Youth Symposium for Peace & Tolerance | Badakhshan Province
The fourth round of the Youth Symposium for Peace and Tolerance initiated by the Afghanistan Economic & Legal Studies Organization (AELSO) in direct collaboration with some national & international organizations has been successfully organized in Badakhshan province on March 4th, 2021. The main theme of the symposium was “The role of Religious scholars in promoting the values of pluralism and tolerance among Afghan youths”. The program was attended by number of religious scholars, civil activists, human right activists, university lecturer and students.
In this program, Associate Professor Sanatullah Joya, Dean of the Theology (Sharia) Faculty of Badakhshan University and member at the Ulema Council; Sobhanullah Bahlool, Researcher in the field of religious science; Sayyed Noorullah Bais, Head of the Creative Thought Foundation for Change; Sayyad Nabizadeh, Lawyer; Abdul Samad Nazari, University lecturer, and Wasiullah Nouri youth’s representative, had detailed discussions about the values of pluralism and tolerance among Afghan youths and considered promoting the values of pluralism and mutual acceptance as the fundamental solution for the current challenges in the country.
The speakers of this academic gathering emphasized that the young generation of Afghanistan is a great asset of this country and they should be equip with the values of pluralism and mutual acceptance in order to lead the Afghan society towards solidarity, peace and prosperity.
Associate Professor Sanatullah Joya, Dean of the Faculty of Theology (Sharia) of Badakhshan University and one of the keynote speakers of the symposium said:
“Considering the nature of the Afghan society, the role of religious scholars is prominent in all parts of the society, this is because the Afghan community is a religious community and in a religious community, scholars have special social status. The religious scholars (Ulema) should realize their true status in community and utilize it for promoting peace and tolerance in the context of the teachings of the holy religion of Islam.”
He emphasized that by realizing their true status in community and performing their responsibility as honestly as possible, they can be good role models for the young generation of the country.
Associated Prof. Joya added:
“Pluralism is not a new topic and has a long history. The life of the prophet (PBUH) is a practical example for us in this regard. He signed agreements with Jews and Moshrikin (polytheists) in Madinah and lived with them in a peaceful and dignified way. Imposing ideas on others is something that is rejected in the teachings of the holy religion of Islam, and we, as being Muslims are obliged to invite others to our religion in a peaceful and dignified way explained in the teachings of the Holy Quran and practical life of prophet.”
He said:
“One of the goals of Jihad (Holy war) is to providing a favorable ground for the followers of other religion to worship, and under Islamic rule, the ground for thinking and worshiping for others is completely provided. In Islam, the life, property and reputation of everyone, both Muslims and non-Muslims are completely safe, and no one is allowed to act against this principle.
He called promoting tolerance and mutual acceptance the best solution for the current situation adding that:
“The young generation of the country should respect each other following the teachings and guidance of their holy book (Quran) and practical examples from the life of the prophet (PBUH). They should carry out organized activates in a continuous manner for bringing positive changes in the society starting from their surrounding communities.”
Other keynote speakers of the program also talked about various issues such as: the role of Ulema (religious scholars) in promoting and teaching the values of pluralism, peace, mutual acceptance and fight against extremism among youths, emphasized that the Afghan youths should act wisely and be aware of the ongoing scenarios, and collectively work for developing their country.
The speakers considered ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity in human society as a principle and emphasized that this diversity should not cause a gap among youths, perhaps the youth should grow the capacity in themselves to utilize from this diversity in a positive way for being unique in the society.
The fourth round of the Youth symposium for Peace &Tolerance in Badakhshan province ended after group work by the participants of the program and a Q&A session about the role of religious scholars in promoting the values of pluralism and mutual acceptance among Afghan youths.
AELSO’s Communication & Public Relations department