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SUBJECT: ISLAMIC STUDIES 2 PROJECT ON: CHALLENGES FACED BY THE MUSLILM UMMAH INTHE 21 ST CENTUARY. PRESENTED TO: SIR AFTAB AHMED PRESENTEDBY: MUHAMMAD KHALIL HUSSAINMUHAMMAD FAROOQZUBAIR ABDULLAH KHAN NIAZI (MBA 19 b) INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITYISLAMABAD

What is Islam? Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that Allah revealed through all His Prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events, which have come to he associated with their faith through a biased media. CHALLENGES FACED BY THE MUSLILM UMMAH IN THE21

ST CENTUARY. 1 ) Muslim Unity and Solidarity Muslims all over the world are bound together, in heart and in spirit. Thisunity is the means of strength for the Muslim Ummah; in fact, it's a divine giftt h a t w e M u s l i m s m u s t m a k e u s e o f . T h i s u n i t y i s a l s o r e q u i r e d a s r e g a r d s relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, in the sense that we are all brothers, if not in faith, in humanity. Just as a Muslim shares the agony of hisf e l l o w M u s l i m s , h e s h o u l d a l s o f e e l p a i n f o r w h a t b e f a l l s h i s n o n M u s l i m brothers. In reaction to the present sorry state of affairs of the Muslim Ummah,it's very important for Muslims to stand together and be united. We should livetogether as a group respecting and caring for each other. Allah gave us our livesso that we can help one another, and not to live just for ourselves.I t ' s q u i t e i m p o r t a n t f o r u s a l s o t o r e a l i z e t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f u n i t y a n d togetherness. Someone may ask, why is it so important to unite? The answer is very simple: Together we are strong! As one Ummah, we are a powerful force.T h i s is certainly what the enemies of Islam dread most. With unity, m u t u a l cooperation will materialize. With unity, love and affection will prevail in thes o c i e t y . m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , M u s l i m s w i l l c e a s e t o b e a n e a s y p r e y f o r t h e i r enemies, as is the case nowadays.Unity was the driving force behind the mechanism of forming the firstIslamic State in Medina. It helped the early Muslims gain victory in all their battles against disbelievers, hence putting an end to injustice and aggression. So what more do the present Muslims need to wake up from their sleep? They needto rise up to the present challenges facing them. It's not enough for someone toclaim that his cause is right, without having enough power to defend that cause;and a voice in isolation is always inaudible. So Muslims should get together andstrive in the cause of Allah, Who says in the Qur'an:

[And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends oneo f a n o t h e r ; t h e y e n j o i n t h e r i g h t a n d f o r b i d t h e w r o n g , a n d t h e y keep up the prayer and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allahand His messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise] (At-Taw bah 9:71). One form of unity is to respond to the present situation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, with whom all Muslims should express feelings of solidarity. A l l M u s l i m s s h o u l d d o w h a t e v e r i s i n t h e i r c a p a c i t y t o h e l p t h e P a l e s t i n i a n brothers and sisters. Helping and supporting fellow Muslims who are persecutedand prejudiced against is a prerequisite of a sound faith.Muslims should first help and support their fellow Muslims physically if they are able to do so. Muslims should defend them by all available means. They should fight along with them to ward off any aggression against their souls,honor, and so on.If one cannot support them physically, one should help them financially. If one finds that unaffordable, one should support their cause by means of speech,publicizing their rights and making people realize their agony and feel their pain.Finally, if one cannot defend one's brothers and sisters by means of thetongue or pen, let deny the aggression committed against them. This level is theleast of faith.

TECHNOLGY CHALLENGES Another challenge faced by Muslim Ummah is, the lack of the technology.Most of the Muslim countries are backward because there is no technology tou t i l i z e t h e a v a i l a b l e r e s o u r c e s a n d i l l i t e r a c y i s v e r y c o m m o n . T h a t i s w h y production rate in the Muslim country is very low, we can take the example of thePakistan is the an agriculture country and 64% population depend on this field but our production is enough for the population, now a days the main crises face b y P a k i s t a n i s f l o u r t h a t i s r e a s o n f o r t h e s h o r t a g e i s t h e o l d m e t h o d o f t h e production in the most areas of the Pakistan,in which production rate is very low.There many mineral in the Muslims countries but there is no Tec logy to put outt h e s e p r e c i o u s r e c o u r s e s f r o m t h e l a n d a n d t h e m o u n t a i n . T h e r e a r e m a n y example in front of us like Saudi Arabia and the Qwait there are m a n y o i l recourses which now a days called Black Gold these both Muslim country hasn o their own technology to take out oil from the land and there are m a n y American companies that are taking out oil. They are taking20% oil for this task;to overcome this problem modern technological education is very necessary. 2) ECONOMIC CHALLENGES Introduction In many challenges an other challenge is the Economic challenge, if any n a t i o n i s e c o n o m i c a l l y s t r o n g i t c a n f a c e m a n y i s s u e e a s l y l i k e E u r o p e a n countries. With the kindness of ALLAH there are many resources in the Muslim

countries but the recourses are not fully utilized or giving the benefit to the someMuslim countries like oil.The nineteenth century was a century of political oppression whereby thep o w e r f u l W e s t e r n n a t i o n s e n s l a v e d m o s t o f t h e A s i a n a n d A f r i c a n n a t i o n s including a large number of Muslim countries. The present century, which isnearing its end, has witnessed the gradual independence of these countries from Western imperialism. However, despite our apparent success in achieving theg o a l o f political liberty, we could not succeed in acquiring independence o n intellectual, economic and strategic levels. That is why Muslim Ummah could not yet reap the fruits of its political freedom.Now the Muslim world is looking toward the coming century with hopethat it will bring for it total independence in the real sense so the Muslims may f i n d t h e i r d u e p l a c e a m o n g t h e n a t i o n s o f t h e w o r l d a n d m a y b e f r e e t o l i v e according to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wasallam.However, this hope cannot be realized through wishful dreams. We willhave to work hard for our total freedom even more than we did for our politicalf r e e d o m . W e n e e d a t o t a l r e v i s i o n o f o u r s t r a t e g y , a w e l l - c o n s i d e r e d p l a n , a collective resolution, and a revolutionary approach. In this paper, I would like toconfine myself to two major issues. 1. Dependency :It is common knowledge that Ummah's basic economic problem is thedependence of the Muslim countries on other non-Muslim countries. Most of the them are borrowing huge amounts from the rich Western countries. Somecountries are incurring these heavy interest-bearing loans not only for thedevelopment projects, but also for their dayto-day expenses, and what ismore serious, for the payment of interest accrued on their previous loans which keeps the size of their indebtedness ever-increasing through a viciouscircle.

2. Too much loan: Dependency on foreign loans is the basic disease of our economy that hasn o t o n l y s h a t t e r e d o u r e c o n o m i c l i f e , b u t h a s a l s o d e v a s t a t e d o u r s e l f - determination and has forced us to submit to the demands of our creditors,s o m e t i m e s , a t t h e p r i c e o f o u r c o l l e c t i v e i n t e r e s t s . I t i s n o s e c r e t t h a t t h e creditors impose their own conditions before they advance a loan. Theseconditions keep us under a constant foreign pressure, often stop us frompursuing our own objectives and force us to follow the policies dictated by others. The evil consequences of dependence on foreign loans are too obviousto need any further elaboration.I s l a m i c t e a c h i n g s c o n s i d e r " I n d e b t e d n e s s " a s a d e t e s t a b l e phenomenon, which should not be resorted to except in cases of extremenecessity. The Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, even refused tooffer the funeral prayer for a person who died before paying back hisloan. Moreover, the Muslim jurists have discussed whether it is lawful forthe ruler of a Muslim State to accept the gifts offered by a non-Muslim.The answer: It is lawful only where the acceptance of gifts does not resultin any kind of pressure against the interest of the Ummah.Islamic principles require that the Muslims should avoid incurringf o r e i g n d e b t s , e v e n i f t h e y f a c e s o m e h a r d s h i p s . B u t o u r p r e s e n t indebtedness was not created by lack of resources. In fact, the Muslimshave never been so resource-rich. They own enormous natural resources.They occupy important strategic positions on the globe. They are joinedtogether by a geographical chain from Morocco to Indonesia, broken only by India and Israel. They produce nearly 50% of the oil of the world. They are said to account for more than one third of the world's export of raw m a t e r i a l . W h a t i s m o r e , t h e c a s h t h e y h a v e i n v e s t e d i n t h e w e s t e r n countries alone may be more than sufficient to set off their total liabilities. According to a recent report of Islamic Development Bank, the totalexternal debt of the IDB member countries in 1996 amounted to 618.8 billion dollars. The deposits and assets kept by the Muslims in the Westerncountries are said to be much more than this amount. Obviously, there isno authentic record of such deposits, because their owners do not disclosethem. However, the economic experts have estimated them to be between800 and 1000 billion dollars, out of which 250 billions are said to be taken back by the Arabs to their own countries after the Gulf War. Practically itmeans that we are borrowing a part of our own money at a high rate of interest.E v e n i f t h e s e e s t i m a t e d f i g u r e s a r e t a k e n t o b e g r e a t e r o n e c a n hardly deny the fact that had these huge amounts been kept and properly used within the Muslim world, the Ummah would have never resorted toincur the debt of more than six hundred billion dollars.O u r d e p e n d e n c e o n f o r e i g n l o a n s i s s e l f i m p o s e d f o r w h i c h w e cannot blame anyone but ourselves. We did never probe in to the factorsu n d e r l y i n g t h e f l i g h t o f o u r c a p i t a l . W e d i d n e v e r t r y t o r e m o v e t h o s e factors and instill confidence in our own people. We could not deliver ourselves from the corrupt and oppressive system of taxation. We were notable to create a peaceful atmosphere for investment. We could not provideour countries with stable political system. We did not bother to createopportunities for the sound utilization of capital and, above all, we failedto mobilize the spirit of Islamic unity and to activate the strength of theMuslim Ummah as a whole. The tragic situation cannot be corrected by expensive celebrations at the advent of the new century. We will have totake the challenge of time seriously. Our economic and political leadership will have to find ways and

means to free ourselves from dependence onforeign countries. We already have the basic resources for that. All we needis to design new policies to utilize the wealth of the Ummah within theMuslim world, and to develop the concept of Islamic brotherhood andmutual understanding and cooperation.T h e A l l a h s a y s i n H o l y Q u r a n : " A l l t h e M u s l i m s a r e b r o t h e r s . " Qura nic injunctions and the Prophetic teachings require that the MuslimUmmah should act as a single body. The geographical barriers should notdivide them into different nations with conflicting objectives. The political boundaries may only be tolerated for the internal administrative affairs of each country, but all the Muslim countries must have a united face at least with reference to the common objectives of the Muslim Ummah vis--visthe rest of the world.Gone are the days when technical know-how was the monopoly of af e w W e s t e r n c o u n t r i e s . N o w , t h e M u s l i m t a l e n t i s c a p a b l e o f a t l e a s t handling the immediate requirements of the Ummah. What we need is tos e e k t h i s t a l e n t , a n d t o p u t i t t o t h e s e r v i c e o f t h i s U m m a h w i t h a missionary zeal.But all this requires the unified efforts from the leadership of ourcountries. This is the biggest challenge faced by them. They must meet it,not only for the betterment of the Ummah, but for their own survival. A great responsibility, in this respect, lies on the shoulders of OIC, whichshould take the initiative and create a Muslim talent pool to design new policies for the Ummah as a joint body. 3. Restricting our Economic Systems The twentieth century has witnessed the rise of communism, the conflict between capitalist and communist countries and lastly the fall of communism.The capitalist Western countries are celebrating the fall of communism as if it was an empirical evidence of their own victory, not only on a political front b u t a l s o o n i d e o l o g i c a l p l a n e . T h e f a c t i s , however, that communism w a s b a s e d o n a n e m o t i o n a l r e a c t i o n a g a i n s t s o m e e v i l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e ca pitalist economy, specially, against the element of inequitable distribution

of wealth, which has been experienced in the capitalist countries throughoutthe centuries. The failure of communism was not due to its justified criticismof the evils of capitalism. Rather it was caused by the inherent defects of thealternative system suggested by it. The capitalist economies still suffer frominequities in the distribution of wealth. There is still a large gap between thehaves and the have-nots and 'poverty in the midst of plenty' is still the majorproblem of their economy. These are the real problems created by capitalismand unless they are satisfactorily solved, it may give birth to another reactionthat may be more aggressive than communism.The world, therefore, is badly in need of a Third Economic System. TheMuslim Ummah can work out this system based on the Islamic norms. Theeconomic principles taught by the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (Sall- Allahu alayhi wa sallam) are quite capable of solving the major economicproblems faced by the world today. While they allow private ownership andmarket economy, they also provide a well considered system of distributive justice, which may eliminate the inequities and bring about a system in whichprofit motive works with the collective interest of the society. The basic faultof communism was that, frustrated with the inequity of capitalism, it assailedthe very institutions of private ownership and market forces and developed au t o p i a n i d e a o f p l a n n e d e c o n o m y w h i c h w a s u n n a t u r a l , a r t i f i c i a l a n d oppressive. The denial of individual liberty curtailed the zeal for productionand the wide powers of the state left the destiny of the people in the hands of the ruling class.It was neither private ownership nor the institution of market forces that was the basic cause of injustice

in the capitalist system. The basic factor forcreating inequities in the capitalist countries was the absence of a criterion todifferentiate between just and unjust earnings. The instruments of interest,gambling, speculative transactions and the tools of exploiting immoral desiresof the consumers to secure huge profits were allowed, which tend to createmonopolies and in turn paralyze the forces of demand and supply or at leastobstruct their operation. It is thus ironical that the capitalist ftheory on theone hand asserts the principles of lassiez-faire but, on the other, by allowingthe aforesaid instruments, interferes with their natural function and stops themarket forces from playing their due role by creating monopolies that imposetheir arbitrary decisions on the bulk of the common people.The system of interest favors the rich industrialists who benefit from the wealth of the common people who deposit their savings in the bank, and aftermaking huge profits do not allow the common people to share these profitsexcept to the extent of a fixed rate of interest that is again taken back by themas it is charged to the cost of production. At macro level, it means that theserich people always use the money of depositors for their own benefit and inreality pay nothing to them because the interest payments are always added to

F i r s t a n d f o r e m o s t , i t b e c o m e s c l e a r t h a t m a n y o f t h e b a r r i e r s a n d co ncerns faced by Islamic scholars, stem from the inadequacy of the educationalprocess. One almost hesitates to recommend educational reform as the key toalleviating such barriers and concerns however, since for the last two centuriesMuslim scholars and intellectuals have been talking about such reform. Clearly,the extent of repetition directly correlates with the magnitude of the problem.Throughout the 20th century, many scholars have argued that traditionalreligious schools should offer a more integrated education, including modernscientific subjects such as IT in their curriculum. In this respect, Zahid (1981)states that Muslims 'must create institutions where the education of the Quran,H a d i t h , a n d S h a r i a h , g o e s s i d e b y s i d e w i t h t h e e d u c a t i o n o f m a t h e m a t i c s , physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, engineering, economics, and othersciences' (p. 92). In addition, there is a need to enhance the language abilities of students enrolled in traditional religious schools, to better equip them to accessinformation from both Islamic and non-Islamic traditions. At the tertiary level, there is a greater need to apply and incorporate ITinto the education curriculum. Essentially, the successful integration of IT intothe Islamic disciplines is dependent upon two primary factors. The first factorr e q u i r e d i s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t o e n a b l e b othacademic staff and students in the I s l a m i c f i e l d s t o a c c e s s a n d u t i l i s e s u c h technology. While governments can play a role in financing and supporting such ventures, limited resources often means that greater efforts must be made to getthe private sector to play a larger role. Awkaf (Islamic endowment funds) can also be used towards this end. A second necessary factor for the successful integration of IT into theI s l a m i c d i s c i p l i n e s i s t h e c r e a t i o n o f g r e a t e r i n t e r e s t a n d a w a r e n e s s a m o ngscholars in Islamic studies about the benefits and possibilities of IT and i t s applications, in the field of Islamic studies. In this respect, departments shouldhold workshops and seminars on IT, given by experts in the field, who are able totalk in non-technical language.In addition to generating awareness, introductory and upgrading coursesin computer literacy and IT is essential for both staff and students in the Islamicfields. There is no point talking about integrating IT into the curriculum andhailing the benefits of IT, without showing religious scholars how to use and benefit from such technology. Particularly in the early stages, it is important thatIT technicians are easily accessible to troubleshoot, so that Islamic scholars

will b e a b l e t o d e v e l o p c o n f i d e n c e . W i t h g r e a t e r h a n d s o n - e x p e r i e n c e , I s l a m i c scholars will feel more at ease about IT and consequently will be more inclined tointegrate it into their teaching methodologies. IT presents a fantastic opportunity for Islamic scholars to develop a variety of programs to assist students in learning about their Islamic heritage. In thisregard, scholars should be encouraged to join courses with technicians in theDepartments of Information Technology to develop and design software that notonly meets their own research needs, but the educational needs of their studentsas well. Islamic scholars that are more ambitious should be given training on how to create and develop their own Web page. In so doing, they would no longer be'passive consumers' of 'foreign technology', but pro-actively shaping and adaptingtechnology to suit the needs of their discipline and the ummah in general. Somescholars such as Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi have already established sites whichcover multi-dimensional issues on Islam.The facility and ease with which Islamic scholars can communicate usingIT, will enable them to exchange ideas and information with other scholars onhow to build attractive Web sites, create chat and discussion groups, questionand answer sessions, etc. In fact, as more and more reputable Islamic scholarstake advantage of the opportunities IT presents, greater pressure will be put oninauthentic Islamic sites devoted to disseminating misinformation or deviationistteachings on Islam, since Islamic scholars will be able to use IT to counter andrefute deviationist teachings.By adopting a positive mental attitude toward the possibilities of IT andusing it to serve their interests, ulama would not have to be worried about losingtheir traditional authority to 'pop shops' disseminating advice in the name of Islam. Instead, they can use IT to enhance their own respect and legitimacy in theummah, by widening the base of their appeal to the more technological literate youth. As far as unreliable and inauthentic Islamic sites are concerned, Khan andKhan (1999) argue that there is a greater need to monitor information on Islamso that fabricated and misleading information can be easily identified. They alsorecommend developing a mechanism of certification and authentication forIslamic sites disseminating info on Islam, particularly those that use Quran anddubious Hadith to support their views. Ahmad (1999) suggests that such sitesc o u l d o b t a i n a p p r o v a l f r o m w e l l - k n o w n I s l a m i c o r g a n i s a t i o n s , i n a s i m i l a r manner that halal certification is required for food products.This article has examined IT from an Islamic perspective. It has shownt h a t t h e r e i s n o t h i n g i n t r i n s i c a l l y i n t h e Q u r a n a n d h a d i t h t h a t p r o h i b i t t h e development, use and adaptation of IT. On the contrary, it was argued that Islamplaces tremendous emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge towards noblee n d s . I n t h i s r e s p e c t , I T i s s i m p l y a m e a n s o f a c q u i r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d ultimately knowledge. Like all technology, it can be used for both positive andnegative purposes. It is up to Muslims to use revelational guidance and their ownrational and sensual faculties to discern the difference between the two. The second part of the article explored some benefits of IT for Islamics c h o l a r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e a b i l i t y t o a c c e s s k n o w l e d g e i n g e n e r a l a n d I s l a m i c knowledge in particular, Islamic propagation, networking, and ecommerce.Some of the reasons why more Islamic scholars were not making use of suchtechnology, were subsequently discussed. Such reasons include illiteracy, lack of technical expertise, attitude, language, inappropriateness of the educationalsystem and scarcity or mal-distribution of financial resources. The fourth part of the article examined some of the concerns Islamic scholars have about IT. SomeIslamic scholars fear that IT will serve to diminish their traditional authority overthe Muslim masses. Others fear it will be used

to disseminate misinformation orfalse information on Islam. Still others argue that IT may lead some Muslimsa w a y f r o m t h e p a t h o f I s l a m , b y e x p o s i n g t h e m t o v a r i o u s i m m o r a l i t i e s a n d obscenities.In spite of the above barriers and concerns one thing is certain, the genie isalready out of the bottle. As such, ulama and Islamic scholars have two choices.Either they can completely ignore IT and subsequently suffer a further loss of credibility in the eyes of the ummah or they can rise to the challenge and proactively use IT to obtain the pleasure of Allah, by furthering the cause of Islamand assisting the ummah. Although rising to the challenge is the more difficult of the two, it is also more rewarding in the long run.Naturally the arduous nature of the task is not one that Islamic scholarscan completely address themselves. The onus is on educational institutions todevelop the appropriate physical infrastructure to support the use of the latest IT,create awareness of the benefits of IT, as well as its applications in the field of Islamic studies, in addition to offering IT training and skills up-grading courses,d e s i g n e d s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r s c h o l a r s i n t h e I s l a m i c d i s c i p l i n e s . W i t h t h e r i g h t attitude and skills, Islamic scholars will rise and meet the IT challenge, and willresume their lost position as leaders of the ummah. References: Abdul Aleem, Mohammed, (1999). Islamic communications for the 21st century. Abstract for Islam Internet Conference '99 in USA. Islamic Society of North America. Knowledge on line (KOL). http:///www.kol.org, 1-3. Presidents address in International Islamic Univer s i t y Convocation on Challenges Faced by Muslim Ummah(March 12 2005, Islamabad) Your Highness Hassan bin Talal, Your Excellency Dr. Mahthiar Mohammad,E x c e l l e n c y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f E x c e l l e n c y N e l s o n M e n d e l a , U n i v e r s i t y R e c t o r justice Khalil ur Rehman, President of the University Dr. Mehmood Ghazi, ladies

and gentle, students of the University. For me as Chancellor of University, It isindeed a privilege to preside over this convocation. This is also a proud momentfor the University that three distinguished personalities of contemporary history are being graced with doctorate of philosophy. The University feel honors topresent the doctorate degree with respect for their meritorious services. I alsofacilitate all students getting degree on completion of their studies.M u s l i m w o r l d i s p a s s i n g t h r o u g h a v e r y d i f f i c u l t p h a s e o f i t s h i s t o r y . I nternally, if we look at ourselves, It displays poverty, illiteracy, soc i a l backwardness most of all intellectual stagnation. These basic problems lately been aggravated by the phenomena of religious intolerance, and political violence being practice by minority whom I call radicals. Their activities grossly distort,i m a g e o f I s l a m a n d g r e a t l y h a r m t h e c a u s e o f t h e M u s l i m s . I s l a m i s b e i n g hijacked by these militants, illiterate and unenlightened minority. The minority that only knows and preach rituals instead of real core values of our Din Islam.They know and talk only of Haqooqullah. They dont practice and dont want top r o p a g a t e H a q q o u l a b a d , e m a n c i p a t i o n o f h u m a n c h a r a c t e r o f s e l f . Responsibilities of a Muslim to family his society, his nation and indeed entireUmmah. We need to curb this obscurantism and correct our direction. We mustremove the yoke of dominance of unenlightened extremist and have the moderateenlightened Islam prevail in our society and the Ummah. Fifty seven out of the191 countries of the world are Muslims belong to Ummah. We posses 70 per centof world energy

resources. We also posses 40 per cent of the worlds raw material.In spite of all this our share of global trade is only 5 per cent or six per cent. Ourcollective GDP of whole Ummah is less than five per cent of world GDP. 22 of 49least developed countries of the world are Muslims. Why this dismal picture isquestion that comes to any thinking Muslim mind. We are left behind knowledge. We are left behind in technological development, in science and technology specially. We have left the fruits of industrial revolution to bypass us. The MuslimUmmah entered the 21st century, ladies and gentlemen in this very abject state of illiteracy, poverty and backwardness, at the same time confronting externalaccusat ion against us. We have to chart our course in turbulent world, today within state, within internal external state of ours, hostile perception of our religion.Quite clearly we have two choices to pick from, firstly confrontationist approachand secondly reconciliatory or reformatory approach. I am convinced that formerconfrontationist approach will lead us possible destruction and marginalization.Latter will give us hope of regaining lost glory. The glory that we were in, paniclethat we were act in middle up to fifteen century. The fact remains that religiousintolerance and militancy of extremist fringe among Muslims and unabatedmaligning of Islam in western media is giving rise to growing misperceptionsabout Islam. So the Fault lies internally as well as externally.Persistent efforts are needed to deal with this problem. Both in Muslimsociety and externally where true image of Islam needs to be projected world atlarge. I am inviting the attention of Muslim Ummah to develop new paradigm for responding to challenges being faced by Muslims today. In order to develop sucha paradigm, new revolutionary strategy is needed. The proposed strategy should be based on enlightening moderation. It focuses on adopting a middle course,free from all kinds of religious extremism, ultra westernization as well as ultratraditionism. I have proposed the strategy of enlightening moderation, as a twoprong strategy. One prong to be delivered by Muslim Ummah, Very briefly of r e j e c t i n g e x t r e m i s m a n d t e r r o r i s m g o i n g o n p a t h o f s o c i o e c o n o m i c emancipation.Other prong which must be has to be delivered by the West, of resolvingt h e p o l i t i c a l d i s p u t e s w h i c h c o n f r o n t s M u s l i m w o r l d , a n d a l s o h e l p i ng theUmmah in socio economic emancipation and development. I must say TheU m m a h m u s t u s e t h e v e h i c l e o f O I C t o m e e t t h e d e m a n d s o f s t r a t e g y o f enlightened moderation and meet the demands the challenges of 21st century. We must restructure OIC. Ladies and Gentlemen turning your attention towardsPakistan, We aced a triple menaced of religious extremism. This is the category which is using religion to perpetrate acts of terrorism like the bomb blast, suicideattacks etc. Second menace of religious extremism, this is the class fixed rigid views and believe in imposing those views on others through force. Third menace we faced is sectarian extremism and terrorism. I think Pakistan is among few c o u n t r i e s o f t h e U m m a h which faces all three menaces in one. We have tostrategies separately to combat each of these menaces. Terrorism is to be combated ruthlessly with force. Religious and sectarian extremism is to be met with soothing prudent approach. We have to replace instigation of hate, angera n d m i l i t a n c y i n s o m e o f o u r m o s q u e s m a d r a s a s a n d p r i n t m a t e r i a l w i t h propagation of peace, tolerance and understanding SOCIAL CHALLENGES: Challenges in the future for the Women: what do we mean when we talk about social responsibility? And so c i a l responsibility toward+-s whom? In a world dominated by hegemonic social,political and economic influences, compounded by the power of an

increasingly echnological global age, discussions around the notion of social responsibilityn e e d t o s t a r t w i t h q u e s t i o n s o f d e f i n i t i o n . A r e w e t a l k i n g a b o u t i n d i v i d u a l responses, a general sense of community (both global and local), rights andresponsibilities as members of particular nation-states, or as members of a globalUmmah? What do we expect from those institutions and structures that areintended to protect and respond to our needs? What do we expect from othermembers of our communities, both real and imagined, Muslim and non-Muslim? What do we expect from ourselves?C l e a r l y , t h e a b o v e s e t o f q u e s t i o n s a r e n o t e x h a u s t i v e o r r e s t r i c t e d t o Muslim communities, but raise another important theoretical issue, and that is to

consider whether such questions are even necessary. The wide range of papersand the response to this years Conference theme, would indicate that such ad e b a t e i s n o w i n e v i t a b l e a s i t i s e s s e n t i a l , a n d t h a t t h e s e q u e s t i o n s c a n b e addressed within both secular and spiritual contexts and discourses. In Islam,o n e o f t h e p r i m a r y aims of the Shariah ( al-Maqasid ) i s t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f justice and the creation of a fair, enlightened and dynamic society. The early Muslims understood this well and set out to build a civilisation where justice wasnot to be compromised, the search for knowledge and enlightenment was thee l e v a t e d p u r s u i t o f l i f e , a n d c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p m e n t a n d w e l f a r e w a s t h e ultimate consideration in ijtihad and law-making. The good and virtuous society was the objective of all and for the benefit of all , Muslim and non-Muslim. Indeed, the concepts of social responsibilities. The End