Plenary, 26 Apr 2006
Meeting date: Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business today is time for reflection, which is led today by Ms Maariyah Masud, of the youth steering committee of the Scottish Inter Faith Council.
Ms Maariyah Masud (Scottish Inter Faith Council Youth Steering Committee):
Respected Presiding Officer and respected members of the Parliament, it is an honour to have the chance to be here today and lead today's time for reflection.
We live in a world and society in which too many people reflect and not enough act. True, self-reflection is paramount, but it is empty without action.
Margaret Mead said:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
She has succinctly described what can be, and has been, achieved when a group of people with a passion for justice and progress actively seek to improve their world.
As a Scottish Muslim, I believe that life is not a sport, nor is it purposeless. Rather, I believe that the purpose of life is a life of purpose. From the Islamic perspective, everything has meaning because the concept of God's purpose in creation gives meaning to human life.
The term "social cohesion" in Islam is intended as a system for training the spirit and the conscience of the individual and for the cultivation of personal capabilities for useful and productive endeavour. It encompasses the family and social relations as well as financial and economic relationships within society.
In other words, the Islamic scheme for social reform can be called a results-oriented method. Study of the Prophet Mohammed's life reveals the distinction that he made between his ideas and the way in which he put them into practice. Although he was the greatest of idealists and loved perfection, he kept reality firmly in sight and remained ever practical when dealing with people.
One saying of the Prophet Muhammed has inspired me from a very young age. He said that, when you see an evil action, you should change it with your hands; if you cannot do that, you should change it with your tongue; and, if you cannot do that, you should at least acknowledge the wrong action in your heart. That, he said, is the lowest level of faith.
However, for me, this is not just an issue of faith. Regardless of which faith or ideology we adhere to, our binding force is our humanity. I believe that it is on that level that we must unite in an effort to become agents of positive change in our society and our country and in the interests of a move toward a better world. Alfred North Whitehead said:
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order".