By Our Correspondent
Lagos, Aug. 8, ’25 (TNZ) The Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Thursday, called on Muslim nations and world powers to take decisive action to stop the Israeli onslaught against the Palestinian people.
TheNewsZenith reports that the call was the highlight of a press conference held at the TMC Dawah Centre, Ijesha, Lagos.
Chairman of the Ulamau Wing of CIO, Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad, alongside leading scholars and clerics, addressed the mammoth crowd.
Various speakers, who took turns to speak at the conference, decried the mass killings, starvation, and displacement of Palestinians.
“This crisis is not new. It is the latest chapter in a long history of dispossession and oppression that began with the Zionist movement and was cemented by the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
“What we are seeing today is not self-defence. It is a systematic genocide, with over 60,000 lives already lost and nearly two million displaced,” TheNewsZenth quotes Sheikh Ahmad as saying.
Citing deliberate attacks on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian aid convoys, the Islamic cleric condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
“Famine is now in parts of Gaza, and children are dying of hunger and preventable diseases. This is a deliberate strategy to make Gaza uninhabitable,” he said.
Sheikh Ahmad further criticised world powers for their continued support of Israel. He accused them of enabling the violence through military and financial aid.
“You speak of a two-state solution while actively funding the destruction of one of those states. It is time to sanction Israel and declare it as what it truly is, ‘a terrorist regime’.”
Also speaking, a Palestinian, Ramzi Ibrahim, said that history would not forget those who support humanity and those against humanity.
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Ibrahim expressed optimism that “Palestine will be free and occupy its rightful position among the comity of nations”.
A prominent Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of the CIO, Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i, also lent his voice in condemning the Israeli atrocity against the Palestinians.
“What is happening in Gaza is not just a conflict; it is genocide, and we must call it by its true name.
“The killing of innocent children, the bombing of hospitals, and the use of starvation are war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
“We can no longer afford to be divided or indifferent. Nations must come together to challenge this injustice and speak with one voice for the oppressed,” TheNewsZenith quotes Sheikh Shafi’i as saying.
He urged Muslim leaders around the world to move beyond rhetoric and take bold actions in defence of the Palestinian people.
CIO clerics made a direct appeal to Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan. They urged the countries to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel.
The clerics also urged the Gulf nations to use economic and political pressure to bring the aggression to an end.
TheNewsZenith reports that the conference later featured a peaceful rally and calls for global solidarity for the Palestinian struggle.
They demanded that the international community recognise the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. (TNZ)
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