Promoting peace and love: Hajvery Sufism Chair to be set up in varsity

Dedicated to renowned sufi saint Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh.

ISLAMABAD:

For promoting the values of peace, tolerance and interfaith harmony, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will set up a Hajvery Sufism Chair at one of its affiliate universities.

This was stated by HEC Chairperson Dr Javaid Laghari at a recent meeting of the Inter University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences (IUCPSS), an alliance of 16 universities across the country.

Laghari asked Prof Dr Hussain Mubashir Malik, a senior fellow at HEC and member of the governing board at University of Health Sciences Lahore, to prepare a working paper for the HEC’s consideration of establishing the chair.

IUCPSS Chairperson Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin termed the announcement a positive step and a ‘need of the hour’.

Columnist and writer Attaul Haq Qasmi appreciated the initiative, saying, “It is a need of the hour to promote the true message of Islam which is based on affection, mutual respect and peace as preached by all Muslim saints in the sub-continent.”

Malik hoped this chair would open a new chapter in the history of Pakistan and lead to the formation of a role model institution followed by inculcation of peace, tolerance and brotherhood among the people of Pakistan.

The chair has been dedicated to Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh who is one of the most famous Muslim saints and devoted his life to preaching the message of Islam.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2013.