President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the people to resolve on the birth anniversary of the poet philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal to rebuild Pakistan by drawing inspiration from his vision.
"It was unfortunate that in the country envisioned by Iqbal, Islam has been ruthlessly exploited by extremists and militants to foist their narrow agenda on the people in the name of religion".
"The extremists and militants have rejected the Constitution, the Federation and institutions of democracy only to capture power in the name of religion. This cannot be allowed; it will not be", the President said in his message on the occasion of Allama Iqbal's birth anniversary. He said the need for understanding Iqbal's concept of the message of Islam and the need for forward movement in human thought was never as great as it is today.
The President said Allama Iqbal believed that nothing remained static and stationary. "He believed in and advocated forward movement in human thought," he said, adding, "We need to encourage forward movement in philosophical thought instead of abandoning the interpretation of Islamic teachings to any individual or group".
"Forward movement in human thought and interpretation is most relevant in the present day as extremists and militants selectively quoted scriptures and verses to advance their own political agenda behind the cloak of religion", he added.
The President said that one of the most important intellectual challenges faced by us was to move forward according to the changing requirements of the time while retaining the fundamentals of our great religion.
"We must meet this great intellectual challenges of our time for confronting the militants and militancy. For this, we need to imbibe the teachings of Allama Iqbal. This indeed is the best tribute we can pay to Allama Iqbal today", he added.
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