Symposium on “Zayed the Immortal”

On the occasion of the 4th anniversary of the death of the Sage of the Arabs, late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan – may Allah rest him in peace –, the Centre of Information Affairs in Abu Dhabi, has organized a symposium on “Zayed the Immortal,”  with the participation of a number of experts and researchers.

The symposium featured rare pictures of the personality which characterized late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan all along his march of nation building.

The participants noted that the thought of the founding leader will remain immortal, stating that neither the new UAE generations nor the world’s nations, however they differ, will forget it.

The themes of the symposium covered many aspects of the rich life of late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Among these themes are “Sheikh Zayed: Sagacious Vision for Promoting Man.” In this topic, the symposium affirmed that late Sheikh Zayed embraced firm belief that man, with his physical and mental ability, is the main capital which produces development and progress.

Thus, the late leader worked hard to elevate dignity of man and improve his living standards, said one of the paper presented at the event, indicating that he did this out of his conscious understanding that people cannot change their reality or go forward without their men being armed with science and prepared to produce development and progress. The paper quoted late Sheikh Zayed as saying, “the real wealth is man not money and oil; money is worthless if it isn’t used for the benefit of people.”

“Sheikh Zayed: Religiousness and Piety” was another theme tackled in the symposium. One of the papers introduced said that Sheikh Zayed embodied, in his words and deeds, the greatness of the true religion of Islam, with its noble principles and tolerant teachings. The paper pointed out that no other Muslim leader devoted his life to support Muslim issues and defend them as Sheikh Zayed who built, at his own expense, hundreds of mosques and Islamic centers, institutes, libraries, and schools in the different capitals of the world, with a view to serving Muslim communities and to protecting them from alienation, bigotry, and sectarianism.

Another topic was discussed; that is, “Sheikh Zayed: Continuous Humanitarian Deeds”. Late Sheikh Zayed, as one paper noted, derived his understanding of benevolent work from the genuine Islamic culture, and the authentic Arab values as well as from his awareness that love and peace cannot spread in this world without equal opportunities and social justice which enable all humanity to live a decent life, based on their right to housing, healthcare, education, and other rights announced in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

The paper noted that Sheikh Zayed had comprehended the essence of this declaration before it was announced, because these rights are enjoined in the Islamic teachings and principles, as Allah says in the Quran 2: 274, “Those who (in charity) spend their wealth by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”

“Sheikh Zayed: Historic Stands” was also one of these themes tackled by another paper, which pointed out that late Sheikh Zayed’s historic and courageous stands were numerous, citing his stand during the 1973 October War, when he made his historic decision to cut oil supplies to countries supporting Israel in the war.

One of the participants was a witness to history. Mr. Abbas al-Tarabili, the journalist and writer, was one of them. He talked, in detail, about the remarkable deeds and achievements of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, indicating that late Sheikh Zayed made two important steps to realize his unitary dreams. First he sought to connect the emirates with one another on sound and rational grounds, which led to the establishment of the UAE Union in 1971. The second was strengthening the Abu Dhabi Defense Forces to be the backbone of the UAE Armed Forces and the shield that could protect the newly born state, said Mr. al-Tarabili.

He added that Sheikh Zayed’s journey of nation building started during his moving from an office to another, since he became the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region. Sheikh Zayed first started with building road network, then he thought of building the first oil refinery in the Umm Al Nar zone, in Abu Dhabi, before building Zayed Port, said Mr. al-Tarabili, stressing that Sheikh Zayed used oil wealth to build UAE man through establishing schools, hospitals, social services facilities, infrastructures, and so forth.

He said that one of Sheikh Zayed’s top priorities was to settle the Bedouins in their areas through providing them with modern services like education, healthcare, transport, and so on. Agriculture and environment prominently figured in Sheikh Zayed’s effort and thought, added Mr. al-Tarabili, noting that Sheikh Zayed’s vision for diversifying the UAE economy was deep and boundless.

Mr. al-Tarabili also tackled the role of late Sheikh Zayed in building the Arab nation and supporting Arab issues, citing many examples in this context.

He also touched upon Sheikh Zayed’s humanitarian dimension, which made him the first benevolent in the world, as his generous donations extended to the East and West, without distinction.

The lecturer mentioned cultural tolerance epitomized by late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the UAE. Mr. al-Tarabili called for the creation of an Arab center for studies named after late Sheikh Zayed in recognition of his service to the Arab and Islamic nation.