Speakers call for using language to unite Muslim countries. PHOTO: REUTERS
Terming the Persian language as the language of our forefathers, Speakers at a moot on stressed the need for promotion for our success.
A two-day "National Conference for Persian Language Teachers in Pakistan" opened at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Wednesday. The conference is being organised by the Iranian Cultural Consulate in collaboration with the commission, the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and Center for Research Persian Language in Pakistan.
Speakers said that large reservoirs of knowledge exist in the Persian language and there was thus a need to introduce the youth to the Persian language so that they can take advantage of these reservoirs.
Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Hunarmand Dost said that the time has come for the Muslim Ummah to forge unity among its ranks to defeat anti-Islamic forces. He assured Persian teachers that no stone would be left unturned for the promotion of the language.
Dr Mehmoodul Hasan revealed that soon, an arts, humanities and social sciences council would be established by the HEC, with funds already allocated for this purpose.
Dr Muktar Ahmed said that Muslims led the entire world in the fields of education from the seventh century to the thirteenth century. At that time, he said, the West was under darkness while people from the West used to send their children to Andalus (Spain) so that they could gain an education.
However, the Islamic world declined after it distanced itself from education and religion.
“Today we are entangled in sectarianism and non-issues,” Dr Ahmed said, adding that we are not following Islam.
“We have distinguished scientists, engineers and doctors, but lack good humans", he lamented. He added that the secret to progress lies in the message of our forefathers.
“We can make progress only through the promotion of the Persian language," he added.
He further lamented that the Muslim Ummah, which has 40 per cent of the world’s resources, was facing immense problems. He urged the need for chalking out new collaborative programmes comprising of Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey for the development and progress of the Muslim Ummah.
Noting that Persian and Arabian cultures built the nation’s foundation, he stressed the need to enforce it in colleges and universities.
Iranian Cultural Counselor Shahabuddin Durrani said the Persian language was key to cultural and human values. He added that there was an immense and historical repository of Persian language literature. In this regard, he pointed towards great poets like Ali Hajveri, Zakariya Multani, Shibli Nomani, Ghalib, Iqbal and Baydil, who hail from Pakistan but wrote in Persian.
Teachers from different schools and colleges attended the moot.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2017.
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