KARACHI: Athar Rizvi from Canada, a poet, literary activist and a researcher, launched his book ‘Kaun abas badnam hua’ at the Arts Council on Monday.

The book based on his researches launched in Muslim countries, which are accused in the West of committing terrorism, finds that it is not true. Islam is a peaceful religion and does not believe in acts of terrorism. However, the so-called ‘Jehadis’ provided reasons to be accused in that way.

The meeting, co-hosted by the literary committee of the council, was presided over by Moinuddin Haider. The main speakers were Dr Manzoor Ahmad and Mahmood Sham. Also the author himself delivered a convincing speech on the theme and the reasons, which inspired him to write the book — his love for Islam and the Muslims and his passion for Urdu.

A story writer, Sultan Jamil Nasim, read out a single page of his article on the personality and activism of Mr Rizvi.

Athar Rizvi dealt at length with the contribution of Muslim scholars like Farabi, Abu Sina, and many others in mathematics, medicine, astrology and architecture. It was the great cultural revolution, brought by the Muslims in Spain, which awakened the European nations and enabled them to implement that wealth of knowledge to bring about the industrial revolution.

Why then the Muslims failed, Dr Manzoor Ahmad questioned and replied, “Because we refused to deeply look into our past and civilization that we zealously built.”

Referring to Edward Saeed for his great research book — Orientalism, Dr Manzoor said that he, though not a Muslim, advocated their care admirably. With the weapon of terrorism, it was not possible to fight with the most powerful Western nations — being highly advanced in technology and different sciences, he contented.

He said that the Muslim rulers were secular in the way that they did not allow the Mulla to dictate and made their decision according to their needs. This process was later derailed and the Mulla power started dictating, calling for “Jehad”.

Earlier, Athar Rizvi in his speech pin-pointed the causes of the Muslims decline, which started some six hundred years back, when superiority of religious beliefs over state craft and the rational thought was upheld and the ‘Mullah’ was allowed to pollute the minds of people with concocted ‘ahadis’. Take care of the world of hereafter and leave this material world for the non- believers — was the poison injected into the minds of Muslims, he said.

Moinuddin Haider, in his discourse, also condemned terrorism in Pakistan and elsewhere. He said that there terrorists had painted a different picture of Islam, which was otherwise peace loving religion.

Mahmood Sham, in his paper, admired the author for his sincere researches. However, he said that the book carried too much material on different topics in a single volume, which was confusing. The subjects discussed in the book demand separate volumes, he added.

If the book was intended for the readers in Pakistan, let the author know that people here do not read, he said. For the readers in other Muslim countries, he said, it should have been translated into their languages. And if the author meant to enlighten the West, he should have written the book in English, Sham said.

Earlier, Ovais Adeeb Ansari briefly introduced Athar Rizvi. Naqqash Kazmi did the compering.

As Dr Farman Fatehpuri was also present there, he too was urged to speak. He spoke a few words and congratulated Mr Rizvi.—HA