DOHA, May 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called upon academia and students to remain steadfast in upholding the values of humanity and sincerity to enable them to plan for a brighter future for the Islamic world.

In a post on X, Anwar said he made that call when giving a public lecture titled ‘The Future of Islamic World’ at the Qatar National Library here, at the invitation of Hamad bin Khalifa University, on Monday.

The prime minister said he also touched on the challenges and tribulations in the post-normal era, which require leaders of the Islamic world to unite their efforts to face issues of Islamophobia, discrimination, and the hypocrisy of global superpowers.

“Muslims must remain rational and return to the roots of strength based on the culture of knowledge, morality, human dignity, and piety, which underpin the teachings of Islam and Eastern culture that I have discussed in my work, The Asian Renaissance,” he said in the post.

During the lecture, Anwar generally addressed the future of Islam and expressed his sadness and disappointment over the failure of the world, especially the Western countries, to show concern about what is happening in the Gaza Strip,

He also admitted that it is very sad to see many non-Muslim countries exhibiting so much hatred and injustice towards Muslim minorities in their countries.

“Why do you talk about humanity, democracy, and human rights, yet allow actions that violate these values and commit genocide against certain segments of the population, whether in Rwanda or Gaza?

“How come, after decades, we are still seeing all this happening? It causes a lot of anger. People, including in Malaysia, are angry, because the entire system has failed...the international community failed; the superpowers failed; and mainstream media has either failed or (doing) minimal. Ultimately, the inhumanity continues,” he said.

The prime minister said that what is happening in Gaza has been completely ignored.

“I’m not saying this to imply despair; rather, I am optimistic and believe that ultimately, rationality will return, and that’s why we have universities to nurture the next generation with the necessary values,” he said.

Before concluding his lecture, Anwar recited an English poem titled If I Must Die by the late Dr Refaat Alareer, a professor of English Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza and a co-founder of the We Are Not Numbers project, who was killed in an attack by the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip last December.

Refaat, while pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), also edited an anthology of Palestinian short stories titled Gaza Writes Back, which was first published in 2014.

A month before his death, Refaat also published a poem titled If I Must Die, which went viral and was widely shared on various social media platforms.

It concludes with the words: “If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale.”

Israel’s all-out war on Palestine, now entering its seventh month since October 7 last year, has escalated with the latest Israeli incursion into Rafah, claiming more than 35,000 Palestinian lives to date. — Bernama