Promotion of tolerance, peace need of the hour: moot

LAHORE: Speakers at a conference here on Monday stressed the need to promote the narrative of peace, tolerance, love and fraternity as envisioned in the life of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

“Life of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is a beacon of light for the entire humanity, who gave charter of rights of the weaker segments of the society including women, children, and slaves, and set the rules as how to treat the war prisoners even some 1,400 years ago,” the speakers said while addressing a Milad-e-Mustafa (Peace Be Upon Him) conference titled ‘Importance of National Unity, Tolerance, Peace and Love in the Light of Teachings of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)’ organized to celebrate the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) during the holy month of Rabbi-ul-Awwal.

Member Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Pir Ali Raza Bukhari was chief guest at the ceremony held here at Markazi Aastana-e-Aaliya Faqeerabad (Lahore) under the banner of Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of the government of Pakistan. Pir Saeed Haidri presided over the event while Pir Hameed Jan attended as a special guest.

Speaking on the occasion, AJK MLA Pir Ali Raza Bukhari said Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) advocated and promoted love, peace, tolerance, brotherhood and forgiveness throughout his life. “Only by following the teachings of Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him), we can succeed in setting up a true Islamic welfare state,” he said, and called for building bridges among peoples, cultures and religions to break down the barriers of hate, ignorance and prejudice, which eventually lead to violence and extremism in a society. “Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) developed a socially inclusive society that embodied a sense of inclusion, established a tradition of mutual respect, encouraged diversity of perspectives and commended broadmindedness without racial and religious prejudice,” he said, and called for the demonstration of a nonviolent and enlightened Muslim culture with all its manifestations based on the early Islamic society headed by Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Separately, a speech contest was organized at Government High School Theekriyan Mooniyan in Gujrat as part of Eid Milad-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) celebrations wherein contestants threw light on the words and deeds of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) which eventually led to creation of an Islamic welfare state in Madina.

Member Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Pir Ali Raza Bukhari was chief guest at the ceremony while Punjab Assembly members Syed Faizul Hasan Shah and Chaudhry Liaquat Ali participated as guests of honour.

In their speeches on the occasion, the contestants stressed that teachings of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) must be followed in letter and spirit if the humanity wants success. They said Islamic beliefs, traditions and values provide an effective and comprehensive solution to the current challenges faced by the human race, adding that the human beings need to live together in harmony and see a creative flourishing of humanity without any discrimination on the basis of colour, creed and religious background.

The speakers called for following the words and deeds of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), who epitomized the values of mercy, tolerance and unity, in contrast with the brutal worldview of extremists that feeds into division and paranoia. Muslims must refrain from sectarianism and extremism and promote Islamic brotherhood, they said, and called for articulation of possibilities of sustainable social peace and stability by dealing with potentialities through reinterpretation and re-articulation of the values of Islam as enshrined by Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).