JUI-F chief says Islamic seminaries are preserving sciences of Quran and Hadith
RAWALPINDI:
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that religious seminaries are the guardians of Islam, protectors of the teachings of the Quran and Hadith, and custodians of the blessing of faith, adding that they will not be handed over to the government under any circumstances.
Addressing a turban-laying ceremony at Jamia Taleem-ul-Quran in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, Fazl said that although global power today rests largely in the hands of the United States, it does not possess the power of faith.
He added that religious seminaries are fulfilling the responsibility of safeguarding faith throughout the world, adding that Islamic seminaries are preserving the sciences of the Quran and Hadith.
He criticized what he called a double approach: on the one hand, the PIA is handed over to private companies and, on the other, there is a desire to take control of the madrasas, something that, according to him, would not be accepted under any circumstances.
Referring to Allama Shabbir Usmani, he said that even the British had once dismissed him as uneducated, and the same mentality still prevails today, where religious knowledge is not recognized as legitimate knowledge.
“There is no trust in state institutions, so seminaries will not be given to them. Scholars of all schools of thought are united in protecting madrassas,” he said.
While affirming belief in dialogue and respect for laws formed through consultation, he warned that any form of deception would not be tolerated.
Responding to the students’ chants during the ceremony, he remarked that if they had focused on work instead of slogans, they would have won the maximum number of seats in Punjab.
He concluded by saying that people should be told that the politics of religious seminaries is the legacy of the prophets and that they are legitimate claimants to this tradition.
