Ahsan urges ulema to use digital platform against forces of hatred, terrorism
Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiative Ahsan Iqbal has called for establishing a social media cell to spread Islam’s message of tolerance and brotherhood at a wider level and in different languages.
While addressing the closing session of the Paigham-e-Pakistan national conference titled “Countering Violent Extremism, Radicalism and Hate Speech” as chief guest here on Monday, Ahsan Iqbal said intellectuals, ulema and religious scholars could play an important role in spreading this massage at the grass-root level by using the digital platform.
The national conference was jointly presided over by Prof Dr Nabi Bux Jumani, Acting President of the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) and Dr Muhammad Ziaul Haq, DG Islamic Research Institute, IIUI.
Ahsan Iqbal said we are living in an age of digital media and ulema and scholars should make maximum use of this important forum and have their own FM Radio channel to raise their voice most effectively against militancy and extremism.
Earlier the ulema and mashaikh who were attending the forum and had come from all over the country to participate in the conference, unanimously condemned the use of force against the state in the name of ‘Nifaz-e-Shariah.’ Taking up arms against the state in the name of Islam or Shariah is against the basic spirit of Islam and the teachings of Islam, they said.
Such elements are in fact playing in the hands of the enemies of Islam and Pakistan.
“This forum of religious scholars reiterates that all such elements that are waging a war against the state by indulging in linguistic, territorial, religious or ethnic confrontations are in fact violating the principles of Islam and Shariah and the state should deal with such elements with an iron hand,” said a communiqué issued at the end of the closing session.
The joint statement held that Paigham-e-Pakistan that was issued on January 16, 2018 from the Aiwan-e-Sadr truly reflected the collective wisdom of the nation with regard to Quran, Sunnah and should be implemented in the country as policy and both the house of the Parliament should also pass this.
The ulemas urged the security institutions of the country to continue operations against the enemies of the state and Islam and take all steps necessary to eradicate terrorism from Pakistan.
About the recent incident of desecration of Quran in Sweden, the participants condemned the incident in strong words and said it had hurt over 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world. The participants also expressed concerns over the illegitimate use of social media and called for an end to its use to preach hatred in the name of nationalism, religion or any other excuse.
The communiqué issued at the end of the Paigham-e-Pakistan National Conference was signed by eminent scholars of Islam including Chairman Islamic Ideological Council (IIC) Dr Qibla Ayaz, President Wafaq-ul-Madaris Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, President Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Prof Sajid Mir, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri, Mauulan Azizul Hassan, Maulana Hamid Haqani, Allama Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Fazlur Rehman Khalil and others.
