LAHORE - A two-day international Qirat and Seerat conference will be held on 11th and 12th of Rabiul Awwal, December 11-12, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Scholars from Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries will participate, provincial minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Syed Zaeem Hussain Qadri said yesterday. He was addressing a seminar organised by daily Nawa-i-Waqt to highlight the significance of Rabiul Awwal.

Dr Ragheb Naeemi, Maulana Amjad Khan, Dr Muhammad Husain Akbar and Allama Zubair Ahmed Zaheer also addressed the seminar, which was moderated by senior journalist Saifullah Sipra. Zaeem Qadri said the government would celebrate the month of Rabiul Awwal at national level. He also underlined the need for unity among the Islamic states. Dr Ragheb Naeemi was of the view that terrorism, killings and religious hatred can be uprooted by adhering to Seeratun Nabi (PBUH).

Other speakers said that it was because of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that people got their rights and darkness disappeared. The abhorrent practice of burying girls alive also came to an end because of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he said.

They said Islam highlighted the value of human lives when it proclaimed that the murder of an innocent person was like murdering the entire humanity.