...International Muslims Organisation...

Denmark...

The founding President of the IMO Hazrat Allama Pir Abdul Wahab Siddiqi (r.a.) first toured Denmark in 1983.  It was at this time that IMO Denmark was inaugurated.  For the next decade, Hazrat Saheb (r.a.) persisted in transforming the spiritual fortune of Muslims in Denmark.  His public lectures and work has been instrumental in rejuvenating the Danish Muslim Community.  More recently, the current President General of the IMO has been involved in propagating the activities of IMO Denmark. 

The Chairperson of IMO Denmark is Maulana Amreen Asif who is a graduate of the Jamia Islamia in Coventry, UK.  This institution has close links with the Central Body of the IMO and therefore operates on the basis of similar ethos. 

The IMO in Denmark is working with all mosques, Islamic centres and other charitable organisations to bring about whatever intellectual and or religious services are required by them. The organisation is set up to fill in the gaps of any Muslim organisation within the Scandinavian countries.  It has also helped establish a number of mosques in Denmark.

The one hundred Mureeds of the Naqshbandi Hijazi Sufi Order are sincere activists dedicated to implement the philosophy of the IMO.  Additionally, the grandfather of the Hazrat Saheb, Munazir e Azam Maulana Mohammed Umar Icharvi Saheb has a following of many thousands in Denmark.  These individuals have been a continual source of support for the local IMO. The leading mainstream Islamic scholars in Denmark are also affiliated with the IMO and share its values and principles. 

The way forward ...

The assimilation of Denmark into the ‘Scandinavian nations’ and the ‘European Union’ have evidently endowed it with considerable economic and political advantages.  However, there has been a resultant loss of identity for the Danes.  The labels of ‘Christian’, ‘Pro-European’, ‘Anti-European’ or even ‘Secularist’ have been attached to various European nations at various times.  However, Denmark does not really fit into any of these categories.  This means Danes have the opportunity to create a meaningful identity for themselves rather than simply confirming to an externally imposed category.  The IMO will continue to engage with the Danish people to find a communal and national identity.

The Danish government had received substantial benefits from half a century of bridge building with the Muslim world.  Its tolerance of the recently published offensive cartoons and other events has muddied the waters somewhat.  The IMO aims to remind the government of the advantages of nurturing respect and mutual tolerance rather than allowing the Danes becoming alienated from within and the rest of the world.  This should facilitate Denmark’s efforts to re-align itself in a positive manner with Muslim nations and communities worldwide, including the sizeable Danish Muslim community.