Christmas ceremony under Minhaj Reconciliation Council (Greece)

Minhaj Reconciliation Council, a sub-branch of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (Greece), has started functioning regularly. "Peace Conference" was held in October 2009 to formally inaugurate the Council, which was attended by a large number of people, representatives of different social, religious and political organizations of Greece. Ijaz Ahmad Warriach, president of Minhaj Reconciliation Council (Europe) was the chief guest on the occasion. In his speech he threw light on the nature of activities being performed under MRC across Europe especially in Norway. An executive body was also elected comprising Sayyid Jamil Shah as patron, Ghulam Murtaza Qadri as president and Rana Muhammad Waqar as Secretary.

Within the span of two months since its inception, MRC Greece hosted a Christmas ceremony on December 13, 2009. It is the first occasion in the history of Greece that a Muslim organization organized a Christmas ceremony. The Greek community applauded this step very much terming it a 'positive indication' for the mutual relationship between both communities. Local media gave the event an extensive coverage. The major highlight of the programme was the presence of Mayor of Ranti as the chief guest.

The formal proceedings got underway with recitation from the Holy Quran by Allama Hafiz Muhammad Nawaz followed by Naat, which was recited by Baqir Chughtai along with his friends. Special excerpts about the life of Jesus Christ in the Greek language were also read out.

Addressing the ceremony Oconopos, ex-football player, appreciated the work of Minhaj Reconciliation Council. President of AB Zois threw light on the welfare activities, whereas president of Human Action appreciated the notion of bringing religions together through greater understanding and harmony.

Sayyid Jamil Shah, representative of Minhaj Reconciliation Council, said in his speech that the Pakistani community living in Greece regarded it their second home and were contributing to the best of their capability to its development and progress. He said there was a need to highlight the real teachings of our great religions in order to foster the feelings of mutual brotherhood.

Mayor of Renti, who was the chief guest, said that it had been his utmost efforts to give maximum facilities to the expatriates. He said that the Pakistani community cooperated fully in his endeavours for development. He also appreciated the launching of Minhaj Reconciliation hoping that the forum would play its due role in resolving conflicts in the community. He assured his full cooperation in that regard.

Ijaz-ul-Haq conducted the proceedings of the programme. Ghulam Murtaza, president of MRC, delivered concluding remarks and thanked guests.