Silence will create respect and dignity; justice and fairplay will bring more friends; benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position; courtesy will draw benevolence; service of mankind will secure leadership and good words will overcome powerful enemies.
Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Faith, Salaamun Alaikum!
On the most glorious occasion, The Eve of The Anniversary of The Birth of Our Holy Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him, may I wish you all Eid Mubarak.
I am writing to formally inform you of my intentions to stand for the World Federation Presidency for the upcoming term 2009 - 2012.
I would like to think that I am known to many within our community, due to my interaction during past and recent community-related activities. With a community of around 120,000, I am probably known to just a small percentage, and it would be naive and presumptious to believe otherwise. It is therefore imperative for me to share with you a bit about myself as well as my vision, plans and course of action. A website www.ashikrashid.net is currently being set up to give you an insight about myself, as a candidate, and also as a tool for us to interact with each other for the common benefit of our fine community.
It is my sincere hope and desire that in offering myself to serve in this dignified position, I can reach out to each and every one of you from Sydney to Vancouver, Africa to Europe wherever you may be. I intend to capture your interest and invite you to share with me your views and ideas, as it is our collective responsibility to serve for the pleasure of Allah (SWT) and for the common benefit of our Community. It is a promise from me to you, that I will listen to your views, seriously consider them, and Insha-Allah, if elected, will facilitate its implementation, if worthy of action.
It is only fair that I do not operate in a vacuum. I am therefore seeking advise from a team consisting of scholars, elders of the community, past and present leaders, youth, not forgetting the sisters of our community who play a vital role in our day to day community life. This team and myself will be using all the communication tools available to reach the community members and collect vital data and information to analyse the community's needs in areas of Tabligh, Education, and Welfare including Medical assistance.
A leader has to act as a facilitator, ensuring not only the planning, but also the implementation and conclusion to fruition of those projects and schemes worthy of action. Therefore, the motto of my campaign will be " A Time For Action, Not Words .... ". Aligned to this philosophy, the entire planning and vision-building process has been to "go back to basics" and strengthen our own institutions, organisations, establishments and even individuals - whether socially, professionally, economically, and significantly on the religious and moral high ground.
Whereas I am not new to leadership at other levels, I propose to listen an to use your input to implement what you wish to be seen - changed or retained, for change is not always needed when good things already exist. Change in many instances is an attempt to define another person's failure and to insist our own stealth - something that is detrimental to the the spirit of the community's unity.
I look forward to engaging you in the coming months - whether you are a corporate maverick in North America, a home maker in Asia, a tech genius in Europe or an economic icon of Africa - I am listening. The young and the elderly, in the little time before we move to action, this is the time to talk and be heard...I am listening and you have my ear.
May Allah (SWT) grant us tawfiq to stay united, and bestow upon us protection from the adversities of the current global situation, Ameen.
Kind Regards
Ashikhussein Rashid
Birmingham, UK.