Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri’s services for interfaith dialogue laudable: Iranian diplomat

Annual All-Pakistan contests of different types got underway at the central secretariat of MQI to mark the 66th birthday of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri. These contests are being held under the banner of Bazm-e-Minhaj, the students’ body of Minhaj University Lahore. The weeklong celebrations that kicked off on February 13 will conclude on Feb 16. The idea behind organizing these events is to awaken the interest and creative passion of the students in the extracurricular activities.

The opening ceremony of the weeklong events was started with Quranic recitation and Arabic speech competition. Director General of Khan-e-Farhang Iran Agha Akbar Barkhordari was the chief guest on the occasion. Qari Saeed Ahmad Arshad, Rafique Naqashbandi, and Qari Allah Baksh Naqashbandi were the jury for the Quranic recitation competition, whereas Muhammad Afzal Kanju, Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Sadeedi, and Ain-ul-Haq Baghdadi adjudicated on the Arabic speech contest.

Male and female students belonging to various educational institutions including Government College University, Punjab Group of Colleges, Tahfeez-ul-Quran Lahore, Jamia Islamia Faisalabad, Jamia Ghosia, Bhera University, Idara-e-Taleemat-e-Islamia, Minhaj College for Women, Jamia Rizvia took part in the competitions. The students recited the Holy Quran in their melodious voices and cast a spellbinding effect on the audience. Abdullah Yousaf of Government College Township, Qari Muhammad Imran, and Qari Abdur Rehman from Government College Township, Idara Fahim-ul-Quran, and Jamia Tarteel ul Quran got first, second and third positions respectively in the Quranic recitation competition.

Ateeq-ur-Rehman of Minhaj University, Hadiq Batool of Minhaj Girls College and Muhammad Ali of Bhaira University were able to clinch first, second and third positions respectively in the Arab speech contest.

Shields and participation certificates were distributed among the position holders as well as participants.

Speaking on the occasion, the Iranian diplomat, who was the chief guest of the ceremony, said that if the Muslim world wants restoration of its prestige and glory, it will have to reconnect itself with the Holy Quran. He said that it is our relationship with the Holy Quran which is the source of salvation. He said that the Holy Quran is a Book of guidance for the whole humanity and its secrets will continue to be revealed till the Day of Judgment. He said that every individual and society can seek guidance from the Holy Quran to regulate their affairs. He said that we need to adopt proper etiquettes to take a recourse to the Holy Quran, a Divine Book whose wisdom is never ending. He said that the Quran is a Word of Allah that explores the secrets of universe and whose study renders the instable into the stable.

Talking about personality of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, Agha Akbar Barkhordori said that Dr Qadri has been making significant efforts for promotion of interfaith harmony and a culture of tolerance and upholding the banner of human rights in the world. He said that Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri is a very respectable personality who is playing the role of a bridge between different schools of thought.

Amir of MQI Sahibzada Faiz-ur-Rehman Durrani, Principal Dr Khan Muhammad Malik, Mumtaz-ul-Hassan Bawari, Sohail Ahmad Raza, Shahzad Qadri, Dilawar Ali, Muhammad Akram Rana, Nawaz Zafar Chishti, Ilyas Azami, Col (r ) Raja Fazal Mehdi, Shafaqat Ali Baghdadi, Sabir Hussain Naqashbandi and others were also present on the occasion.