Out of the Darkness

By Fayyaz Yaseen, *Religious leaders should impart Sufi teachings to end terror, suggests Sardar Yaqoob Khan* - News Pakistan - Pakistan; Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Religious leaders should impart Sufi teachings to end terror, suggests Sardar Yaqoob Khan

Lahore: President Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan here yesterday at the inaugural session of two-day Syed Hajver Tasawwaf Seminar organized in connection with 968th annual Urs of Hazrat Data
Gunj Buksh at Punjab University, stressed the religious leaders to come forward and impart knowledge on teachings of Sufism to the youth as this could have been effective way of overcoming terrorism and extremism in the society.

The seminar was organized in joint collaboration of Punjab University’s Department of Arabic and Provincial Ministry of Religious Affairs and Auqaf.

With having Provincial Minister for Religious Affairs and Auqaf Haji Ehsan-ud-Din Qureshi as the chief guest, Minister for Mines Ch Abdul Ghafoor and Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Secretary Religious Affairs and Auqaf Muazffar Mehmood also marked their presence in the seminar.

Speaking on the occasion, the AJ&K president said that the charismatic personality of Hazrat Data Gunj Bakhsh was a model for our guidance as even people of other religions also respected him. He said Data Gunj Bakhsh played a key role in guiding the masses towards the path of peace and love with humanity.

He was of the view that Sufis played foundational role in spread of Islam in the sub-continent. Referring to the present crisis the country was facing despite being an atomic power, he said that the enemies could never harm Pakistan due to the presence of such pious personalities of Sufis.

Adding further to his comments, Sardar Yaqoob said that Kashmiris were not only protecting the ideological boundaries of Pakistan, but they were also ready to sacrifice their lives for the country.

Expressing his views on the occasion, Prof Dr. Mujahid Kamran said that after Prophets, there were Sufis who had taken people out of the darkness of ignorance through their acts and teachings. He highlighted the fact that these were the Sufis who converted hundreds of thousands of non-Muslims to Muslims in the Sub-Continent.

At the end, the Vice Chancellor of the University also underscored the importance of holding such seminars on large scale so as awareness about the lives and teachings of Sufis could be spread among students and the youth.