Raja Javed Ali Bhatti
In his opening remarks the Ambassador of Poland H.E. Mr Piotr Opalinski at the Inaugural Session of Allama Muhammad Iqbal Conference at Muslim Institute, win heart of audience.
JanabSahibzada Sultan Ahmad Ali, Chairman, Muslim Institute, the Honorable Chief Guest, Lt. Gen. Abdul Qayyum, Dear Professors and Scholars, my Colleagues – Diplomats, Distinguished Participants, Assalam-o-Aleikum.
First of all I would like to thank the Honourable Chairman of the Muslim Institute for inviting me to this very auspicious conference on Allama Muhammad Iqbal and also to thank the Muslim Institute for initiating the exchange of academicswithPolish most ancient University, the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. It’s been exactly a year ago that the eminent Polish scholar in Oriental & Inter-cultural Studies of Jagiellonian University – professor Piotr K?odkowski- participated in the international conference dedicated to the works of HazratAllama Muhammad Iqbal, which was organized and hosted by the Muslim Institute in Islamabad.
I still remember his lecture, partly made in very fluent Urdu, (kyonke jab Professor Sahabkuch na kuchapnedil se kehnachahte the, tounhonefluent Urdu main farmaya), in which he presented a Polish and European Perspective on Allama Iqbal as amodern bridge-builder between communities and also a symbol of a particular identity.
Allama Iqbal is commonly believed to be one of the most eminent persona of the 20th century and that not only in South Asia but in many European countries as well, including Poland. Although his poetry (both in Urdu or Persian and in many translations, including Polish) and his political involvements are quite well analysed and widely discussed, his philosophical concepts on various aspects of determinism and proposed ideas on fundamentals of modern democratic systems need re-interpretations in the context of modern transformations of the 21stcentury.
Iqbal’s reference to European philosophical and ideological heritage (without limiting his inspirations to Bergson’s or Nietzsche’s works) should be critically assessed to rediscover his relevance in the process of cross-cultural and cross-civilizational dialogue which appears to be seriously undermined.
Iqbal’s contribution to shaping the contemporary Pakistani identity is widely recognised, but his vision of the modern, pluralistic State has a global appeal that demands much deeper clarification.
That’s why the Polish Orientalists, such prominent as professor K?odkowski,intend to research and re-interpret his philosophical ideas (some of them deeply rooted also in the European tradition), so far neglected in researches on Iqbal’s heritage and his worldwide influence.
Although Iqbal was speaking in favour of democracy he did not necessarily believed that it needs to be a liberal democracy. And understanding of the key message of Iqbal’s poetry might indeed be the key to building a bridge connecting the West and the East, which is necessary, especially in the current times of emergent confrontational approach among the civilizations.
