Countering Islamophobia and need for religious harmony

Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and the Church of Pakistan convened a joint meeting in the National Capital on Tuesday, to discuss the recent incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in some Western nations, their impact on the overall relationship between Muslim Ummah and the Christian Communities in the world and domestic interfaith harmony in the country. Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi led the delegation of Muslim scholars, Ulema and Mashaykhs while the President Church of Pakistan Bishop Azad Marshal headed the prominent Christian leaders from all sects of Christianity. According to the reports, the session held an in-depth discussion on the causes and grave impact of such deplorable incidents and the role of political and religious leadership in those countries. The meeting stressed the need for maintaining interfaith harmony and close liaison between the religious clerics at the council level and increased cooperation with the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to handle any unforeseen situation in the country. Meanwhile, both sides emphasized a strategy to combat rising Islamophobia through joint efforts, coordinated action, awareness campaigns, and liaison with relevant quarters at the global level.

The rise of Nationalism and white Supremeism has rebirthed the West’s medieval era’s chauvinism and anti-Muslim prejudice, that the people of color, the immigrants, particularly Muslims, and their religious heritage are not safe in those nations who claim high morality, enlighten moderation, and pluralism. The current-day Western neo-conservatives and so-called nationalists had crossed all limits of narcism and religious bigotry, using civic freedoms for attacking other faiths and bulldozing interfaith harmony in the world. Recurrent and preplanned incidents of blasphemy in Sweden and Denmark had caused grave concerns among Muslims across the globe while the rising trend of Islamophobia cast serious reservations among Muslim nations regarding Western leaders and Christain religious clerics who failed to fulfill their moral, and religious responsibility that had been also conferred by the global law and UN Charter on Human Rights and Religious Freedom. The gap between Islam and Christianity, the two biggest faiths in the world, has undoubtedly widened in recent years, while no concrete effort to repair broken hearts and bridge this gap had ever been undertaken by Western leaders in the past. Rather western politicians defended those heinous acts in the garb of freedom of expression and civil rights, which contradicts the UN Charter and the global law of the nations.

Awfully, after conquering Mars and the moon, the West resorted to the legacy of pre-historic times, which flourishes through hate, racism, and imaginary self-assumed superiority that posed serious risks to world peace and interfaith consonance. Although, the UN Secretary-General, the Biden administration, and other Western nations decried the recent Islamophobic incidents while the Vatican also issued a statement lamenting on sacrilege of the Holy Quran and advocated the need for interfaith dialogue and tranquility. However, those formal appeals are insufficient to produce any positive results and bring a pivotal change in the policies of certain Western governments, politicians, and religious leaders who use hate speech, division, and interfaith rivalry to their advantage.

Historically, Muslims around the globe have respect for all messengers of Allah and believe in all divine books including Turah, Zaboor, and Injil, which is an integral part of their religious belief. Muslim Ummah had always advocated for interfaith harmony, dialogue, and negotiations to overcome differences and forge greater consensus among various religions, nation-states, and ethnic groups, however, such a unilateral quest could not achieve its desired objectives until and unless it gets the same reciprocity from the other side. Currently, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and the Church of Pakistan have taken the lead, and both inter-religion forums have decided to preserve the ongoing interfaith harmony in the country and also agreed to engage with Western leaders and prominent religious scholars to create awareness and forge unity in the fight against Islamophobia. Currently, the unceasing events of anti-Muslim hate, the sacrilege of the Holy Quran, and poise personalities are creating the utmost frustration in Muslim communities around the globe. These incidents even shook interstate relations and the OIC is continuously engaged at the global level, which clearly illustrates the emotions and priorities of the Muslim Ummah. It is high time that Pope Francis and other important religious personalities of Christianity educate and motivate Western leaders to respect Islam, poise personalities, and Islamic religious books and avoid spoiling interfaith consonance in the world. So, peace and interfaith harmony could be preserved in this Universe.