Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri declares to return to Pakistan in November 2012

The annual 8th Workers Convention of Minhaj-ul-Quran International was held around the world on April 8, 2012. The main ceremony was hosted by the Lahore chapter of MQI at the central secretariat in Lahore. In addition to the main ceremony, hundreds of other conventions were held in different cities around the world including 222 cities of Pakistan where the participants attended the proceedings through Minhaj TV. The chief highlight of the Workers Convention was the keynote address of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri that he delivered from Canada.

The distinguished participation in the central ceremony included Amir-e-Tehreek Sahibzada Faiz-ur-Rehman Durrani, Nazim-e-Ala Dr Raheeq Abbasi, Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Awami Tehreek Agha Murtaza Poya, senior Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Zahid Fayyaz, G.M. Malik, PAT Secretary General Anwar Akhtar Advocate, Syed Ali Ghazanfer Kararvi, Ahmad Nawaz Anjum, Irshad Ahmad Tahir, Ghulam Murtaza Alvi, Syed Iftikhar Shah Bokhari, Syed Musharraf Shah and other leaders of MQI. People belonging to Lahore also attended the Convocation in large numbers including women for whom separate arrangements were made.

The proceedings of the central ceremony of the Workers Convention 2012 got underway at 7:30 p.m. with the recitation from the Holy Quran followed by Naat. The central leaders of different forums of MQI such as MYL, MSM, MQI Lahore and MQI Punjab expressed their views afterwards.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi said that the Workers Convention 2012 was important in the sense that the workers and office holders of MQI were attending the proceedings from across the world via Minhaj TV. He said that the Convention conveyed a strong message to the forces, which had snatched from people their right to decent life. He said that MQI was fulfilling its responsibility through its Public Awareness Programme. He said that a day would come by the grace of Allah Almighty when the sun of change and revolution would emerge on the land of Pakistan under the leadership of Shaykh-ul-Islam.

Before the address of Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Shahzad Brothers presented special ‘kalam’ of Altaf Hussain Shah Gilani.

Workers Convention - Lahore

Address of Shaykh-ul-Islam

In the beginning of his speech, Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri congratulated the organizers of the Workers Convention on their excellent arrangement of such a mega event.

Shaykh-ul-Islam started off his address with good news. He said that he did not come to Pakistan for three years on the request of Central Working Council. He said that he had now taken the decision of returning to Pakistan in November 2012 before the onset of the holy month of Moharrum.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri declared that Minhaj-ul-Quran International would continue its Public Awareness drive and invest more energy in making people aware of the causes that lay at the heart of their predicaments. He said that the system that characterized the running of the country was pro-elite and did not have either the support or participation of the masses in whose name it had been foisted upon them. He said that 180 people of this country were powerless having little access to any kind of rights, economic resources and opportunities of a decent and civilized life, for all the economic and political power remained concentrated in the hands of corrupt elite. He said that the situation had come to such a pass that the people had now started questioning the rationale of the establishment of the country.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that people were increasingly being led to ask whether they possessed any stake in the country or was it meant to maximise the profits and benefits for a few thousand families. They were disturbingly asking whether their job was to take to streets, launch agitation and protest for their basic rights only to be baton-charged and man-handled by the Police, while the powerful families went about merry-making. He said that it was a fake and oppressive system under which people were being crushed.

Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that India had made such a phenomenal advancement in the field of information technology that even the developed nations from Europe were investing their money there and outsourcing their services to benefit from the Indian expertise in the field.

Contrary to this, he said that it was unfortunate that leave alone so-called elected representatives of people even the ministers were also indulging in telling lies and misleading the nation, who remained immune to what was going on around them. He said that the condition of the Pakistani nation was no different from that of a Bani Israel. When a nation chooses to become as slavish as Bani Israel, the rulers become Pharaoh. No revolution would come about to change the destiny of the nation unless its people rose against Pharaohs, their oppressors, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri stated.

Shaykh-ul-Islam said that the people of Pakistan had submitted themselves to the abysmal conditions currently prevailing in the country with little desire or craving to get rid of the enslavement. He said that the sign of entrenched slavery was that the people are robbed of the desire to break its shackles through affirmative action. He said that Pharaohs of the time were aware of the ailments and psychology of the nation. Hence they were meting out the kind of treatment as they pleased.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that when blood is shed like water, women’s honour is violated with abandon, and the worst crimes such as acid throwing on the women are perpetrated, people are little moved. They only jump to action when they do not have access to basic necessities of life such as Petrol and CNG. The disregard for and violation of values does not affect people.

Shaykh-ul-Islam said that Pakistan had been rendered into a colony and the country’s sovereignty, honour and integrity had been sold. It was a place made up of buildings and land with little sovereignty, self-respect and honour.

He said that two ways were open to the people in such dire circumstances; one is to stay mum over what was going on and the second one was to take to street and agitate. He said that it was such a monster-like system that those who became its part would be devoured by it. He said that the destiny of the country could only be changed if people rose up against the system.

Referring to a Hadith, Shaykh-ul-Islam said that the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: “A time will come when people will trade their belief for worldly wealth and belongings.” He said that it was in this context that promotion of public awareness was a key plank in a strategy to bring about comprehensive change through mass mobilization. He said that MQI was engaged in this campaign as it regarded this to be fundamentally important in ridding the country of the corrupt system.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that we needed to hold onto the person and teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), his companions, his household, saints, scholars of Hadith, and jurists in order to be able to stay on the right path. He said that if we lost our contact with any of these, we would be led astray. He referred to a section from Ahle-e-Sunnet, which he said, was debunking the real teachings of the Sunni school of thought and striving to question the love of the Prophet’s Household. He asked the people to beware of the Kharji influences, which constituted a formidable threat to their belief.

Shaykh-ul-Islam strongly criticized the conduct of politicians, adding that their character and performance qualified them to be exiled from the country for ever. He said that the conduct of those entrusted with the dispensation of the state and society clearly and manifestly indicated how sincere they were towards the country and countrymen. He said that some so-called religious scholars were also playing foul with the religion like their counterpart in politics. These scholars had arrogated unto themselves the right to churn out religious edicts and mislead the people. He asked the people to guard themselves against self-appointed politicians as well as religious scholars.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri asked people to take active part in Public Awareness campaign of Minhaj-ul-Quran International as it was not merely a religious or a moral campaign but the one which sought to identify who were the enemies of the country. He said that the people must not presume while voting in the upcoming elections that they were voting for some good candidate. Rather, what they needed to know was that they were voting for sustainability and viability of a system which was their real enemy, a system which had robbed them of even necessities of life such as water, food, jobs and even life. He asked them to get their protest recorded by boycotting the elections.

Shaykh-ul-Islam said that MQI was a revivalist movement of the century. He said that Allah Almighty had entrusted it with the task of reviving religion. Therefore, it was incumbent upon the workers of MQI to being about an internal change to be able to discharge this responsibility in an efficient manner. He said that such a change was durable in terms of its life and impact which happened in the lives of individuals first. He directed the workers of MQI to desist from social and moral evils and remain steadfast in the performance of religious obligation such as prayer.

Highlights of Workers Convention

The proceedings of Workers Convention were shown live via projector in 222 cities of Pakistan at the same time.
Shaykh-ul-Islam’s speech was broadcast live on a huge digital screen installed on the roof of Gosha-e-Durood.
Due to rush of the participants, they were accommodated on the attached roofs of nearby buildings and roads of MQI secretariat.
Shaykh-ul-Islam started his speech at 9:22 pm.
In the beginning of his address, he told that a team of Minhaj TV has acquired technical support by the name of ‘Box 92’. As a result of this, Minhaj TV will be able to broadcast its proceedings on all TVs across the world including Europe. He told that MQI France has extended its support in this regard.
Pictorial highlights and links of proceedings of the Convention from across Pakistan were broadcast live during the speech of Shaykh-ul-Islam.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the way MQI India played a key role in his successful India was a matchless example of dedication and selflessness in the 32-old history of MQI. The participants expressed their appreciation by clapping thunderously for MQI India.
The participants welcomed Shaykh-ul-Islam’s decision of returning to Pakistan with a huge round of applause and standing ovation.
Shaykh-ul-Islam prayed for those trapped in an avalanche in Siachin.