News
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Muslim scholars stress need for modern educationStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: Religious scholars in a seminar on Tuesday said it was imperative for the Muslims around the world to make modern education their top priority. A number of national and international religious scholars said this during a seminar, The Emerging Challenges and the Responsibilities of Islamic Scholars, organised by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPs). The seminar was conducted to promote interaction, peace and harmony between international Islamic scholars and Pakistani religious scholars.
PIPs Director Muhammad Amir Rana welcomed the participants and termed it a remarkable opportunity to resolve various issues of the present Muslim world.
Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Senator Muhammad Khan Shirani, while speaking at the inaugural ceremony as chief guest, said that it was imperative for Muslims to stop finding faults in others for failures and should focus on soul-searching to redress the emerging issues. Shirani said that commonalities among the majority of humanity must be highlighted instead of focusing on differences only. It was a responsibility of religious scholars to promote peace and tolerance in the society, Shirani added.
University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Dr Qibla Ayaz said it was unfortunate that in Muslim world, education was deemed spending, whereas, rest of the world considered it investment. Ayaz said that history of extremism is evident that it was bound to fail. Therefore, he said, it was a responsibly of intelligentsia and religious scholars to come forward and educate people about celebrating differences and keeping unity despite differences.
Indonesia’s Nahdatul Ulema scholar Dr Arif Zamhari while addressing the seminar, termed lack of education and modern knowledge the biggest challenges for Muslims around the world. Zamhari said that Muslims lagged far behind other nations in almost every field of modern education and thus it must be an area of concern for them.
Shaikh Mehmet Paksu, a Turkish scholar, said that Muslims should develop a system of education that could cater to their religious and spiritual needs as well as the contemporary requirements.
A religious scholar from Iran Dr Abideen Momneen, said that Muslims should develop self-reliance to get empowered. Indonesia Muhammdiya Central Board Secretary Dr Abdul Mu’ti said that Muslim countries were in crisis - politically, economically and culturally. Muslims need to adopt collective approach to confront with such issues, he added.
Egypt Jamaitul Azhar Faculty of Islamic Studies Dean Dr Muhayyudin Afifi said that Muslim countries around the world needed unity, faith and knowledge to get stronger.
Pakistan Wafaqul Madaris Al-Salfia General Secretary Yaseen Zafar emphasised that education ought to be objective. He said education needed to carry the objective of serving humanity. Islamabad Jamia Ghousia Rizvia Prof Zafar Iqbal Jalali said that government and religious scholars should devise a strategy to counter the ideological war inflicted upon Muslims.
Wafaqul Madaris Al-Shia Vice President Niaz Hussain Naqvi termed illiteracy and ignorance the biggest problems and challenges for the Muslims.
International Islamic University Islamabad President Dr Mamtaz Ahmed chaired the concluding session of the seminar and appreciated the input given by the panellists.
Gujranwala Al-Sharia Academy Deputy Director Ammar Khan Nasir summed up the proceedings of the seminar and said that the deliberations made by national and international religious scholars at this forum were of immense importance for the future discourse.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk