EID-UL-ADHA MESSAGE BY HIS EXCELLENCY
PRESIDENT BHARRAT JAGDEO - February 12th, 2003

On behalf of the Government of Guyana, I would like to congratulate all Muslims and wish them all a happy Eid-ul-Adha.

This festival is celebrated throughout the Muslim world, through acts of kindness and charity to the less fortunate in society as a commemoration of Prophets Abraham and Ishmael’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of truth and faith. Eid-ul-Adha is a great reminder to all of humanity of the importance of principles such as faith, repentance, honesty, simplicity, equality and concern for the dispossessed and the poor.

This year the message of Eid-ul-Adha is of particular importance to our country, a year in which all Guyanese have been challenged to lend a hand in the national effort to fight the ugly head of crime on our nation to build a better life for all. This festival must not only be seen as of the Muslim faith, but that Abraham is the patriarch of the three great faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

In recent years, unfortunate and regular occurrences have caused gaps between the people of different faiths. This should not distract us from understanding the ideals of Islam for enriching the human family. The challenge for all followers of faith is to match their behavior with principles.

We should reflect on our lives individually and the situation in our communities as well as our nation as to whether we have all performed below expectation and fallen short of the standard set for us by God. Let our belief of God inspire us to live together as brothers and sisters, regardless of our differences in whatever manner and at any level that we exist.

Beyond our religious and ethnic differences, we share a common humanity that should inspire us to work together as one people for the good of this country. We should let the value of love, sacrifice and the compassion, which they symbolize to influence our every day interactions with one another, irrespective of ethnic and religious origin.

Eid-ul-Adha reminds people of that sacrifice by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ismail (AS) which would be a source of guidance in this world for all times to come. It reminds us that we should have no reservations in sacrificing possessions to gain goodness for our families, society and ourselves. We must inculcate those characteristics, which raised man to a sublime character. We must shun mutual rivalries and hatred and participate in each other’s happiness. We all need, now more than ever, the spirit of sacrifice, selfless devotion and solidarity to boost this nation.