Rajouri: A two day webinar titled “Approaching the Quran in Contemporary Times: A Quest for Engaging with the Divine Guidance” was organized by the Department of Islamic Studies, BGSBU, Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir on 5th and 6th of July, 2021. The webinar was planned in view of the prevailing circumstances where people in general and Muslims in particular are failing to engage passionately with the Divine Will and Message as pronounced in the Last Testament, The Qur’an. The webinar invited some great resource persons from across the country and abroad who deliberated on the theme. Honorable Vice-Chancellor, BGSBU, Prof. Akbar Masood, chief patron of the webinar, lauded the efforts of and congratulated the Department of Islamic Studies. The webinar was moderated by Dr. Naseem Gul, Coordinator Department of Islamic Studies, BGSBU. The webinar hosted eight learned scholars who talked about different dimensions and shades of the Qur’an and their bearing on the philosophy of human life.
Dean of Academic Affairs, BGSBU, Prof. Iqbal Parwez, in his introductory cum welcome speech welcomed all the speakers and congratulated the Department of Islamic Studies for organizing the academic event amid pandemic situations. He also impressed upon the importance of debating such themes. Dr. Javed Jamil from Yenepoya University, Karnataka impressed upon including physical sciences in the reading of Quran in modern times to locate and decipher the instances where Quran refers to cosmic principles and realities. Prof. Muhammad Ishaq, former Head, Department of Islamic Studies, JMI, New Delhi talked in length about the linguistic structure of the Quran vis-à-vis Farahi School of Quranic Tafsir. Dr. Mir Faizal, Director Canadian Quantum Research Centre, Vernon, Canada talked in length about the scientific interpretation of Quran and its need in contemporary era. Dr. Showkat Hussain Dar, former Head, Dept of Islamic Studies, IUST, Awantipora, offered a detailed overview of some of the prominent schools of Quranic interpretation and their prominent salient features.
On day two, Dr. Nazir Ahmad Zargar, Dept of Religious Studies, CUK, deliberated upon the mainstream Sunni model of Quranic Interpretation. Prof. Syed Shahid Ali, Head Dept of Islamic Studies, JMI, New Delhi talked about the concept of life and death with reference to Quranic teachings. Dr. Shuayb Muhammad Wani from Turkey focused on the coherence of language of the Quran and talked at length about importance of Arabic language to dive deep into the Quranic wisdom. Finally, Prof. Hamidullah Marazi, Head Dept. of Religious Studies and Dean School of Social Sciences, CUK navigated through some of the major works of Qur’anic Tafsir and their salient features. He also insisted upon the importance of such works in addressing and propagating the Quranic message to the diversity of readers.
The session was concluded with the remarks of Prof. G. M. Malik, Dean School of Islamic Studies and Languages, BGSBU, who appreciated the efforts of the Dept of Islamic Studies, BGSBU and thanked all the speakers for their thoughtful presentations. The webinar was concluded with the vote of thanks extended by Dr. Rafiq Anjum, Assistant professor, Dept. of Islamic studies, BGSBU to all the learned speakers and the audience.
