Hyderabad: These views were expressed by renowned public intellectual and eminent historian Prof. Ram Puniyani on Tuesday at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU).
He was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural of the two-day international conference “Peace and Harmony: A Religious Perspective,” organized by the Department of Islamic Studies, MANUU in collaboration with the Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad. Prof. Syed Ainul Hasan, Vice-Chancellor, MANUU, presided over the inaugural session.
Number of distinguished scholars, experts on religion and civilization, professors and researchers from various universities both from within the country and abroad attended the inaugural session.
Prof Ainul Hasan said that people should strive to understand truth and reality and reach the correct conclusion. It is necessary to set aside sectarian and religious differences and promote academic unity and intellectual harmony so that dialogue and research are based on knowledge rather than prejudice, he added.
Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, President, All India Muslim Personal Law Board and General Secretary of Islamic Fiqh Academy, India, said that Islam considers every human being worthy of respect and honours the dignity, property, and resources of all individuals. Establishing better relations based on shared moral values between Hindus and Muslims is the greatest demand of the time.
Prof Muhammad Habib, Head, Department of Islamic Studies and Seminar Director, delivered the welcome speech. He highlighted that in the current global scenario, the need for religious tolerance, dialogue, and social harmony has increased more than ever before. Dr. Packiam T. Samuel, Director of the Henry Martyn Institute, stated that such academic gatherings play a practical role in promoting social harmony.
The inaugural session was moderated by the conference coordinator, Dr. Atif Imran, Assistant Professor, and Zeeshan Sarah, Assistant Professor, proposed the vote of thanks.
The book, “Research Methodology and Publication Ethics” by Prof. Muhammad Habib, Research scholars – Zareena Yasmeen, Mohammad Salahuddin, and Danish Reyaz, was also released. A comprehensive book comprising papers from the previous seminar titled “Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue in India” was also released.
