ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday urged Muslim scholars to play their role in bringing back on path those deviated from the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Addressing the inaugural session of the International Seerat Conference, Gilani said the youth was falling prey to intolerance and extremism and the situation demanded the religious scholars realise their responsibilities and strive for the promotion of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
He said he believed that the youth would not only benefit from Sunnah and Hadis in their worldly affairs, but would also help the country succeed in all spheres.
Prime Minister Gilani also stressed the need to revitalise the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and make it more effective to cope with the challenges of the modern day.
He called upon Muslim countries to stand united and enhance economic interaction to help overcome the challenges facing them. He said closer economic cooperation would help Muslim countries to generate employment, better utilise their natural resources and human potential and develop infrastructure and industrial base. He expressed hope that international scholars gathered for the event would urge their policymakers to think on these lines and pool their experiences and resources for the mutual benefit of the entire Muslim nation.
The three-day International Seerat Conference is being attended by religious scholars from 14 countries and has been organised by the Majlis-e-Saut-el-Islam.
Prime Minister Gilani urged the clerics not only to gain knowledge in sciences and other subjects, but also to guide the youth in this respect. He directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to contact madrassas and the scholars and chart out a course of action in this regard.
Referring to the assassination of former minister of minorities’ affairs Shahbaz Bhatti in Islamabad, Gilani said it was an attempt to wedge differences between the Muslims and the Christian communities and to tarnish Pakistan’s image. “I strictly warn such elements that they would not succeed through such cowardly acts as the Christian community is patriotic and always ready to sacrifice their lives for the country,” he said. He said under the prevailing circumstances it was vital that the entire nation stood united by rising above their petty differences.
