The theme of the event was Payam-e Iqbal ba Naujawanan-e Millat
(Iqbal’s Message to Youth of the Society)
The Iqbal Academy Scandinavia (IAS) organized an Iqbal Seminar on the 25th, April, 2015 in the memory of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal at Kulturcenter Poppel Alle 12, 2630 Taastrup in Copenhagen. It was one day seminar of which the theme was “the message of Iqbal to the youth of society”. H.E. the Ambassador of Pakistan Mr. Masoor Ahmad Jonajo graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Guest of Honour was H.E. the Ambassador of Iran Mr. Hamid Bayat and the main guest speaker from London was Mr. Safdar Ali Hamadani.
Mr. Abid Ali Abid hosted the session. First of all he invited Muhammad Kamil on the stage to recite some verses from the Holy Qur’an. Kamil started with the name of Allah and recited in his beautiful voice several verses from the Qur’an followed by their translation in English language understandable to all the audience.
After the above the moderator Abid Ali Abid controlled the stage and opened the day’s topic. In the beginning he threw the light on the achievements of the team of Iqbal Academy Scandinavia, in which he highlighted the work of Ghulam Sabir, the founder, whose books attracted the attention of intelligentsia in other countries. One of his books, “Kierkegaard and Iqbal” has been translated in Persian language at Iran by Dr. Mohmmad Baghai (Makan). This book also attained fame in Denmark after its translation in Danish language by a learned lady Amina Tønsen under the supervision of two great Danish philosophers Peter Tudvad, a great writer and an authority on Søren Kierkegaard and Dr. Niels Jørgen Capelørn, the director of Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre. This book is now available to the Danish readers in all the official libraries as well as in the libraries in academic institutions at Denmark. After his short speech Abid invited Bashy Quraishy on the stage.
Bashy Quraishy is a well known spokesman of Danish society particularly the Muslim Community in this country. He is also a coordinator of ENAR platform and Chief Editor of Media Watch. In his address he first praised the useful and lively work of Iqbal Academy Scandinavia by spreading the humanitarian message of Dr. Allama Iqbal in the country of Søren Kierkegaard. Bashy said that as a commentator of the society he viewed the poet-philosopher Iqbal purely at humanitarian angle as a reformer. He said that while participating in the discussion at various forums of the world he observed an awakening among the youth in general and particularly the Muslim youth. He expressed his feelings that the people in Europe are attracted towards the ideas those touch the heart and mind of a person. He offered some valuable suggestions towards activating the younger generation that could be the source to create harmony and understanding among people of different faiths. He put forward some valuable ideas in order to achieve this end. His complete speech will be available on internet shortly.
The next speaker was Khalid Butt from Odense, Sweden. He is an active well known person among the society at Odense. Addressing the audience he expressed his gratitude to Allama Iqbal. In his elaborate speech he said that Iqbal was not merely a poet but one of the greatest philosophers of the world. He said that like all the time presently as well Iqbal is known among top ranking Poet-philosophers; most of his books have been translated in several countries of the world. He emphatically said that Iqbal’s poetry has all the time been creating the spirit of self confidence and love in the hearts of the youth.
After the above Ghulam Sabir, the founder of Iqbal Academy Scandinavia was given the mike on his seat since he is an elderly person and not in a position to stand. At the beginning he attracted the attention of the Ambassador of Iran as well as caught the minds of audience by reciting Iqbal’s three verses in Persian along with their ideas in Urdu. His further speech presented Iqbal’s versified teaching to the youth concerning the main theme of the day. Constantly keeping the minds of audience occupied he was reciting the relevant verses of Iqbal followed by quick explanation of certain words/ideas to convey the exact message in them to common minds. A little before the end he recited (not by singing) an Urdu poem of Iqbal titled “Khitaab Ba Nau Jawan-e Islam” (An address to the Muslim youth). The poem captured the mind and heart of audience as the idea behind each and every verse of it was being explained in short and appropriate words. At the end Sabir recited in tarannum (singing) a Persian poem of Iqbal, which is a prayer to Allah. This poem begins with the verses as translated in English, “Oh my Lord! Give me a transparent heart capable of seeing the intoxication into the wine”. The audience applauded the presentation.
The moderator then invited the special guest of the day Safdar Ali Hamadani who had come from London to participate in this event. He is one of the famous intellectuals and a great scholar. His speech attracted complete attention of the audience due to his unmatched way of addressing the people and the way he presented the selected verses of Iqbal exactly in accordance to the idea in the theme. His speech was elaborate and easily understandable to the younger generation. He said that we are still lacking in grasping the philosophical works of Iqbal which is vastly available in his poetry and prose books. He stressed upon the need to study Iqbal works that has already created a new spirit among a good number of our younger generation and has become the source of self confidence in them. He said that some of the books of Allama Iqbal have already been translated in the languages of a few other countries of the world. But he said that this is not enough and emphasized the need of translating Iqbal’s wonderful books in other languages of the world as well, because the ideas presented by Iqbal in his Urdu and Persian poetry are universal and extremely useful for the humanity at large.
The session was graced by two intellectuals and outstanding Ambassadors of Iran and Pakistan. The moderator firstly requested H.E. the Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr. Masroor Ahmad Jonajo to express his precious views. He first thanked the organizers for being invited to participate in this event concerning Allama Iqbal’s poetic and philosophical message to the youth. He said that Iqbal is not only the national hero of Pakistan but his thoughts also reflect the aspiration of all Muslims through the world. His message to youth is a message of hope, hard work and forward movement. He also appreciated and agreed the proposal offered by Bashy Quraishy that Iqbal’s works should be translated in various European languages so that intellectual and ordinary people in the west can benefit from it. He said, “That is why, it is my pleasure to announce in this meeting that Pakistan Embassy would invite young students of Pakistan origin in Denmark to take part in an essay competition on Iqbal in Danish language”. At the end he appreciated the founder of Iqbal Academy Scandinavia, Ghulam Sabir for his tireless efforts to introduce Iqbal to Danes.
After the speech of the Pakistan Ambassador, H.E. the Ambassador of Iran, Mr. Hamid Bayat was requested to take over the mike. He first of all congratulated Iqbal Academy Scandinavia for taking this commendable step to present the great poet-philosopher Dr. Iqbal. He said that “We in Iran know him as Iqbal Lahori”. He said that Iqbal’s Persian books are largely popular in Iran for the past many decays, but after the Iranian revolution, his strong message for Muslim unity has a special place in Iranian nation’s heart. He said that “We cherish Iqbal as much as Pakistanis love Hafiz, Firdausi and Rumi. Our two brotherly nations have a long history of shared culture, Farsi language and traditions a well as Iqbal”. At the end he thanked for the invitation and wished all the success to the team of Iqbal Academy Scandinavia.
G. Sabir
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