To allay the fears of the West regarding the growing influence of Islam it is necessary that a sustainable dialogue process should be initiated with the Western world. This was suggested by speakers at the launching ceremony of 'For-um: a forum for Ummah' here on Friday.
The think-tank 'For-um' has been formed to float recommendations and suggestions after conducting in-depth research on political, social and managerial issues faced by the Ummah. Professor Dr Abdul Jabbar Shakir, Director, Daawat Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, said that people of this era have got all the facilities, which were never available to mankind in the past.
The civic facilities and the luxury present now are unprecedented in the history of mankind. However, the contemporary man is also facing an unprecedented moral decline. "We are living in a region where, though the Muslims were hardly 10 to 20 percent of the total population, they ruled South Asia for over 1,000 years, maintaining higher moral and ethical standards.
But later, the Muslims of South Asia lost their supremacy in education and morality and, resultantly, their rule vanished. It is part of natural laws that only able people are given rule and governance," he said. Dr Shakir said that today not only Pakistan but also the entire Islamic world is facing upheavals, unrest, disharmony and internal challenges.
He regretted that the mental level and vision of the political and intellectual leadership kept declining after the independence of Pakistan. "There is a need for an honest soul searching that we are going to leave for our coming generations. We should bestow our new generation with a character that is the hallmark of civilised nations," he said.
He said: "In our religion there is no room for gloom and disappointment is not allowed. It is also true that no change can be brought about just by wishful thinking and day-dreaming. The number of mosques in the world today is more than any previous period in our history. We have also an effective literature and better media exposure, but the resources of Ummah are not being used in the right direction."
He went on to say that the institutions established all around the world in the name of think tanks have limited aims and objectives, mostly materialistic ones. Only such forums should be established which provoke people to think to leave better conditions for their coming generations than enjoyed by their parents.
"We should give hope to our young generation," he added. The Chairman of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Shahid Aziz Siddiqui, highlighted that nowhere in the world Muslim people and their scholars defended and preserved their religious traditions like the Muslims and their scholars in South Asia. He said that "our new generation wants to do something but we are not letting them do it. There is a dire need to engage our youngsters in modern research".
Senior journalist and founder of 'For-um,' Ariful Haque Arif, emphasised that it was the foremost duty of intellectuals and scholars to save their nation from hopelessness. 'For-um' would try to introduce scholars and columnists to each other and create consensus over national and international issues so as to take Ummah out of disappointment and hopelessness, he assured.
"We have to improve the collective character of our nation as it has lost the path of knowledge. We would try our level best to revive our past intellectual glories. 'For-um' would also work for improving better religious and ethnic harmony among the Ummah," he said, adding that media should also take stock as to what kind of news it is giving to the nation.
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) Secretary General, and CEO, Pakistan Press International (PPI), Owais Aslam Ali, said that the West has same fears from Islam "as we have from the West that it might change our values and traditions. There are many people in the West, with whom we should establish contacts. Today, we have all the resources available in this regard".
Dr Shakir announced the names of office-bearers of 'For-um' as follows: Ariful Haque Arif, Chairman; Dr Awwab Alvi, Vice-Chairman; Muhammad Saleem, Honorary Secretary General; Anwar Ahmed Khaleefa, Finance Secretary; and Afsar Imran, Information Secretary. The executive committee comprises of: Naufil Shahrukh, Javed Rasheed, Zakar Mehnti, and Naimat Khan.
An advisory board of the 'For-um' was also announced comprising Director, Dawwat Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Dr Abdul Jabbar Shakir, Chairman; State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Shahid Aziz Siddiqui, noted industrialist Tanveer Ahmed Magoon, CEO, Pakistan Press International, Owais Aslam Ali, Dr Mumtaz Ahmed, Executive Director, IRD International Islamic University, Islamabad, Syed Mahmood Hashmi, CEO, Orient Advertising, senior journalist, Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dr Arif Alvi, Central Secretary General, Tahreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan, Muhammad Aazam, ex-VC, Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar, Shahid Nabi Malik, CEO, City Developers, Senior journalists Idrees Bakhtiar, Iqbal Mirza and Abdul Qadir Qureshi, and Athar Hashmi, Chief Editor, Daily Jasarat.