Download A brief introduction of the aims and objectives of Minhaj-ul

A brief introduction of the aims and objectives of
Minhaj-ul-Quran UK
Introduction
Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) was founded by His Eminence Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
in October 1981 with a long term strategic vision to promote religious moderation, peace, love,
harmony and modern Islamic sciences. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a professor of international
law and a prominent authority on Islam has authored more than 400 published works on Islamic
scholarship, law and Sufism. Dr Qadri developed his organisational network in more than 90
countries in the span of just 30 years.
In the UK, Minhaj-ul-Quran has its presence since 1984 with its first official office opening in 1994 in
East London. Since then Minhaj-ul-Quran UK has opened 10 centres serving all parts of the country
from Glasgow to London and has more than 5000 regular members.
Minhaj-ul-Quran organisation has been built on the concepts of a peaceful, loving, tolerant and
moderate interpretation of Islam employing the methods of ‘Sufism’.
Aims and objectives of Minhaj-ul-Quran
Since its establishment, Minhaj-ul-Quran has five main aims and objectives in the UK which are the
horizontals.
1. To promote peace, tolerance and interfaith harmony
The promotion of peace and interfaith harmony, religious moderation and integration are key
aspects of Minhaj-ul-Quran. Peace and tolerance is MQI’s major objective and the
organisation has vigorously pursued this from its very inception. The founder, Dr Muhammad
Tahir-ul-Qadri understands Islam to be a religion of peace, love, co-existence, tolerance,
human dignity, veneration of human life and a charter of justice and equality for mankind. Dr
Qadri decided to pursue and establish the path of peace through nurturing and education run
by Minhaj-ul-Quran. From the very beginning MQI promoted the concepts of inter-faith
harmony and inter-community integration and coherence for the greater happiness of
mankind.
The message of tolerance and universal brotherhood and love is being propagated by Minhajul-Qur’an centres throughout the country, with interfaith partnerships and friendships being
extended to all major faiths, and exchange visits organised involving places of worship,
whether belonging to Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh or Hindu denominations
2. To promote education, integration and working for community cohesion
Dr Qadri realised that the awakening of such awareness within society at large demands the
promotion of knowledge and education and the eradication of ignorance. Hence the second
objective of Minhaj-ul-Quran is education and working for community cohesion and working
towards a multicultural society.
MQI follows the Sufi tradition which promotes the aspect of Islam that emphasises spiritual
and personal development, and moral excellence.
Minhaj-ul-Quran adheres to the concept that before a person can benefit his community, he
must attempt to purify himself from all selfish desires and destructive elements (especially in
today’s youth), and only then can he become an effective and exemplary member of his society
who can benefit others around him through his love of his fellow creatures and constructive
effort. To achieve this objective, therefore, ten educational institutions had to be established
and regular seminars are held in various institutions of MQI.
MQI aims to work with the Muslim youth to tackle extremism and to create a secure
community.
3. To engage with young Muslims for religious moderation
From the very beginning the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri has consistently
presented a model of Islam espousing the universal values of the unity of mankind, inclusion,
tolerance and love of humanity and condemning all forms of extremism, radicalism and
terrorism. The very reason why organisation of Minhaj-ul-Quran was founded was in order to
counteract religious extremism, the breeding ground for terrorism.
It is not possible to overestimate his contribution to moderating religious belief and practice
all over the Islamic world. Dr Qadri has achieved this through travelling throughout the
world, delivering lectures in mosques, community centres and universities promoting
moderate Islam and teachings against religious conservatism.
It is the objective of Minhaj-ul-Quran to fight extremism and conservative interpretation of
Islam especially amongst the western Muslim youth. In the UK, MQI through its Youth wing
(Muslim Youth League), has been engaged with the youth at various levels at colleges and
universities to change the extreme views of the younger generation and to provide them with
an alternative moderate view.
It is of particular note that most major Islamic religious organisations modified their position
in respect of extremism, killing of innocent civilians and suicide bombings only following the
‘9/11’ Twin Tower attacks, prior to which their stance on such atrocities was often vague or
muted or in some cases even supportive, if tacitly so. In contrast, the position of Dr Qadri and
Minhaj-ul-Qur’an has been clear from the beginning.
4. To promote women’s rights, development and empowerment
MQI’s philosophy is one of inclusiveness and providing support to society’s oppressed class.
Dr Qadri recognises that there is not a more oppressed segment of society, particularly of
Asian backgrounds, than women.
Minhaj-ul-Quran is probably the first Islamic organisation to formally permit the involvement
of women and positively encourage their involvement in all its activities. MQI has a separate
forum for women and the women coordinate this wing independently and with full freedom.
This allows them to feel empowered and organise their activities with full confidence, and
provides them with the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities in order to take a full
and active part in their wider society. Muslim youth league is another forum especially for
young women to promote and discuss issues like forced marriages.
The women hold cultural, spiritual and educational events and festivals, to which they invite
various intellectuals, politicians and prominent guests from society. The aim of these events is
to build bridges between different communities, to create peace and harmony between them,
to educate women of their rights and to inculcate in them self-respect and pride in the
significant role they play in creating a peaceful and progressive society. They promote and
highlight their equal rights and engage other Muslim women towards achieving our
objectives.
5. To provide social welfare and promotion of human rights
MQI also aims to alleviate poverty, provide aid to victims of disaster and improve the lives of
millions of people living in deprivation. This is achieved through its charity Minhaj Welfare
Foundation (MWF), which is a registered charity. MWF has grown to be a major provider of
aid and relief and has responded to emergencies in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia,
Kashmir, Iran, India, Kosovo Palestine, among many other countries, providing much needed
relief aid in the form of food, water, medicines, clothing, and shelter.
MWF has begun a project to provide an orphan care home that will eventually cater for 500
residents and will include provision of carers and educational facilities. There are currently
50 orphans being catered for in the current facility for which further funds have been
allocated to develop it further.
MQI promotes and highlights human rights issues and aims to help the victims through its
charity organisation. MQI aims to create awareness on human rights and developing equal
rights, especially in the third world countries.
Contact us
UK Head Office
Minhaj-ul-Quran London
292-296 Romford road
Forest Gate, London
E7 9HD
Telephone: 0208 257 786
http://www.minhajuk.org
http://www.minhaj.org
Email: [email protected]