-Announces formation of Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority to further deepen research on Seerat-un-Nabi
-says countries where rule of law reigns supreme are bound to progress
-Claims societies that face moral decline are unable to move towards advancement
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced the formation of the Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority that would be responsible for researching how best to disseminate lessons from the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to the masses.
The prime minister was addressing the Ashra-e-Rehmat-ul-Lil-Aalamin (PBUH) conference in Islamabad to kick off the ten-day celebration period till the 13th of Rabiul Awwal.
He said the new authority would be composed of scholars who would be tasked with researching how to spread the Prophet’s (PBUH) teachings among children and adults and make it relevant to their lives.
“I will be the patron myself but we have started searching for a person who has written books of tafsir, has great command over religion and is a scholar for the chairman.
“There will be an international advisory board above him on which we will bring the Muslim world’s top scholars, we have looked at many names and are approaching them as well,” the prime minister said.
He said Islam was a religion of peace and humanity and the West did not understand it so the authority would also be tasked with explaining Islam to the world. “When they educate the world about the Prophet’s (PBUH) life, people will understand that Islam is a religion of humanity,” the premier added.
The scholars in the authority would be also be charged with monitoring the schools’ curriculum and how the course on the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) biography was being taught and whether any changes were required to improve it.
“Side-by-side we will teach other religions as well such as Hinduism and Sikh[ism] because all religions talk about humanity so we would want all of them to be aware of their religion.”
Additionally, the board of scholars would also be responsible for carrying out and promoting research in universities such as the causes behind the sudden ascent of Muslims after Islam’s arrival. The prime minister outlined other aspects of research as well such as analysing the strengths and weaknesses of Western culture.
“Research should be conducted on topics such as whether our divorces have increased and what is the impact of this,” he said.
Similarly, the premier said that a scholar would be responsible for monitoring the media as well, including all mediums from print to social media. “We cannot stop but we can provide alternatives,” he added.
The prime minister also specifically emphasised upon the importance of cartoons, saying that presently, cartoons being shown to children were “a form of indoctrination and alien culture”.
“We cannot stop them but we should make our own cartoons to teach our children about our culture,” he stressed. Prime Minister Imran said any society whose morals were on the decline could not rise.
“Analyse the rise and fall of empires, when they decline, first their morals decline and then financial destruction follows,” he said.
The premier said social ills such as corruption and stealing public money could not stop until the society at large objected to them.
He noted that the Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) panel had found that the real reason for poverty in developing countries was “leaders stealing money [and stashing it] abroad”.
“The biggest reason of poverty in a country is when its money goes abroad,” he said, adding that no society could progress where there was corruption. The prime minister also stressed the importance of justice in society, pointing out that the Prophet (PBUH) had not brought mercy for solely Muslims but the entire world.
“He gave the measure of leadership that a leader brings people together and does not divide them by spreading hate Islam was a universal message to collect humanity, not divide it.”
The prime minister said that justice liberated weak people in society and protected them from the powerful. “Look at the most prosperous countries in the world and they have rule of law,” he added.
On education, the prime minister said the Prophet (PBUH) had generated a perception among the people about the importance of knowledge.
“Education was given priority over money. Education not just for men but women and everyone, this is a great misunderstanding that women should not be educated that some narrow-minded people unfortunately create,” the premier said.
The prime minister said the country could not prosper until the Prophet’s (PBUH) teachings and actions were not followed because some elements had crept in which were stopping it from doing so. He said it was important to work on the youth’s upbringing, explaining that they would combat the moral decline of the country.
On the topic of immorality in society, the prime minister lamented that when he had asked the inspector general of police about what crimes were on the rise, he had replied that sexual crimes such as rapes and child abuse were.
He said he had followed the issue and sent a deputy inspector general of police to Kasur after the “horrifying” reports from the city. “I was pained at the report he gave me [about] the level they have reached,” the prime minister said.
The premier called for society to collectively tackle the issue of sexual crimes, adding that scholars also had a “great responsibility” to play in the issue. “This is why I am coming back to that there is only one solution for this. Our whole nation loves the Prophet (PBUH) but we are not following the orders in the Holy Quran to follow his life.”
