First National Conference On "Interfaith Dialogue In 21st Century" Organized At Fatima Jinnah Women University

First two-day national conference titled "Interfaith Dialogue in 21st Century" was organized here on Wednesday by the Department of Islamic Studies, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in collaboration of Paigham-E-Pakistan

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Oct, 2019 ) :First two-day national conference titled "Interfaith Dialogue in 21st Century" was organized here on Wednesday by the Department of Islamic Studies, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in collaboration of Paigham-E-Pakistan.

The conference was organized with an aim to bring better understanding of different religious communities so that the followers of every belief system could be able to better appreciate spiritual truths and strive for practical action.

In the opening ceremony of the conference Minister of State for Parliamentary affairs Ali Muhammad Khan was the chief guest.

Addressing the participants he appreciated efforts of FJWU to arrange a platform for social awareness in the society regarding interfaith dialogue.

He said, a person learns from birth till grave, education is the basic element and a nation's future depends on its youth. The citizens who want to secure their future, should apply as much energy to raising their children as they devote to other issues.

The Minister said, the incumbent government would make all out efforts to provide opportunities to the youth to brighten their future. The government was focusing the young generation and all available resources would be utilized to make them useful citizens of the country.

A nation which does not invest on youth, abandons them to foreign cultural influences and jeopardizes their identity, he added.

The Guest of Honor, Prof. Mehardad Yousuf hoped that the conference would enhance understanding, respect and cooperation among people of all faiths for well-being of the communities and peace in Pakistan.

He further said, education is important but grooming is vital.

Vice Chancellor (VC) FJWU, Prof. Dr. Samina Amin Qadir congratulated the Islamic department for organizing the conference. Paigham-e-Pakistan is doing a wonderful job in promoting the culture of interfaith harmony, she added.

Earlier, Dr. Shahzadi Pakeeza, the Conference Coordinator, Department of Islamic Studies welcomed all the distinguished guests and the speakers of the conference. She gave the basic introduction regarding the conference and also explained how to investigate the role of the interfaith dialogue in Pakistan today.

She also analyzed, "How can we make such dialogues more effective to create social awareness in the society regarding interfaith dialogue and meaningful."The guest speakers of the conference were Dr. Muhsina Munir Professor, Department of Islamic Studies Lahore College for Women University, Dr. Arshad Munir Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Studies University of Gujarat, Dr. Shah Mohiyuddin Hashmi Dean/ Chairman, Department of Islamic Thought and Culture Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Dr. Zia Ur Rehman Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Brig Samson Simon Sharaf Sitara e Imtiaz, Rector, St Mary's College, Dr. Kalyan Singh, Assistant Professor GC University, Lahore and Dr. Seema Farzad.

In the conference, 64 presenters from various departments from FJWU and other universities collaborated. The day ended on distribution of souvenirs and a group photo of all the participants of the conference.