interior Minister, assured that no discrimination is being practiced against Shia Muslims either at the time of their recruitment or during the tenure of their service in the Pakistan Armed Forces.
This delegation from Al-Khoei Foundation was part of an eight-member group of American Muslim Imams and community representatives. The meeting which lasted for about an hour was coordinated by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, President of Cordoba Institute which is headquartered in New York City.
Earlier, The Prime Minister outlined Pakistan's role and his nation's responsibilities as one of the largest Muslim Country determined to combat bloodshed and violence caused by the ongoing wave of Terrorism. He stated that Pakistan has been as much of a victim of this menace as any other nation, and it has already committed its men and the material towards eradicating this evil altogether from the face of this earth.
Mr. Aziz also expressed grave concern about the Muslim population of North America, incidents of discrimination their arrests and deportations and their overall safety, particularly, in the post 9/11 environment. The American Muslim group provided pertinent updates and assured him that the American Muslim Leadership is working with the U.S government and law enforcement agencies in resolving these very serious matters.
This focused group session with the Prime Minister of a major Islamic nation was a tremendous opportunity for American Muslims to engage in a frank and serious dialogue pertaining to the Politics and policy making aspects of Islamic affairs not just in the western hemisphere, but all across the Islamic World. Such exchange of ideas and information with all other Heads of Islamic States are warranted to get to the root causes of negativism against Islam and the Islamophobia.
Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation, established by Grand Ayatollah Al-Khoei (RA) in 1989, is the largest Shi’a Muslim religious-charitable organization. The Foundation has more than 15 branches all across the world, where it is responsible for the maintainance of Schools, Colleges, Universities and Islamic Centers. The Foundation is the only Shi’a Muslim organization that enjoys a General Consultative Status with United Nations.
