Islam is a source of guidance to mankind: Shaukat

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday said Islam is a source of guidance in all spheres of life and called for benefiting from the research done on "Ijtehad" in other Islamic states for promoting a progressive culture in the country. "Islam provides guidance to mankind in all spheres of life," he said while addressing the 156th session of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) here.
However, the Prime Minister said, the most critical thing missing today was the principle of "Ijtehad" that allows to bring in conformity the framework of Islam to meet the emerging challenges and requirements.
The Prime Minister said keeping in mind the present challenges, Ijtehad is the most, important thing to be promoted to ensure progress of the nation and Islam itself.
He called upon the Islamic Ideology Council to work in the area of "Ijtehad" to promote moderation and elightenism without compromising on the basic principles of Islam.
Work to create awareness among the masses is also of great importance to project real picture of Islam and the electronic media can also be used as an important tool in this regard, he added.
Prime Minister Aziz said Islam is a religion of peace, brotherhood, and tolerance which believes in justice, supremacy of law and human rights without any discrimination.
There was no place for terrorism, sectarianism, hatred, exploitation of human values, and disrespect for others' belief in Islam, he added.
But unfortunately, he added, Islam is facing misinterpretations and misconceptions from various quarters which are needed to be removed.
He underscored the imperative need of projecting the true spirit of Islam to naturalise the theory of clash of civilisation as being propounded by some in the west and to develop inter-faith harmony.
The Prime Minister also called for projecting the positive and soft image of Pakistan.
Referring to the concept of enlightened moderation as expounded by President General Pervez Musharraf, he said the vision has been hailed all over the world and was a befitting response to the anti-Islam propaganda.
The Prime Minister said the Objective Resolution, which forms part of the Constitution, vests sovereignty over the entire universe in Allah Almighty and asks for observing the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance, and social justice as enunciated by Islam.
The foundation of first City of State in Islam, he added, was laid on the fundamentals of social justice, supremacy of law, speedy justice, empowerment and appropriate status of women in society, equal rights for all citizens, purity of environment, truthfulness and honesty.
"It was this Welfare State of Madina founded on these principles which made every citizen satisfied and emancipated," he said and added these citizens, with their remarkable character, impressed the people wherever they went and spread Islam.
The Prime Minister said by adopting these principles "We can move with fast pace on the road of progress and development in all spheres".
He stressed the need for focussing on promotion of education, special attention on female education, rightful place of women in society, equal job opportunities and provision of basic necessities of life to create a healthy society.
"We are working in that direction and our policy framework is based on four fundamentals" he added.
He described these fundamentals as accelerated economic growth on sustainable basis, national security - both internal and external development of infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing economy and effective diplomacy.
The Prime Minister said it should be understood that the present global environment has brought new challenges, but at the same time also unfolded immense opportunities.
He commended the contribution of the council in studying the law covering the periods from 1836 to 1977 and from 1999 to 2000 and identifying provisions and statues not in consonance with injunctions of Islam.
Prime Minister said, the Council of Islamic Ideology has been doing useful work in Islamisation of existing laws but added that a lot has yet to be done, especially in creating of an ideal welfare society.
In this regard, he said, the council can guide parliament in enactment of laws compatible to current needs and challenges for the creation of such society.
He emphasised on the need to focus on the third source, that is "Ijtehad," in addition to Holy Quran and Hadith, the fundamental sources for guiding principles of Islam.
Prime Minister Aziz said besides preparing suggestions to improve current laws, the council will also have to work to face the issues of terrorism, extremism and sectarianism.
He said there is need to work to overcome these menaces on the basis of arguments and the council has to play a vital role in this regard.
The Prime Minister urged the council to launch a campaign to create awareness to promote real perceptions of Islam so that people could be able to implement Islamic principles and teaching in their life.
He said there is no danger to Islam, nor the Muslims are fragile but added, the only thing needed is a determination to the modern challenges and present real spirit of Islam to the world.
He also called upon the council to put the books written by it on its website so that people can take benefit of these suggestions in their daily life.
With regard to problems being faced by the council, the Prime Minister asked the Minster for Religious Affairs, Ijazul Haq to look into them and submit a report to help overcome these problems.
He also assured his support as well as that of the government in all the endeavours of the council.
Earlier, in his welcome address the Minister for Religious Affairs, Ijazul Haq urged the members of the Ideology Council to provide guidance to the government for the improvement of blasphemy act and Hadood Ordinance while remaining in the limit of Islamic principles.
The chairman of the council Dr Khalid Masood informed the Prime Minister about the achievements of the council and said it has completed the revision of almost all laws up to 2000 and has submitted sixty reports to the government to improve these laws so far.