Promoting tolerance: Imposition of Arab culture has caused bloodshed, says Naeemi

Seminar organised to promote religious tolerance

LAHORE: Jamia Naeemia chief Raghib Naeemi said on Thursday that the imposition of Arab culture on the nation had caused bloodshed.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Information and Culture Department at the Punjab Institute of Language and Culture to promote religious tolerance in an effort to formulate a coherent and comprehensive strategy to fight extremism. Naeemi said an attempt had been made to impose Arab culture on the nation to replace the rich heritage and culture of the subcontinent. He said this had caused bloodshed. Naeemi said national leaders had not prioritised the formulation of a counter narrative against exclusionist takfiri groups. He said this had caused confusion among the people. He said only the state had the right to declare who was Muslim and who was not. Naeemi said the Islamic Ideology Council should be given this role.

Columnist Attaul Haq Qasmi spoke about the beliefs of some of the extremist groups. He said lack of knowledge of history had made people susceptible to views propagated by such elements. Journalist Sohail Warraich said extremists want to compromise order. He said they were guilty of hypocrisy as they made a show of rejecting modernity and progress but do not shy away from using it to further their own ends. He stressed the need to introduce humanity in the curricula to teach students regarding other religions to foster social tolerance.

Writer Arifa Syeda said the ruling elite had wreaked havoc on the historical narrative. She said it was necessary to rewrite history to change the narrative of a nation. Syeda said the nation’s denial of the secular values emphasised by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his August 11 speech had made the proliferation of extremist thoughts and ideologies possible. She said religious and class differences could be overcome by the imposition of a uniform education system in the nation.

Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Tahir Ashrafi criticised those who thought they had the authority to issue religious edicts. He said such elements were guilty of treating religion as a matter of trade. Ashrafi said terrorism could only be challenged through national unity.

Former governor Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool stressed the need to check divisive thoughts that targeted people due to their attires or their looks. He said it was necessary to realise that all religious taught virtue and righteousness.

Writer Parveen Atif took the speakers to task. She commended them for their liberal outlooks and progressive thoughts but asked why they had failed to implement these values when they were in positions of power. Poets Baba Najmi, Shaukat Ali and Amjad Islam Amjad read poetry in memory of those martyred in the Peshawar carnage. Former education minister Mian Imran Masood, Shafqat Mehmood, Rana Muhammad Arshad Khan and Naveed Chaudhry of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) respectively also spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.