IOS-MANUU jointly organises seminar on “Human Rights in Islamic and Modern Perspective”

IOS-MANUU jointly organises seminar on “Human Rights in Islamic and Modern Perspective” 

New Delhi: An online seminar on “Human Rights in Islamic and Modern Perspective” was jointly organised by the Institute of Objective Studies and Department of Islamic Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad on December 8, 2021.

The inaugural session of the seminar commenced with the recitation of a Quranic Verse by the student of the department, Ashiqur Rahman. The topic was introduced by the assistant professor, deptt. of Islamic Studies, MANUU and convenor of the seminar, Dr. Shakeel Ahmad, who underlined the importance of the subject. 

In his welcome address, head of the dept. Islamic Studies, MANUU, Prof. Md. Fahim Akhtar Nadvi, highlighted the activities of the department and touched upon the main aspects of the subject. 

Inaugurating the seminar, the vice-chancellor of MANUU, Prof. Syed Ainul Hasan, said that the prophets were sent to the earth by Allah to know about Him and to acquaint themselves with the mystic knowledge.  The Prophet (PBUH) occupied a place of exaltation among all the human beings in the world. He won over the hearts of people by His love, compassion, kindness and virtues. His teachings were guiding principles for the entire humanity even today. The world could sustain them for leading a better life. He remarked that only understanding rights and duties was not enough. They must also be practiced in life in equal measure. And here lay their importance. Lauding the activities of the department of Islamic Studies, he said that it was engaged in the study and research on the subject of a higher order and expressed the confidence that its works would be recognized at the international level in the near future.  On this occasion, he also released the department’s house journal “Islamic Mutaleaat” which contained the intellectual and cultural activities of its students.

The inaugural session ended with a vote of extended by the assistant professor in the department, Dr. Md. Irfan Ahmad.

The inaugural session was followed by the technical session which was addressed by Prof. Mohsin Usmani from Hyderabad, Prof. Mehtab Manzar from Delhi and Dr. Shakeel Ahmad. The proceedings of the session were conducted by Zeeshan Sarah, asstt. professor in Islamic Studies, MANUU.

Vice-chairman, IOS, Prof. M. Afzal Wani, who chaired the session, held that it was the duty of the state to ensure that human rights of every citizen were protected. It was also the duty of the state to see to it that no discrimination based on caste, creed and gender was made in the protection of human rights. He asked the Islamic scholars to undertake research in the field of human rights. India should be made a role-model for others to follow in giving due importance to the protection of human rights. India should carve out a name for itself for being known as a place where human rights were fully safeguarded, promoted and respected, he added.

Prof. Mohsin Usmani, former dean, Indian and Foreign Languages University (IFLU), Hyderabad, focused on human rights in Islamic perspective. He observed that the right to pray was very intrinsic in Islam. In the teachings of Islam, if a great deal of stress was laid on prayer on one hand, much importance had been attached to human rights on the other. Good mannerism formed an unalienable part of it. He further said that Islamic teachings also spoke of mutual love and co-existence. It was the duty of every Muslim to nurture cordial relations with his neighbour. It was a part of Islamic teachings to discharge the duty of protecting human rights, he insisted.

Speaking on modern view of human rights, former professor of political science, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, Prof. Mehtab Manzar said that Islamic concept of human rights helped a lot in the preparation of modern documents and the human rights enshrined in them. Human rights movements also played a contributory role in the promotion of these rights.  Referring to positive and negative aspects of human rights, he said that the UNICEF (United Nations International Children Emergency Fund) and specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN) played an active role in the protection of human rights.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmad touched upon the system of enforcement of human rights. He said that in order to enforce and protect human rights, the current system was proactively involved. This included the codification of laws, rules, guiding principles and standards as well as a number of agencies and organizations working in the field. He presented a detailed account of the system in place at the international and national level to ensure protection of human rights. He explained how the laws enacted to safeguard human rights had been working properly. He also discussed the legal safeguards available to prevent violation of human rights.

The seminar came to an end with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Shakeel Ahmad.