Campaign to promote social, religious harmony kicks off

Drive to focus on curbing hate speech.

ISLAMABAD: Scholars and politicians while demanding curbing use of hate speech in media as well as textbooks underlined the need for promoting a culture of social and religious harmony. 

A ceremony to launch a campaign aimed at curbing use of hate speech and promoting social and religious harmony in the country was held here on Tuesday.

The awareness campaign titled, “Aawaz-e-Aman” will be launched in 26 districts of Punjab and 21 districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Speakers at the launch stressed the need for changing the existing education policy, which they said would help remove hate material from the textbooks.

They said that hate material in textbooks was playing a major role in promoting a culture of lack of religious tolerance and was misleading the youth.

The campaign is launched by Aawaz Programme, managed by poet, Harris Khalique.

Khalique said that the campaign was the need of the hour. He said that it was important to promote tolerance, acceptance and respect of differences among the people.

During his welcome, Khalique outlined the importance of the campaign, especially in the current environment.

There was a consensus that all efforts needed to be made to ensure that there was strict enforcement of 153 A of PPC and loudspeakers should not be used as tools for hate speech.

Asiya Nasir, member National Assembly belonging from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-Fazl) said that a fragmented nation could never progress.

She strongly demanded elimination of hate speech from textbooks, which the MNA added was creating an environment of intolerance, extremism and sectarian violence.

Senator Shibli Faraz from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said that General Zia’s dictatorship ruined the institutions of the country and destroyed culture.

Addressing the curriculum is an integral part of the conversation when talking about tackling such issues, he said.

“We must aggressively promote arts, literature and music that truly promote love, peace and tolerance,” Faraz said.

Senator Rubina Rauf from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said that manipulation of religion by some clerics was flourishing in the country and the religion was being used to promote vested interests.

Dr Khalid Masud, religious scholar and former chair of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said, “No religion in the world asks to kill each other in the name of religion, caste, creed or colour.”

He said that no religion supported extremism, intolerance, revenge and hatred.

“There is a need to understand Islam in depth and follow what it truly says rather then believing what others say about it and making it a base for spreading extremism,” he said.

The drive has been launched by a consortium of five orgnaisation namely, Aurat Foundation, Sungi Development Foundation, South Asia Partnership Pakistan, Strengthening Pakistan Organisation and Development Alternatives Inc.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2015.