PETER CHRISTOPHER
peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
Mahmud Sultan Dean Aziz, T&T's former consular general in the Toronto consulate, says he was threatened for doing what he felt many of his fellow brothers in Islam should have done following the 1990 attempted coup—condemn the action of the Jamaat Al Muslimeen.
He said his life was being threatened and he had to seek assistance from the Canadian authorities. "All of us were threatened because I took the opportunity to condemn...because the Muslim leadership of this country had failed to speak out against this criminal act and assault—insurrection, I would call it, which was treasonable in much respects," said Aziz after receiving his Public Service Medal of Merit-Gold at President's cottage today, some three months after the awards were officially handed out in September. Aziz was unable to attend the awards function at the time.
Aziz received the award for his 40 years of service to this country, which included raising funds and collecting items for victims of the 1990 insurrection, while in charge of the consulate in Canada.
"I had launched an emergency task force while I was there to raise funds for the victims of that coup. We shipped to Trinidad and Tobago about 2 million dollars worth of stuff for the trauma victims and other people who were deprived of material stuff and things like that. That's one of the highlights of my career," said Aziz.
But Aziz, who was is a part of the Abdul-Aziz Trust, a family charity which seeks to promote the values of Islam, was not happy with the stigma that would be attached to his faith in the wake of the Jamaat's attempted coup and wrote articles detailing his views on it.
"In my personal capacity, not as consular general but in my personal capacity, I wrote an article which says that Islam enjoins the democratic process to vindicate the Muslims of the country who were indicted by the fact that this was done in the name of Islam. So that's one of the highlights of my career. Not only did I help in the national interest to support those who were victimised by the group but I also had the opportunity to vindicate my faith," he said.
"I did this in the hope that people will understand that the Muslims of this country have paid a lot and have contributed a great deal. In fact, all my siblings and I we worked assiduously to the promotion of nationalist nation."
Aziz said he was thankful to live to see the day that his work was rewarded. He said he continues to push the ideal of Islam through his family group, which does charitable work in the country.
The Abdul-Aziz group was also granted an Icon award for their work in 2013.