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KARACHI, April 21: The former chief of Punjab University's Urdu department, Rafiuddin Hashmi, has said that great philosophers, like Iqbal, make their societies proud. Speaking at a seminar, organized by the Education Resource Development Centre on Wednesday, he said the ideas presented by Iqbal could still be implemented.
He added that the issues discussed by Iqbal were not only still pertinent but their intensity was being greatly felt. "In Iqbal's times, the attitude of Western imperialism had created a lot of stir and actually caused a war. Iqbal targeted imperialism in his poetry and expressed sorrow over it.
Today imperialism has become a greater problem. Which is why it is important to read Iqbal today," he observed.
Mr Hashmi said: "In his time, Iqbal had seen that Western society would go down the hill. In his trip to Europe, he had seen the disintegration of the family system in Europe. According to him, the rise and fall of a society was linked to the family system.
In his poetry, Iqbal spoke about the respect for humanity. His message appeals to the West, which was translating Iqbal's poems and prose works. His poetry has been translated into 25 languages of the world. The entire world is profiting from his poetry.
It is a pity that while others are benefiting from his works, we are ignoring his message and poetry." The EDRC director, Salman Asif Siddiqui, and playwright and historian Khurram Ali Shafiq also spoke.
