AMU researchers deliver online lecture in Cambridge programme
ALIGARH : Dr Rahat Abrar, former Director, Urdu Academy, Aligarh Muslim University delivered a lecture on “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as a Promoter of Interfaith Dialogue” during a lecture series on “Introduction to Hinduism for Muslim Audiences” organized by the Cambridge Interfaith Programme, University of Cambridge, UK, in partnership with Project Noon, a forum dedicated to Hindu-Muslim relations and dialogue.
Dr. Abrar said that Sir Syed laid the foundation of comparative religious studies and revived the spirit of Dara Shikoh’s philosophy to bring major communities of India together by finding common beliefs among religions and assimilating them into one mighty stream.
He pointed out that Sir Syed interacted with Hindu reformers, seers and ideologues of his time, including Raja Rammohan Roy, Dadabhai Nauroji, Sir Surendranath Banerjee, Keshabchand Sen, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Lala Lajpat Rai and others in his quest for a common belief system that might bring Hindus and Muslims of India to a shared platform for syncretism.
Dr. Abrar said that the Maulana Azad Library, AMU has in its possession rare works on Mahabharata, Ramayana, Gita and some Hindu scriptures in Persian language, out of which some are translated by Dara Shikoh.
Dr Saad Ismail, Editor, Project Noon and a Resident in the Department of Physiology, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University said that the lecture series was led by Dr Ankur Barua, Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, who explored the diverse tapestries of Hindu philosophical, cultural, and socio-historical landscapes, occasionally decoding and translating Indic idioms for an Abrahamic audience.
The sessions also feature scholars such as Prof. Sher Ali Tareen, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin and Marshall College, USA, Prof. Muhammad U. Faruque, Inayat and Ishrat Malik Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati, USA and Prof. Abdur Raheem Kidwai, Professor and Director at K.A. Nizami Center for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University.
Prof Kidwai spoke on “Sir Syed’s Reform Mission for Hindu Brethren”.