By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Madad Ali Sindhi on Wednesday said that Iqbal’s poetry, philosophy and thought were, undoubtedly, universal and his message was for the people of the whole world. Iqbal’s message is as fresh as ever and we still need it today, the minister said while addressing the opening session of a two-day international conference on “Iqbal’s Thought in the Perspective of 21st Century and Two Great Poets of Islam: Iqbal and Akif” at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). The conference was organized by the Department of Iqbal Studies AIOU in collaboration with Yunus Emre Institute.
Madad Ali Sindhi mentioned that Iqbal’s thought provided a solution to the problems of today and served as a guiding light for all human beings. Iqbal’s political philosophy is a source of strength for democracy in Pakistan, he said. He expressed his delight over the presence of eminent intellectuals and Iqbal enthusiasts from all over Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and Turkey at the conference. The federal minister congratulated Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood, Vice Chancellor AIOU and his entire team for organizing this international conference on Iqbal. Vice Chancellor AIOU, Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood mentioned that the University was one of the few universities which had established a Department of Iqbal Studies to promote Iqbal’s thoughts and poetry. He stated that through this department, we aimed to convey the message of Allama Iqbal to the youth. Dr. Nasir emphasized the need to elaborate and explain Iqbal’s thoughts to train the new generation. Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Pacici and Dr. Halil Tokar commented that Iqbal’s poetry had profoundly impacted the Turkish nation. In Turkey, there have been many translations of Iqbal’s poetry and research work on Iqbal is being conducted in Turkish universities, he said and added, however, in Pakistan, Muhammad Akif is not recognized, and in collaboration with AIOU, the Yunus Emre Institute will promote the poetry and thoughts of the Turkish poet Muhammad Akif in Pakistan.
Other speakers including Director General, NLPD, Prof. Dr. Saleem Mazhar, Dr. Baseera Ambreen from Punjab University and Dr. Fatima Hasan from Karachi expressed their concern about the challenges that today’s young generation is facing including academic, intellectual, cultural, and moral crises. They emphasized that Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s thoughts, philosophy and poetry can inspire and guide the youth to overcome these problems. Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Sahir expressed his gratitude to all the guests and participants. Dr. Shiraz Zaidi explained the aims and objectives of the conference, while Dr. Arshad Mehmood Nashad hosted the inaugural ceremony.
