One Peace Fits All

“Our main aim is to remove the misconceptions regarding Islam in the minds of the public, but we are going beyond that too. This year we are concentrating on the idea of justice for peace,” said President of the IRF, Dr Zakir Naik. The conference is spread out in 28 sessions through the coming week.

Holding that media plays a major role in creating perceptions about any community, the IRF also plans to address the relationship between media and Islam. “Many a times, media addresses an issue without proper verifications. They don’t understand that it can have far-reaching implications. Trial by media has become a common phenomenon, it is a burning issue we need to address,” said Dr Naik.

Naik states that “Islam phobia” has immensely shot up in the past decade; this has completely maligned the community’s image. “Since 9/11, anti-Islam books have increased drastically. Also the picture painted about Islam is largely distorted and maligned. We need to change this perception, no religion ever propagates hatred and terrorism, people from all religious background needs to understand this,” said Dr Naik.

Most speakers have chosen to speak about this issue too. “Unfortunately, community and religion has become a burning issue. All of us need to understand is that no religion wants communal hatred. In this platform, we will mainly work to throw light on this,” said Professor Mohammad Ashfaq Salafi, who hails from Darbhanga, Bihar, and is one of the speakers.

The IRF had conducted a similar peace conference in last December and had invited scholars from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia etc. However, this year, they are going a more local way. “Last year, the conference was held in 100 per cent English. This year, it is 100 per cent Urdu and Hindi. Scholars from universities like Lucknow University and Aligarh Muslim University have been invited. This is to ensure more local participation in the peace conference,” said Dr Naik.

Simultaneously, the IRF hopes to create awareness at a global level, by disseminating information through satellite TV channels. “This is an international platform, though the speakers are from the country. We want their messages to reach a global audience hence we will broadcast our message though various satellite channels, cable TV networks and the Internet,” said Dr Naik.

Apart from these main issues, the IRF also plans to hold discussions on topics like the Concept of God in Major World Religions, Role of Religion in Communal Harmony, Life of Prophet Muhammad, Modern bio-medical issues in Islamic Perspective and Women’s Rights. The last two days have been set apart especially for discussions on ‘Justice for Peace”, which will be attended by non-Muslim jurists who will contribute to a wider debate.