Pak to spearhead international campaign against defamation of religions: Imran Khan
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, at the opening of the two-day international Rehmatul-il-Alameen Conference at Islamabad’s Jinnah Convention Centre, said that Pakistan would spearhead an international campaign against the defamation of religions.
The topic of the conference is “finality of Prophethood and responsibilities of Muslims in light of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)”.
It is the 43rd conference aimed at promoting religious harmony, tolerance, brotherhood and equality, respect for humanity, non-violence, unity, reconciliation and culture of dialogue, according toRadio Pakistan.
PM Khan congratulated the conference organisers and stressed the need to study the life of the Prophet “who changed the world”.
“Those people who are unable to understand the philosophy of the life of the Prophet have now become guardians of religion,” he claimed.
“You can only follow the path of blessed people when you love the Prophet,” he said, adding that the Higher Education Commission had been asked to establish chairs for research on the Prophet’s life in three universities.
The prime minister said he had seen Hindus, Sikhs, and people from all religions visit the shrines of great personalities like Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Baba Farid. “They visit their mausoleums because they were great men,” he said.
“We should examine what it was that the Prophet did, that later led to the defeats of super powers at the hands of Muslims,” he said.
Referring to a blasphemous cartoon contest which was announced by a Dutch MP, the PM said that the Dutch government had cancelled the contest, and the matter had also been taken up by Pakistan on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation platform.
Later, he said, the European Union also admitted that freedom of expression could be not be used as a pretext for blasphemy.
“Pakistan will spearhead a campaign for an international declaration against the defamation of religions. I have appointed Ahmer Bilal Sufi, a law expert, to reach out to various countries and convince them to sign the declaration,” he said.
The two-day international Rehmatal-Lil-Aalameen Conference at Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad is being held under the auspices of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony with title “finality of Prophethood and responsibilities of Muslims in light of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)”.
It is the 43rd conference aimed at promoting religious harmony, tolerance, brotherhood and equality, respect for humanity, non-violence, unity, reconciliation and culture of dialogue.
Islamic scholars, from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, Morocco, and the United Kingdom are participating in the event.
Cash awards and certificates are also being given to 53 authors, whose books or articles were selected after a due process, in nine categories. These categories are Seerat and Naat Books in Urdu, English, Arabic, and regional languages of Pakistan.
Federal Ministers, politicians, diplomats of various countries, men, and women are also attending the event.
