Mubarak addresses Islamic Nation on Lailatul Qadr
Egypt, Religion, 1/4/2000

President Hosni Mubarak Monday night urged Muslim to close their ranks and utilize their resources to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development.

"When Muslims close their ranks to take on challenges, they do not do so out of hostility towards others or to get locked in conflicts with others," he told a ceremony marking Lailatul Qadr(the night of power).

The Egyptian leader told the gathering that inter-Muslim togetherness would help them stand on an equal footing with others.

"No-one ignores the fact that one of the hardest challenges facing small entities is to safeguard their rights and attain renaissance," he said.

Mubarak cited the emergence of world powers which have achieved 'major accomplishments."

"We do not believe in isolationism, nor do we accept the notion of the clash of civilizations, nor do we harbor animosity to anyone who is not hostile to us," Mubarak addressed the ceremony.

Mubarak exhorted Muslims to strive hard to acquire more knowledge and science in order to face the challenges at hand.

"The importance of science will steadily increase in the centuries ahead. Science, together with creativity, has become the mainstay of nations' assets with an overriding rule over natural resources," he said.

During the ceremony, the Egyptian leader honored winners in a Holy Quran memorization competition.

In his address, Mubarak urged Muslims to focus on the future to forge ahead. "Getting confined to the past with its battles and pitfalls distracts attention of the Muslims from seeing the vast prospects available for progress." He laid stress on the importance of taking care of youth because they are the makers of the future.

President Mubarak, moreover, called on Muslims to be open to the outside world and compete with other societies in different domains of activity.

"We should not look with suspicion at what others achieve in scientific progress so long as it is not at odds with the precepts of our religion," he said.

Lailt el-Qadr refers to the night when Quran (Muslims' Holy Book) was revealed to prophet Mohammed.

"Our children are in bad need of getting reared rightly since childhood and imbuing them with lofty morals and sound Islamic teachings, including moderation and the repudiation of violence and extremism," said Mubarak.

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