The Quran Meet-2023 was hosted in New Delhi by the India Islamic Cultural Centre in partnership with the Al-Quran Academy in Kairana. The students’ performances focused on the Holy Quran’s universal message of peace, justice, and harmony to emphasize that the divine guidance is for all of humanity and not just for Muslims.
The recently held Quran Meet-2023, which was organized by Al-Quran Academy in Kairana (UP) in partnership with the India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC) in New Delhi, displayed the Quranic universal message of peace, justice, and harmony in a beautiful manner.
The performances, which were given by students of the five-year-old Academy and held at the crowded auditorium of the IICC, drove home the fact that the Quran contains the words of the One Almighty God who has created us all and that the holy book is not restricted to one society, one age, or one time period. When speaking to human beings, God says “O, mankind” rather than just “O Muslims”, highlighting the fact that the divine counsel is intended for all of humanity and not just Muslims in particular.
Mufti Athar Shamsi, the founder and president of Al-Quran Academy, explained the theme of the conference, which was “Quran Beyond Religion: Discovering the Quran’s Universal Themes,” by stating that Muslims were unsuccessful in spreading the universal message of the Quran to a wider portion of humanity. “The message of the Quran needs to be understood in the context of the entire world.
The message of God that is contained in the Quran is not exclusive to any particular community. According to Shamsi, “our perspective ought to be that of ‘O, mankind,’ as the Quran addresses the issues that affect all of humanity.” “It is with this goal in mind that we have coordinated the gathering of these people. We hand over the planning and execution of the event to the students so that we can demonstrate how the Academy is preparing the future generation of specialists who will address the issues in light of the instruction found in the Quran.
Shamsi continued by saying that the challenges of global warming, climate change, and increasing sea levels were covered in the Quran over 1400 years ago, long before people anywhere else in the world started talking about these topics. He emphasized that no community had monopoly over the Quran, and that it is in everyone’s best interest for the Quran to be understood as a book of guidance for the entire world community, and not just as a religious book that is limited to one community. This is because it is in everyone’s best interest for the Quran to be understood in this way.
The Guest of Honor, Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. F Faridasar, expressed his immense satisfaction and joy at the Academy’s decision to undertake such a significant endeavor.
He reaffirmed the instruction from the Quran that all of humanity was created from a single man and woman, and that the variations between people are merely used to distinguish one another. He expressed his joy that the students had conveyed the message of the Quran in an original manner, thereby capturing the spirit of the commandments found in the Quran as well as the message sent by the Prophet. He stated that out of the total of 241 times that the Quran addresses humans, it mentions ‘O, Mankind’ 20 times.
According to Maaz Tahir, a student at the Academy, another goal of the conference was to disprove the myth that the Quran only speaks to Muslims. He highlighted how important it is to comprehend and disseminate the universal values that the book that was revealed bears.
Siraj Quraishi, president of the IICC and the chief guest of the event, extended a warm greeting to the attendees and congratulated Shamsi and the students of the Academy for their work to simplify the meaning of the Quran for the general public. The students demonstrated their understanding of the characteristics of faithful Muslims and the challenges faced by Muslims who deviate from the principles and values outlined in the Quran through a series of short performances.
Abshar Alam, Vice Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard University, stated that his institution had created a department to do research on Quranic and Prophetic medicines.
