LAHORE : (Thursday, February 04, 2010): The Turkish research scholar Dr Hassan Ali has stressed the growing need for a new sense of Muslim identity in harmony with modern ideals such as liberty, democracy, equality, justice, human rights, and freedom of thought and speech, both globally and locally.

He was delivering a lecture on “Civic Service Without Borders in the Thought of M Fatehullah Gulen” at Punjab University Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre (SZIC) here at New Campus on Thursday. Chairman Rumi Forum Harun Koken, PU Dean Faculty of Islamic Studies Prof Dr Hafiz Mahmood Akhtar, Director External Linkage Maria Maldonado, Dean Faculty of Oriental Learning Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Principal Oriental College Prof Dr Mazhar Moeen, faculty members and a large number of students were also present.

Dr Hassan said t he modern world had been undergoing radical, social, economic, political and intellectual changes over the last several decades . He said M Fethullah Gülen was an educator, a religious scholar and peace activist and was one of the most influential contemporary Muslim voices encouraging peaceful coexistence and the synthesis of faith and reason through democracy, citizenship, spirituality, multiculturalism, religious diversity, educational initiatives as well as intercultural and interfaith dialogue activities in the context of secular modernity . Talking about p ublic stance against violence, terror and suicide attacks, he said Gülen had been recognized for his consistent stance against the use of violence with religious rhetoric . He helped publish a scholarly book on the Islamic perspective on terror and suicide attacks, condemning such acts on humanitarian and religious grounds. Gülen emphasized on Islamic spirituality or Sufism, and the embracing attitude towards fellow human beings that this emphasis brings. Gülen's own two-volume book on Sufism is used as a textbook for university courses on the spiritual traditions of the world, he added. He said Gülen was p ioneer in intellectual dialogue and had been actively promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue for over a decade. He justified his thoughts and actions on this matter with the verses from Quran and examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He said Gülen recognized democracy as a viable political system of governance and denounced turning religion into a political ideology.

Dean Faculty of Islamic Studies Prof Dr Hafiz Mahmood Akhtar speaking on the occasion said Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed a longstanding brotherly friendship. He said Islam was a religion of peace and love. He said today Muslims had been facing a lot of challenges like terrorism and poverty, and to combat these problems we should follow the teachings of Islamic teachings.

In the end, Harun Koken presented a shield to PU Dean Faculty of Islamic Studies Prof Dr Hafiz Mahmood Akhtar.