A Scintillating Lecture that Wins Hearts in 3 Continents
On August 4, 2021, Dr Akbar S. Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, Washington, DC, gave a special lecture via Zoom to the 29th Common Batch of senior civil servants of Pakistan hosted by the National Institute of Management.
The scintillating lecture appealed to all and sundry as the erudite professor emphasized three key features of an ideal Muslim society which inspired the Quaid-i-Azam, Mr Jinnah, and which need to be underlined in Pakistan today: the notion of compassion (ihsan), importance of justice (adl), and the encouragement for and the acquisition of knowledge (ilm). Participants included senior civil, police, foreign service diplomats and officials from the information services.
The lecture was a triumph of technology as the learned professor spoke from Washington, DC while members of the audience were spread over three continents.
At the outset Dr Ahmed thanked the administrators and participants of the 29 th Common batch at NIM singling out the hosts “in particular Dr Karam Elahi, Directing Staff, for arranging my talk. I pointed out the special guests who had joined us for this session: the honorable Dr Qibla Ayaz, Chairman of the Islamic Ideology Council of Pakistan, Dr Riaz Haider, a prominent physician in Washington DC, and Dr James Shera, the former mayor of Rugby and a prominent Christian-Pakistani leader advocating interfaith dialogue in the spirit of Mr Jinnah, the Quaid -i-Azam.”
Deriving empirical evidence form history, Dr Ahmed spoke of “the vision of a compassionate and inclusive society with special attention to the three features of ideal Muslim society which inspired the Quaid-i-Azam, Mr Jinnah, and which need to be underlined in Pakistan today: the notion of compassion (ihsan), importance of justice (adl), and the encouragement for and the acquisition of knowledge (ilm). At all times attention had to be paid to the poor and underprivileged envisioned by Pakistan’s founding fathers and who condemned nepotism and corruption.” Dr Ahmed pointed out that Mr Jinnah said he was inspired for these values from the early state of Medina and its high ideals.” Citing case studies from the past, he pointed out the importance of respect and kindness towards minorities. He gave examples of the Prophet of Islam standing out of respect at a passing Jewish funeral procession and the letter he wrote to the monks of St. Catherine’s monastery assuring them of full support and protection. Dr Ahmed pointed out that “Mr Jinnah spent his first and last Christmas as Governor-General with the Christian community in Karachi.” He also spoke of the unacceptable violence against women and minorities that continues to blight their lives and attract negative attention abroad. He cited the horrific beheading of the young girl in Islamabad. The Prophet had said women have special status in Islam and paradise lies at the feet of the mother. He concluded his talk with the hope that Pakistan's renowned civil servants will help bridge the gap between the government and people of Pakistan and aspire to the highest ideals of Muslim society and the aspirations of Mr Jinnah for the nation he created. There was a lively question and answer session after the talk moderated by the efficient Dr Elahi. At the end, Captain, retired, Usman Gul, the Director General, offered a gracious vote of thanks.
Almost immediately after the talk Dr Ahmed received a warmly worded recorded message from Dr Elahi. “Thank you for your inspiring session. Every word you spoke was engraved on our hearts and minds. You are a beacon of light. Our faculty and participants unanimously stated this was our best lecture ever and was appreciated by everyone. We had expected some 100 participants but some 350 joined us from different parts of Pakistan and the numbers almost collapsed the zoom event. We are honored to be inviting you to the next course to be run for the 30th Common in December.”
After the lecture Dr Qibla Ayaz wrote to Dr Ahmed that this was a “wonderful discussion…all my research department researchers were present and they greatly appreciated your talk.” Dr Riaz Haider wrote, “as usual, you were erudite and your talk was enlightening… I hope the participants perceived in depth the points you made and put in to practice the meaning of them in their lives.” Dr James Shera, who has been a brother- in-arms for human rights causes for decades with Dr Ahmed, rang to congratulate him and was delighted at his emphasis on harmony between the majority and minority communities. Mr Shoaib Sultan Khan, a celebrated senior civil servant with a glittering international reputation, sent a message saying, “You are the best role model for the civil service. Love, Shoaib.” These warm reactions and on this scale moved him deeply. “It was an extraordinary event and I was truly humbled,” said Dr Ahmed.
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