Scholars underscore need for religious harmony

Scholars and academics said here on Wednesday that pluralism, mutual understanding and religious harmony between different religions were the ultimate guarantee for peace and security in the international politics. They also underscored the need for resolving the issue of religious and sectarian tolerance in Pakistan.
They were speaking at a two-day conference entitled "The Issues of Religious Harmony in Europe, South Asia & Middle East" held at a local hotel under the joint auspices of Karachi University's Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE)and the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad. In his key note address, International Islamic University's Executive Director, Dr Mumtaz Ahmed, stressed the need for dialogue between religions and regions.
"In fact, Islam is the second largest religion in most of the European societies and this is complex due to the influx of immigrants in European societies," he said, adding that there was a notion that Muslims were not ready to integrate with the local culture. National Centre of Scientific Research's (CNRS) senior research fellow Professor Micheal Boivin, said that it was in the 19th Century when work of notable Sufi scholars such as Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and others, were translated in European languages and their philosophy created religious harmony not only between Hindu and Muslims, but also among the followers of other religions.
Karachi University's Area Study Centre for Europe's director, Dr Uzma Shujaat, said that people and societies were not only bound together because of their mutual interests, but also due to the existence of God in all religions. She was of the opinion that peace was not possible in the region and world without pluralism and religious harmony. At the outset, she thanked the Hanns Seidel Foundation for its collaboration with ASCE in organising seminars.
University of Peshawar's Fata Studies Cell's associate professor Dr Syed Hussain Shaheed Soharawardi said that religion and sect were two important political catalysts in the region, encompassing Afghanistan and India. Others who spoke on the occasion included Karachi University's assistant professor, Professor Zahid Ali Zahidi, Quaid-e-Azam University's Dr Nazeer Hussain.