Speech of the Chairman of the
Al Haj Zulfikar Khimji at the Opening
of
Dignitaries, Presidents of various
Jamaats, my brothers and sisters,
Salamun Alaikum,
I wish to convey salaams to you all from
my office bearers, trustees and from all Jamaats of Africa.
It is with a sense of great pride and
pleasure that I stand in front of you this afternoon, paying glowing tribute to you all
for achieving a milestone in creating a magnificent Community center here in Allen Town.
The Al Ahad center is a clear testimony of
your foresight, belief and confidence in yourselves and the community at large. Treading
on an illustrious and an industrious path of progress and pro-activity, you have
successfully realized a huge potential within the Community.
Your goals, dreams and aspirations have been achieved with the finalization
of this fantastic project. You have also
demonstrated a fine blend of focus and commitment in constructing a center for this
generation and for posterity. May the Almighty bless all those who have volunteered in
making this beautiful dream a reality, AMEEN.
Projects like these need leadership and continuity. The leadership skill displayed by your President
Alhaj Mohamedbhai Khaku who is also the initiator of the project and his committee members
along with the project Chairman, assisted by the various sub-committees are worthy a
mention. Many a time the team must have gone
through trials and tribulations, plight and predicament, dilemma and impasse, yet the
resilience in you to remain focused and determined has borne fruit today.
Today is the day to rejoice and thank the Almighty for his
omnipresent assistance and guidance in making this dream come true. On behalf of Africa Federation office bearers,
Trustees, all Jamaats of
Mu’mineen, turning to news of
1)
Educate as many as possible, at all costs
2)
Economically uplift the members of our community, and
3)
Strengthen our institutions – both constitutionally and financially.
During
our inauguration night, we had declared our term as “The term of Education” I am
proud to say that during the past two years, we have successfully been able to send over
90 students to pursue higher education.
In
encouraging Economic upliftment, we have advanced the idea to our brothers to engage in
business and create inroads for their posterity and for the progress of our Community. A
business awareness trip to China International Trade Fair was organized, whereby 30 people
participated. This has benefited our brothers in numerous ways.
Strengthening
our institutions is a challenge all Community leaders face regularly. Challenges present themselves in various ways and
forms, and to counter those challenges with skill is an art to be perfected. A strategic
planning committee has been put in place by the Africa Federation to chart out a road map
for our Community progress and to be a “Guide-Beacon” for our future.
It
is hoped that during my term as much as possible progress be achieved and systems put in
place. The incoming team next year will then
have to accept the challenge of propelling the Community to summit heights.
It is now fast becoming the battle of wits
for our youngsters to take up the Community challenges and to embark upon diverse ideas
and to envisage a better tomorrow for our future generations. It is my sincere hope that the youths will respond
positively to these challenges and create inroads to make our Community more organized and
exemplary. To encourage our youths
Africa Federation embarked on a project to
publish a guideline on how to write a Will as there are a number of cases where people do
not write a Will, and their property either goes into a Public Trust or are not easily
traceable. In either case, a lot of time and money is involved in sorting such situations.
We found it apt therefore to embark on this project; notwithstanding the fact that writing
a Will is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW). The guideline also has a sample will
attached which has clauses in it that make it flexible to use in which ever part of the
world one lives. I brought some copies with me and have already presented to the Chairman
of the various Jamaats at the NASIMCO meeting. A copy is also available on our website www.africafederation.org. Please visit it and
print a copy for your benefit.
Finally, I thank the
organizers for availing me the chance to address this August gathering. I once again pay
my deepest respect to the leaders and the volunteers for the construction of this superb
development and pray that with the assistance of our Imam Mehdi A.S. that we overcome the
challenges we face and that our continuity flourish.
Was-salamun Alaykum Warah Matullah-e-Wabarakatu