Larijani Urges Muslims To Understand True Essence Of Islam

Islamabad, Feb 14, IRNA -- Speaker of Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said here Wednesday Muslims should make efforts to understand the true essence of Islam to be successful, as they have been facing numerous challenges in present day world. The Parliament Speaker said this while speaking at the concluding session of the conference on “The Legacy of Islamic Civilisation: Lessons for Contemporary Muslim World”, jointly organised by Quaid-i-Azam University and Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of Iran. Iranian Speaker received a standing ovation from the audience when came to rostrum to address the students. He said that Iran and Pakistan are tied in eternal bond of friendship. On the occasion he also expressed gratitude to the Vice Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University for providing him an opportunity to interact with the Pakistani youth. Expressing his views he said that the Islamic civilization flourished in the past because of the attention given to knowledge and learning. He said that Qurˈan also emphasis in the significance of knowledge for the Muslims. He said that Islamic civilization has seen many ups and downs. He added that in the past sometimes the kings made it difficult for the people to seek knowledge. Ali Larijani said that the main reason for the spread of Islam is that according to Islam all human beings are equals. The Iranian official said that today the Islamic word is facing lots of challenges. “There was a time when America wanted to be sole power but this is over,” he said. Ali Larijani said that invasions agaisnt Iraq and Afghanistan were the main mistakes committed by the US. He went on to say that the founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini (P) had termed the US as the Great Satan. He said that the Islamic Revolution has been the source of inspiration for the awakening movements in the Arab world. He also acknowledged the efforts made by great Pakistani philosopher Iqbal Lahori for the stability of Muslim world. He said, ˈImam Khomeini (P) strengthened the spirit of martyrdom in Iranian youth.ˈ Larijani added that today the world Muslims are standing on the threshold of great changes. He said that United States and the Zionist regime have run out of their tricks to weaken the Muslim world. The Iranian Speaker said that the Muslims have to revive the Islamic civilization through unity. “Every Muslim is like a brother for other Muslims,” he said. Ali Larijani advised the Muslims to pay more attention to seeking knowledge. He said that Iran has made a lot of progress in the field of sciences and technologies and is now ready to share its experience with the other brotherly Muslim countries. He said that a student-and-teacher-exchange program should be encouraged between Iran and Pakistan. He said that scholarships can be given to Pakistani students to study in Iran. He said that Syria is being targeted because the country is resisting the Zionist regime. He said that democracy cannot be established through arms. “Americans do not care about democracy in Syria because they are supporting some countries in the region that are monarchies,” he said. He said that there should be no military intervention in Syria. Ali Larijani said that US is against the Iranian peaceful nuclear program because the country is supporting the oppressed people of Palestine. “Israel is a cancer in the region,” he said. The conference has brought scholars of Muslim history and art and political thought together to make recommendations concerning facing the challenges being confronted by the world Muslims. QAU Vice Chancellor Proffessor Masoom Yasinzai said that the Muslim world should get inspiration from its past glory and come up with innovative ideas based on its Islamic legacy to deal with present challenges. He said that Muslims had greatly impacted the political, economic, social and military history of the world, especially the Middle East, Asia and even Europe. Chairperson of QAU Department of History, Dr. Razia Sultanain, in her welcome address said that the Islamic civilisation was quite huge not only in terms of territorial stretch and time period, but also in terms of its achievements./end