Muslims have expressed confidence and optimism that the Islamic summit called by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Makkah on Aug. 14-15 will help chart a new and vibrant course for the Muslim world.

The extraordinary summit is expected to address major issues facing the Islamic world.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said last week: “Such a summit is essential to strengthen Muslim unity and serve the interests of Islam and Muslims. We hope the summit will realize the hopes and aspirations of the Ummah.”

In a statement, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said the summit would address the situation in a number of Muslim countries. It added: “It will intensify efforts to contain division and dissension and strengthen Islamic unity and solidarity.”

Ibrahim Mostafa, a Riyadh-based Egyptian educator, feels the conclave of Muslim leaders in Makkah in Ramadan will in itself send a very powerful signal.

He added: “The recent happenings in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon and Iraq have fractured the Arab and Muslim unity. We are clueless about the future; there seems to be a concerted effort on the part of our enemies to break our ranks.

“Syria is bleeding; our brothers and sisters are being butchered in this holy month by supporters and vigilantes of the discredited Bashar Assad regime.”

Anwar M. Nematullah, an English language instructor at a college in Wadi Al-Dawasir, could not control his emotions while talking to Arab News. He said: “So much blood has been and is being spilled on the streets of Damascus and Aleppo, and yet Russia and China chose to side with the dictator; it is shameful, and history will not forgive them.

“May Allah grant a long life to King Abdullah and to the Qatari and Turkish leaders for coming to the rescue of the hapless Syrian population.”

The summit, said Nematullah, will help Muslim leaders to construct a new agenda for the Muslim world.

Fahd Mohammad Al-Semari, a 22-year-old engineering student in Dammam, had similar views. He said: “We need to close our ranks because some virulently anti-Arab countries are engaged in subversion and busy sowing the seeds of dissension in our ranks; through this Makkah summit we should let them know that we stand united, and this is exactly why our beloved king has called this summit."

According to Riyadh-based academic Waleed Hesham Al-Motairi, King Abdullah is seen as a sagacious, respectable and balanced leader.

He said: “After Allah the Almighty King Abdullah is our hope. He has in the past taken us out of difficult and tight situations; this time too he will lead the Muslim world from the front and we will win, Insha Allah, in Syria, in Afghanistan, and everywhere else.”

Al-Motairi said the summit will help heal festering wounds. “If we stay united behind Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, there is no reason why we will not emerge victorious."