Somalis mourn Zayed’s death

DUBAI — The Prime Minister of Somalia, Ali Mohammed Gaiddi who was appointed 30 hours before the passing of Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as well as the Somali community in Dubai organised on November 6, an Iftar ceremony to mourn the great leader.

Afkar Ali Ahmed

Published: Tue 9 Nov 2004, 12:30 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 2:30 PM

The Iftar ceremony which was held at Sheraton Deira in Dubai was attended by Somali diplomatic officials, members of the Somali Business Council and a large number of the community members.

The event which began with recitation from the Holy Quran by a member of the community was followed by a 30-minute silence to mark the mourning of the Somali government and community's members.

Prayers, Holy Quran recitation and supplication to invoke God to bless his soul were performed during the event.

As part of the programme, several speeches praising Shaikh Zayed were delivered by the prime minister and the consul general of Somalia, besides women representatives and members of the community.

Addressing the gathering, Gaiddi said: “I didn't come to know much about political situation in the country. I came here to attend the funeral of Shaikh Zayed. Around 32 hours ago, I was not the prime minister, but an ordinary employer. When I was appointed as prime minister, the first thing I decided to do is to come to the UAE to express the condolence of the Somali government and the people on the death of the spiritual father of the Arab and Muslim nations.

“Sending a cable is not enough to express our sorrow and grief for the passing away of a great man of wisdom who devoted his life for comforting others. He had done so much to the Somali people while they were passing through difficulties so that I would not talk about politics because we all came here to condole with each other for the emptiness that will be in our lives with the passing away of Shaikh Zayed,” he said.

Hussain Mahmoud, Consul General of Somalia, said that Shaikh Zayed and his government and the Rulers of the UAE were supporting the Somali issues and the Somali people during the last 14 years of civil war.