Bursa deputy İsmet Su, Bursa deputy mayor Abdullah Karadağ, representatives from public institutions, administrators and volunteers from IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and thousands of people attended the event which was held at the Osmangazi Hall at Merinos AKKM. A donation campaign was held for the orphans throughout the event.
The inauguration speech of the event, which began with recitation of Quran, was made by Bursa Humanitarian Aid Association President HüseyinKaptan. Kaptan said there are 200 million orphans across the world according to official figures. He said the high number of orphans shows that they need to work more.Recalling that IHH was established 20 years ago during the Bosnian War, he said: “Back then, our mission was to extend a helping hand to the children orphaned by the war and others in need. Today, we are working with the same mission in 140 countries. As Bursa, we support these relief efforts. As Bursa Humanitarian Aid Association, we take care of 1,700 orphans. Today, the Islamic world suffers from bloodshed. Wherever there is tyranny, we take the side of the oppressed and stand against tyrants. Thousands of children were orphaned in Syria. Allah willing, we will help them,too. We are building orphanages so that orphans can grow up under good circumstances. We established Emir Sultan Orphanage in Pakistan. A total of 270 orphans receive education there. We will open another orphanage in Somalia on April 23. Our women’s commission has met more than half of the expenses of an orphanage that will be constructed in Moro,” Kaptan noted.
For his part, IHH deputy president HasanAynacı offered his thanks to all the participants of the “Orphan Solidarity Night,” saying that they are always at the side of orphans who are entrusted to them by their families. He said they will continue to be with them not only for one day but for 365 days.
Uludağ University Theology Faculty Professor Mehmet Emin Ay recalled the remarks of Prophet Muhammad about orphans who said: “If a Muslim dies, his legacy belongs to their family. If a Muslim leaves a debt behind, this debt is mine. If this Muslim leaves an orphan behind, it is my responsibility to take care of the child.”
Ay said Prophet Muhammad lost his father even before his birth and his mother at the age of six, adding: “During a campaign, the prophet stopped by the village where his mother is buried. He tidied his mother’s grave and burst into tears. When his companions asked him why he cried, he said: ‘I just remembered the compassion of my mother for a moment.’ Those who extend a hand to orphans, who caress their heads and who take care of them are loved by Allah. I was in Pakistan several days ago. There are hundreds of schools opened by the British in every province there. Don’t think that they withdrew from this country which they once colonized. They teach Indian dances to girls and boys, take them to swimming in an attempt to distance them from their religion at the least. There is no need to take them to a church. IHH is taking care of around 2,000 children who were orphaned by last year’s quake and following floods. Yet, there are Christian and missionary aid foundations that work more than you. I hope Bursa Humanitarian Aid Association, which takes care of 1,700 orphans, will increase this figure to 2,000 at the end of the night.”
Following the speeches, poems and hymns were recited by children coming from Albania, Macedonia, Iraq and Georgia, which led the audience to be moved away by tears. IHH’s Aynacı presented Quran copies to the children as a gift. The event was concluded with a concert from ÖmerKaraoğlu.
One of the families, which take care of an orphan, was selected by casting lots at the end of the night to join IHH’s relief activities abroad.
