JEDDAH, 5 July 2007 — A visiting Pakistani poet who is now a naturalized German citizen said scholars, intellectuals, poets, playwrights and journalists needed to do more to arrest the rising tide of extremism in the Muslim world.
“Now is the time to wean our youngsters away from the path of violence,” said Syed Iqbal Haider who is in the Kingdom to perform Umrah. “This is suicidal and against the spirit of Islam and the message of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him).”
He said intellectuals can do a lot in guiding Muslim youngsters to the right path. “Unfortunately, a good many of them have not been doing enough and their silence is certainly not helping.”
Haider, who works for the Frankfurt Airport Authority, immigrated to Germany 30 years ago. According to him, Muslims live in harmony and peace in Germany and they have complete freedom to practice their faith.
“At our own level we engage in talks with local church leaders and we try to explain the peaceful way of life that Islam advocates,” he said. “But every time there is a suicide bombing in the Muslim world our words and arguments just fall flat.”
The author of three books of Urdu poetry, “Mere Dil Ke Aas Paas,” “Ilham” and “Be Aab Zameenay,” said fears are justified from the non-Muslim point of view. “You can’t blame them,” Haider told Arab News yesterday. “They think if these people do not spare their own mosques, what is the guarantee that they will spare people of other faiths?”
Haider said people who carry out violence do not realize the problems they are creating for their co-religionists who are living in other parts of the world. “This is a global village,” he said. “Anything that happens in a remotest corner of the world is public knowledge within a matter of seconds. The people who are indulging in acts of violence have no idea how their misdeeds play havoc with the Muslim immigrants spread throughout the world.”
He said the institutes of higher learning in the West were no longer accepting Muslim students precisely because they have no trust in the Muslim community. “For example, our students who aspire to get admissions into Western universities to study nuclear physics are being quietly rejected. This is a fact,” he said.
“We are ourselves to blame for this pathetic state of affairs. The Prophet advised us to go so far as China in quest of knowledge but here we are closing the doors of knowledge through our misdeeds.”
Haider said Muslims are contributing positively to German society. “We have cultural associations there. There is a regular mushaira (poetry reading sessions) in Frankfurt and other cities and some of the best poets from India and Pakistan have given readings in Germany at cultural events organized by Germans of Indian and Pakistani origins.”
Haider himself is the secretary of “Halqa-e-Adab Germany,” an organization that promotes and arranges literary programs, and edits “Guftagu,” an Urdu magazine published in Germany.
According to him, Suraiya Shahab, Haider Qureshi, Muzaffar Shaikh, Dr. Muniruddin Ahmed and Nayeema Ziauddin are among those who have contributed immensely to the promotion of Urdu in Germany.
