Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): An international Conference on Sufism and Brotherhood was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). The Voice for Peace and Justice, an NGO in Kashmir, hosted the conference on Friday, where the participants condemned extremism and prayed for peace and brotherhood.
The conference was held to re-establish ties between Kashmiri and Indian culture and the wider world through Sufi spiritual teachings. Sheikh Asraf Effendi, a well-known scholar of Turkey, along with other international scholars attended the conference. The scholars of Hinduism, Sikhism, and other religions from different states also attended the Conference. Sheikh Asraf Effendi praised the voice for peace and justice organization for organising the conference.
This conference was organised to popularise mutual brotherhood and Sufi teachings and to maintain religious brotherhood. Mufti Nasir Salam said, "Sufism means peace. Anything related to Sufism is peace, harmony, and humbleness. Its peace for everyone irrespective of race, religion, and culture."
Nasir Salam further said, "Kashmir had been a hotspot for conflict and violence for decades and conferences like this will give a message to the world that respect for humanity is important in the modern world and that all people should live in harmony."
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Farooq Ganderbali, the organizer of the conference while speaking to the media said, "the old tradition of coexistence of various communities, communal harmony, and the brotherhood for which Kashmir was earlier known has been lost. Conference on Sufism teaches us to live in harmony and peace. No religion in the world teaches to harass the followers of another religion."
Ganderbali further said, "while the world is progressing towards development, mutual brotherhood is decreasing. In such a situation, it becomes the duty of all religious scholars around the world to encourage the establishment of mutual brotherhood among people. We must band together to disseminate a message of harmony, peace, and love."
Tanzania's Mufti Hadd Musa, Nepal's Grand Mufti Mufti Muhammad Usman, Bangladesh religious scholar Syed Taeeb Bishar, Sri Lanka's Abdul Aziz, and Islamic University of Maldives Vice Chancellor Saifullah Ali participated in this conference. Religious scholars from Germany, France, Switzerland, and South Africa joined Islamic scholars from Nizamuddin Auliya Delhi and Ajmer Sharif Sharif during the conference.
