Seminar in Kashmir on “Sufism and its Relevance today”

Greater Kashmir, Online edition
Friday, May 19, 2006

Srinagar, May 19:A one-day seminar on “Sufism and its
Relevance today” was organized by Institute of Peace,
Research and Action, an NGO under project CROKSY at
Institute of Management Public Administration and
Rural Development here Thursday.

In the seminar many speakers including Prof Fida M
Khan Hasnnain, Prof Susheela Bhan Siraj-ud-Din, Prof.
Prem Singh, Dr. Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi, Dr. M. Maroof
Shah, Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Zargar, Dr. Manzoor AG Shah,
Dr. Shafkat Altaf besides many other scholars and
intellectuals dwelt an various aspects of Sufism and
its relevance in the contemporary world.

Light was thrown by speakers on various topics on
Sufism. The Sufi perspective of post modernism and
Sufism versus environmentalism, besides other related
topics were also spoken about.
Giving details the organizers told that the general
objective of the project is to work with the students
youth, develop and effective communication with them
and operationalise on educational programme aimed at
imparting the necessary knowledge, values and skills
towards a cultural regeneration and renewal of the
student youth with a special focus on four modern
values namely democracy, secularism, human rights and
social justice.

Director Information Kh. Farooq Ahmad Renzu while
referring to various upsurges in the annals of
Kashmiri history said that the Kashmiri mind was very
fertile which has always resists to its subjugation by
foreign elements. He said that the Kashmiri culture is
a product of gradual evolution and synthesis of
various faiths of Hinduism Vedanta, Buddhism and
Islam. He lamented the fact that the present
generation has unfortunately got drowned in the
endless ocean of confusion. He said that the world is
indebted to Kashmir for many modern day concepts of
the democracy and secularism. (INF)