'Islam must be presented in positive way'

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq has said that Muslim should not be apologetic about Islam and should present Islam in a positive way. He was speaking on the book launching ceremony of "Mainay Baghdad Jalte Dekha" written by Pakistan television reporter Sarwar Muneer Rao here on Monday.
The ceremony was also attended by Defence Minister Rao Sikander Iqbal, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli and other eminent scholars.
Ijaz-ul-Haq said that Pakistan did not support war against Iraq and has not sent its forces to Iraq as the war was against UNO mandate.
He lamented that Islamic world was unable to play any role in averting the crises, which could have saved the country from devastation. "The attacks on UK were also the outcome of British foreign policy regarding Iraq war," he added.
He said Muslims should not be apologetic about their religion and added that Islam should be presented positively by evolving a joint strategy.
Ijaz also called for restructuring and reactivation of (OIC) to project Muslims point of view across the world.
Addressing the ceremony Senator Mushahid Hussain said a number of reports from US and UK proved that after the war in Iraq new waves of terrorism and extremism emerged along with a tangible division of the world into Muslim and Western blocks. He said war also ignited an ideological battle between the two blocks, which would only be countered through a joint Muslim strategy.
Praising the contribution of Muslim electronic media, he said for the first time the war was completely covered by the Muslim media including Al-Jazira TV, Pakistan Television, Geo and other channels. He hailed Sarwar Muneer Rao's contribution not only for his extensive coverage but also for depicting real picture of the conflict in his book.
Defence Minister Rao Siknader Iqbal said that Pakistan's various decisions is in the best interest of the country and its people. Anisa Zaib Tahirkheli praised Sarwar Muneer Rao's efforts. She said that the writer did not merely reported war but analysed it in historical prospective. Talking about the extremism and terrorism, she said that the menace could be overcome if its root causes were addressed.