Minhaj University Lahore hosts Christmas Day celebrations

The School of Religion & Philosophy and Interfaith Relations of Minhaj University Lahore hosted a graceful event “Christmas Day Celebrations” on December 13, which was organized by Dr. Herman Roborgh (Head of Department) and Mr. Sohial Ahmad Raza (Director of Interfaith Relations).

Dr. Herman Roborgh, in his welcome address, said, "This day highlights the teaching of Jesus Christ which is of harmony and equality. At this moment all the participants are equal to me and I greet them Merry Christmas as brothers and sisters above their designation and hierarchy. Remember, the dream of global peace will never come true unless the followers of both Islam and Christianity come forward in a spirit of cooperation, respect and goodwill and play their due role to promote peaceful existence.”

Dr. Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri, Deputy Chairman BOG-MUL stated, ”It is a matter of immense pleasure and honour to welcome all of you who are celebrating a beautiful day of peace and harmony. It is an exclusive trait of Minhaj-ul-Quran International to celebrate this day as a symbol of harmony even in those days in the late 1980s when the celebration of such days was not common. These seeds of love and harmony were sown by Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri and today it has grown into a tree of love and prosperity for all times to come.”

Dr Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri said that we are all born as human beings as a viceregent of Almighty to spread the message of peace and to make this world a better place for our succeeding generations to live. Ironically, when we grow up the society inculcates in our mind the germs of grudge and discrimination with which we treat others on the basis of their caste, religion, and creed. It is time for humans to mark these erroneous zones and to live like pure souls as brothers and sisters. Irrespective of whatever religion and society we may belong to, we must pledge to work for the promotion of interfaith, harmony and peace in the world.

Dr. Sajid Mahmood Shahzad, Vice-Chancellor (MUL), while expressing his very warm and happy Chrisms message, said,” As per the vision of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Minhaj University Lahore believes in the notions of tolerance, peaceful co-existence, and interfaith harmony. This university is accommodating students of all religions including Christen, Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists, stating that our students are trained to promote harmony and acceptability without any discrimination.

VC MUL said his message for the day is peace, prosperity, and harmony. He said we have achieved peace in Pakistan and now we are on the road to prosperity. Harmony is a most important issue and I must give credit to Dr. Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri for establishing a department of Religion and Philosophy under the leadership of Dr. Hermon. A lot of credit goes to Dr. Hermon and Sohail Raza Sahib for interfaith harmony among other religions in Pakistan, he added.

The distinguished foreign guests present at the occasion appreciated the step of Minhaj University to host this holistic festival of joy. They said, "Christmas is all about sharing and helping others. On this day people remember Jesus Christ and his lessons of life. The festival definitely teaches us to practise kindness and love towards each other and help those who have less than us by sticking to the deepest parts of our humanity. Through this celebration, we are reminded to have a positive outlook about life in general.”

Mr. Sohail Raza, Director Interfaith Relations (MQI), in his greeting message said, ‘I wish a Merry Christmas to all Christians celebrating this day of jubilance around the world and in particular to our Christian brethren in Pakistan who are as much Pakistani as anyone else. Let us as Pakistani, like Muslims, Christians, Hindus and whatever else we may be, pledge on this Christmas Day to work harder for a pluralistic Pakistan where every citizen would have equal rights and there would be no bars against class or community.”