Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi



The title of this article is the name of a Paris-based non-profit NGO, headed by the world renowned lawyer Francis Lamand. He has been working hard to strengthen the cultural, social and economic relations between the Muslim world and the West through his personal contacts with leaders, heads of state, prime ministers, ambassadors and other senior figures representing both sides. Some people used to describe Lamand as the ‘Ambassador of Islam in the West.’



In an earlier interview with Saudi Gazette, Lamand said that one of his most notable achievements after becoming the president of “Islam and the West” was when he had introduced Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, the ex-secretary general of the Muslim World League, to Pope John Paul II in 1984. The meeting between Naseef and the Pope had served as the building block of cooperation between the Muslims and the West.



Lamand is one of the admirers of the great Islamic poet and philosopher Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal, who was widely known as the “Poet of the East” and the “Philosopher of Islam.” In the same interview, Lamand said: “His second most cherished achievement was reciting one of Iqbal’s poems in the ‘Mihrab’ (niche in the wall of a mosque) of Cathedral of Cordoba, Spain, when it was a mosque, in 1991. The poem, which sheds light on Islamic beliefs and universal brotherhood, was written by Iqbal in the same cathedral. After much persuasion, Lamand had sought permission from the Pope to recite the poem in the ‘Mihrab,’ which was then opened for him for the first time in 800 years.”



During his recent meeting with some prominent Pakistani cultural figures, a question was raised to Lamand about the best poem of Allama Iqbal that captivated too much his attention. He replied: “It is ‘Masjid-e-Qurtaba’ which was translated to French from Persian and English.” But I disagreed with him saying that Allama Iqbal’s best poem is Shikwa and Jawab-i-Shikwa that extols the legacy of Islam and its civilizing role in history, bemoans the fate of Muslims everywhere, and squarely confronts the dilemmas of Islam in modern times. The poem, which was translated into Arabic, was sung by the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

My Pakistani friends, who spoke on the occasion, supported my view saying that Shikwa and Jawab-i-Shikwa is the best ever poem written by Allama Iqbal. During the occasion, I told Lamand that I am also one of the admirers of Iqbal in his capacity as a great poet, philosopher, lawyer and politician. He is regarded as one of the great leaders of Pakistan.



The issue of stranded Pakistanis is one of the prime concerns of Lamand. These people are languishing in squalid and overcrowded camps in Bangladesh for more than four decades since the secession of East Pakistani and creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Lamand presided over a symposium on the topic of “Repatriation and rehabilitation of stranded Pakistanis on self-finance basis,” which was organized by the Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) recently in Jeddah.



Addressing the gathering, he spoke at length about the miserable conditions of quarter of a million stranded Pakistanis without having even the basic facilities of life and that they are under frequent attacks at the hands of Bengali extremists. He urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take up the matter of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh, as the issue entails the pan Islamic body’s two important member-states — Pakistan and Bangladesh.



Lamand recalled that he had met with Pakistan’s former President Asif Ali Zardari and some other high ranking officials, besides with ambassador of Bangladesh to seek a solution to this humanitarian issue. Lamand has also approached the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees seeking refugee status for the stranded Pakistanis so that they can avail of the assistance and relief supplies that are distributed among refugees.



Several leaders of the Pakistani expatriate community also spoke on the occasion. All of them supported a proposal mooted earlier by the Jeddah PRC convener Syed Ehsanul Haque. The proposal was that the Pakistani embassy in Bangladesh would issue passports for eligible stranded Pakistanis so that they can seek jobs in the Gulf countries in order to meet the expenses for their repatriation and rehabilitation in Pakistan.



In my speech, I thanked PRC and its officials for their sustained campaign to keep this issue alive. I said: “These stranded people continue remaining as Pakistanis ever since their migration from the east Indian state of Bihar to East Pakistan. They were Pakistanis when they stood by the Pakistan Army to keep Pakistan a united nation. I suggested the formation of a delegation headed by Abdullah Omar Naseef and Francis Lamand to go to Pakistan and meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seek his direct involvement for solving the issue by resuming the work that had been initiated by him in 90s toward repatriation and rehabilitation of these people.



Expressing my willingness to join the delegation, I lauded Haque’s proposal for a self-financing scheme for repatriation through making available of them Pakistani passports and arrange jobs for them in the Gulf countries with the help of a newly created trust. Dr. Lamand announced his preparedness to take up the mission to find a new channel for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.