Misconceptions over Islamic humanitarian values must be cleared

CII chief says modern-day humanitarian laws close to original Islamic teachings

ISLAMABAD: Modern-day humanitarian laws bear an uncanny resemblance with the humanitarian principles first proposed by Islam with the advent of the religion some 1,400 years ago.

This was stated by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz on Tuesday during the inaugural session of a two-day national roundtable conference on ‘Islam and Humanitarian Principles’. The conference is being jointly organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad.

Dr Ayaz was of the opinion that modern humanitarian principles are quite similar to the ideas espoused and practically implemented by Islam centuries ago.

Even now, he said that other than a few exceptions there are not many inconsistencies between the principles governing modern-day humanitarian laws and the values taught by Islam.

There were however many misconceptions prevailing about it, he added, which need to be addressed by raising awareness on the matter.

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The inaugural session of the conference was addressed by Dr Ayaz, IPS Executive President Khalid Rahman, ICRC Senior Programme Officer Dr Ziaullah Rahmani, International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) Shariah Academy Director-General Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Assistant Professor Dr Zahid Mughal, IIUI Vice President Dr Muhammad Munir, IIUI Regional Da’wah Centre in-charge Dr Syed Azizur Rahman, IPS Senior Research Associate Dr Shahzad Iqbal Shaam and Civil Judge Dr Saqib Jawwad.

IPS chief Rahman stated that the history of conflicts and disasters was as old as humans themselves, and so were the efforts to prevent, avert or mitigate them.

Since the purpose behind all these efforts has been to minimise the losses incurred by calamities, it is only logical to bring gradual improvements in concerning laws and actions, as well as the principles they are based upon, in a bid to address the evolving needs.

ICRC’s Dr Rehmani pointed out that the principles governing the international humanitarian laws and the code of conduct offered by Islam in this regard almost go hand-in-hand as there were not many foundational dissimilarities amongst them.

Instead, he stressed, that the conduct upheld by Islam provides room for further improvement in the laws. He added that it was in this light that the conference was being organised, with a view to identifying areas for improvements in international humanitarian law in line with Islamic thought.

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Other speakers also echoed Dr Rehmani’s viewpoint stressing the need to deal with natural and manmade disasters in line with humanitarian principles.

They suggested that the Constitution and laws of Pakistan should consider exploring the benefits of basic humanitarian principles and provisions in international humanitarian law.

Other international law experts and Islamic scholars underscored the need to revisit international laws to address humanitarian issues in conflicts and disasters of the contemporary world.

They also discussed at length the concerning humanitarian principles in light of Islamic jurisprudence amidst emerging needs.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2019.