Islamabad Conference: Peace, Interfaith Harmony to Help Counter Islamophobia
Participants of an international conference on peace-making, national integration, social cohesion and interfaith harmony have agreed that academia, religious scholars, and media possess vital role in promoting interfaith harmony, peace and social cohesion in the society as well as there is a dire need to disseminate true picture of Islam to counter Islamophobia.
The conference was organised by Islamic Research Institute (IRI) of International Islamic University (IIU) at Faisal Masjid campus of the university in which ministers, senior politicians, ambassadors, academicians, faculty members, researchers, intellectual and religious scholars expressed views on the importance of peace, national integration, protection of the rights of minorities and role of academia in social cohesion.
Speaker National Assembly, Asad Qaiser said these are high times for Muslim world to be united. He underscored the need of discouraging religious hatred, extremism and territory. He said terrorism left bitter consequences and Pakistan sacrificed 70 thousand people on the cost of peace.
"Peace and peaceful coexistence will soon prevail in the country," he said. The NA speaker emphasised that it is the responsibility of religious scholars and educational institutions to be the torch bearers of ‘Paigham e Pakistan’ and let the world know that Pakistanis are a peaceful nation.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that it is time to learn from contemporaries. He said that nations whom people admire, have been investing in education for centuries.
"IIU is one of the pearls of wisdom in the country and its Paigham e Pakistan initiative is a real representation of the Pakistani nation that loves peace and interfaith harmony. It is great to know that more than 30 thousand students are getting quality education at IIU and students from more than 40 countries are also studying at the university," he said.
Special representative to the prime minister on religious harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said that there is a need to say no to violent attitudes as ‘Paigham e Pakistan’ demands to discourage the elements who spread chaos and violence. He opined that it is the prerogative of the state only to deal with blasphemy.
Maulana Tahir said according to religious teachings and the constitution nobody is allowed to take law into their own hands. "No one will be allowed to violate the rights of minorities," he said.
Appreciating the IIU’s initiative of ‘Paigham e Pakistan’, he said this narrative is endorsed by religious scholars across the globe from Shaikh Al-Azhar to Imam e Haram. In the conference, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kistafin said both Pakistan and Kazakhstan have been successfully collaborating to promote peace and harmony.
He said IRI’s ‘Paigham e Pakistan’ centre for peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction studies has been closely working with the centres at Kazakhstan that led to share experiences for promotion of peace and initiate joint ventures in this regard.
"Pakistan and Kazakhstan have shared religious values and both countries have been one of the leading promoters of peace, political stability and harmony in the central Asian and south Asian region," he said.
IIU Rector Dr. Masoom Yasinzai said the Muslim world is facing the challenge of Islamophobia and role of academia is imperative to counter this negative propagation of Islam as research and presentation of Islam’s true picture is the ultimate need of hour. He suggested that relevancy to the needs of society be the top priority of educational institutions.
He said the IIU was being hailed for its ‘Paigham e Pakistan’ initiative globally. He called upon youth to be involved in research and constructive activities to deal with the challenges of violence, terrorism and religious hatred.
Dr. Hathal Homoud Aloatbi, President IIU said that Interfaith Harmony and peaceful co-existence are salient features of Islam.
"There is a need to further promote these attributes in society," he said urging the academia to advocate peaceful co-existence and interfaith harmony in society. At the end of the conference, an MoU of bilateral cooperation between M. Nazarbayev Centre for development of interfaith and inter civilizational dialogue and IRI’s Paigham e Pakistan centre for peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction studies was also held.
Source: The News
