‘Human dignity must be protected’ – President Ali
– at Youman Nabi service
His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has underscored the importance of the protection of human dignity, equity and respect in order to achieve peaceful co-existence.
The president was speaking at an event at the Meten-Meer-Zorg Masjid in Region Three, in observance of Youman Nabi on Sunday.
Youman Nabi (Mawlid al-Nabi) is observed by Muslims each year to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Youman Nabi also represents the struggles for justice, peace and equality.
“Human dignity brings respect, it brings balance, it brings productivity,” President Ali said while acknowledging the critical role the religious community plays in bringing that balance.
Similarly, he said that the government’s role is to guide the holistic development of the country and formulate policies and programmes to enhance the living standards of the people. He said the administration or religious community must not assume the role of imposing on peoples’ personal lives.
“So, when we work as a government to increase productivity to support the elderly, to support children going to school, to support the sugar industry, to support the fisherfolk, to support the rice farmers, to support those in Buxton. To build roads, to build health centres, to train nurses, to bring scholarships, that is part of bringing productivity, that is part of bringing a healthy human development, human achievement, creating dignity and this is how the government is integrated into ensuring human dignity is created,” he said.
In reflecting and celebrating the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, President Ali said that people must understand that human dignity is fundamentally the way of life of Islam and many other religious structures.
“If you throw away food and your neighbour goes to bed hungry you are not doing justice to human dignity. We must collectively understand our responsibility.
“And let me say this, this is not a responsibility for the government or the religious leaders or the diplomats alone. This is not the responsibility of the rich because sometimes we think only the rich will be answerable even if you don’t have anything you are responsible for achieving human dignity,” the president reiterated.
President Ali also interacted with persons who used the opportunity to highlight some of the issues and challenges they are facing. Some of the issues raised include pensions, NIS benefits and support for persons living with disabilities. He has committed to sending a team led by the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar to meet with the residents and address their concerns.