KARACHI: The government has decided to mobilise religious platform for the Kashmir cause, activating the role of clerics to express solidarity with people of the held valley and supporting the Muslims of India on their stance against the new controversial law in that country.

These key decisions, among others, were made at the ninth meeting of the Qaumi Ulema and Mashaikh Council (QUMC) on Thursday, chaired by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Pir Dr Noorul Haq Qadri.

The council decided to organise programmes in masjids and madressahs on the approaching Kashmir Day, which is observed every year on Feb 5. After the meeting, central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee chairman Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman briefed reporters on the recommendations presented and agreed upon the ulema.

“The council has suggested that the provinces should also follow the federal government’s step about legislation done pertaining to Islamic education in the universities, colleges and schools,” he said. “The ulema also agreed that volume-II of Friday sermons should be prepared and more new topics about training of ulema for reformation of society be incorporated in it. They also agreed that the curriculum committee should be provided the material on the topic of Khatm-i-Nubuwwat, which has been excluded from the syllabi of schools.”

The council said the recommendations would be submitted to the National Curriculum Council to incorporate the topic of Khatm-i-Nubuwwat in the syllabi up to matriculation. A meeting of the QUMC with the curriculum council should be organised, the participants suggested.

“It was a consensual decision that meetings of the ulema of all schools of thought will also be organised with the president and prime minister to discuss different important matters in February or March,” said Mufti Muneeb. “The ulema are likely to discuss with them the role of [scholars] in reformation of society, preparation of training programmes for the ulema on sermons on important occasions like Eid. The role of ulema to resolve environmental issues and matters related to health of mother and neonates, implementation on laws on traffic and other important issues would also be discussed in the meetings.”

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020