Zarif congratulates Pakistanis on Iqbal Day

Tehran, Nov 9, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message expressed congratulations to all Pakistanis on the arrival of Iqbal Day. "Allama Iqbal Fakhr has the status of a scholar of Islam and an international poet and thinker and the concerns he had for the unity of Muslims is a concern for the world of Islam today," Zarif wrote in his Twitter account. Allama Iqbal, born on November 9, 1877 in Eastern city of Sialkot, was great representative of the subcontinent and an important personality for the Pakistan movement. Iqbal was a Sufi poet for the modern age who aroused a revolutionary spirit in the nation through his poetry. His poetry has been translated in many languages and is considered a great philosopher all over the world. About 60 percent of the works of Iqbal Lahori is in the Persian language and they are masterpieces. Iqbal did not oppose to scientific western culture, rather he was against capitalistic democracy and materialistic civilization, which did not abide by the religious and moral values. He had advised Muslims to benefit from the modern knowledge while safeguarding their own culture.