Youth Symposium for Peace and Tolerance | Paktia
The Youth Symposium for Peace and Tolerance was organized by the Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies organization in collaboration with other leading national and international think tanks on the role of religious scholars in promoting the values of pluralism and mutual acceptance among the Afghan youth in Paktia province.
Religious scholars, youth, university lecturers, students, civil and human rights activists, and cultural and social activists from Paktia province were participated in the symposium.
At the beginning, the moderator of the program welcomed the participants and guests at the Youth Symposium for Peace and Tolerance and Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Saleh, the Provincial Representative of the Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization, officially inaugurated the symposium and introduced the Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization to the participants.
Then, Mr. Abdul Wase Rashed, a religious scholar, provided a clear and comprehensive information about the values of peace and tolerance from the perspective of the holy religion of Islam, and added: “religious scholars have a great role and impact in the society among the people which they should play their role by encouraging people to use and pay attention to the values of a free society that is in accordance with the holy religion of Islam.”
He added: “The role of religious scholars is prominent in all areas, and in a religious community, these scholars have special abilities. He emphasized that if religious scholars fulfill their missions well, they can be a good guide for the country’s youth to lead this generation to prosperity and improvement.”
Saad al-Din Hakimi, a university lecturer and another speaker at the symposium, said: “The practical life of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a good example for us, during his lifetime, the Prophet signed a covenant with the Jews and the polytheists, which everyone in the society achieved a peaceful and dignified life. He added: “imposing the ideas on others in the holy religion of Islam is rejected and disgusting, and we Muslims have a responsibility to just invite others to our religion by a peaceful manner.”
Mr. Islamuddin Sanjar, a civil society activist and one of the other speakers of the symposium, said: “Even one of the goals of jihad is to facilitate the field of worship for the followers of other religions, and in this holly religion, the field of thinking and worship is quite suitable for others.”
Mr. Sanjar stated that in the shadow of Islam, the life, property and reputation of all, both Muslims and non-Muslims, are safe and Islam encourages human beings to accept each other, patience and forbearance; Therefore, the youth of the country should respect each other according to the guidelines of the holy religion of Islam and carry out regular and organized activities for their country.
In the next part of the program, which was the inquires(Q&A) part, experts and speakers of the Youth Symposium for Peace and Mutual acceptance answered participants’ questions about the role of religious scholars in promoting the values of pluralism and tolerance among Afghan youth.
After the expert panel part of the symposium, a group work was done and Representatives of the groups presented their views and perspectives on the causes of extremism in Afghan universities and society, strategies to combat it, promote tolerance and its role in ensuring peace in Afghanistan.
Finally, the Youth Symposium for Peace and Mutual acceptance ended with the donation of the organization’s books to guests and the distribution of certificates to the participants.
Participants in these programs became the members of the Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization which with our support, are actively working in their provinces to promote democratic values and pluralism.