Allama Iqbal’s books, letters must be republished

Speakers say poetic great’s writings offer solutions to contemporary issues

ISLAMABAD: Books and letters written by Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal must be re-published and widely circulated amongst the younger generation so that they can be guided by this writings and follow his visionary thoughts to address the contemporary socio-economic issues.

This was suggested by speakers while addressing the concluding session of a two-day international conference on Dr Allama Mohammad Iqbal. The conference was arranged by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to mark his 81st death anniversary. Locals as well as foreign delegates from Turkey, Iran, Egypt and Sweden participated in the conference.

Speakers were of the view that Dr Iqbal’s message is relevant for the times to come and the humanity as a whole and that Muslims, in particular, could make their life prosperous and peaceful by understanding and practising his message.

AIOU’s Dean of Social Sciences Dr Samina Awan announced that they will publish all the papers which had been presented in the conference in the form of a book so that people can benefit from the research.

The inaugural session was addressed by eminent scholars such as Professor Dr Tahseen Faraqi, Dr Moeenuddin Aqeel, Prof Dr Fateha Mohammad Malik and Iftikhar Arif, who deliberated upon the “Iqbal’s intellectual and Artistic Universality’.

They highlighted various dimensions and aspects of Dr Iqbal’s universal message, and that it provides a way to achieve the desired objectives.

Addressing the conference, AIOU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Ziaul Qayyum hoped that the conferences’ deliberations will be a source of inspirations for developing society as conceived by Dr Iqbal.

He vowed to develop the university as a platform for projecting the message of their national heroes among the young generation.

“The university will encourage research-based dialogue on the intellectual and visionary thoughts of Dr Iqbal,” Dr Qayyum stated.

He furthered that the university, named after the great poet, will do its best to educate the youth in line with the farsighted thoughts of the great Muslim scholar.

“The nation is indebted to his (Dr Iqbal’s) scholarly contributions for creating a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-continent,” he added.

Former AIOU VC Dr Shahid Siddiqui concluded the conference by speaking about the poetic and literary contribution of Dr Iqbal.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2019.