Rehmatul-Lil-Aalameen Authority
Composition of Authority
As per the ordinance related to its establishment:
a. The Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority will be comprised of a chairman and six members.
b. Prime Minister Imran Khan will be its patron-in-chief.
c. There will be an advisory board on it all over the world, for which contacts will be made with scholars around the world. “There will be an international advisory board above the chairman on which we will bring the Muslim world’s top scholars — we have looked at many names and are approaching them as well,” the prime minister said.
d. The advisory board of the authority shall meet at least once on a quarterly basis.
Purposes
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the purpose of establishing Rehmatul-lil-Alameen (PBUH) Authority is to inculcate moral and ethical values in the young generation. Here is a look at the purposes this authority has been created to serve:
1. The principal aim of the authority is to teach the world about Islam and carry out research on Seeratun Nabi (PBUH).
2. The Authority will be tasked with researching how to spread the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) among children and adults, and make them relevant to their lives.
3. The authority will monitor the curriculum being taught at schools and organise research in universities regarding the true message of Islam in the light of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
4. It will undertake national-level consultations with religious scholars, researchers and education-related entities in all provinces.
5. It will also conduct research on Seeratun Nabi and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s teachings for “the character building” of youth.
6. It will promote modesty, non-materialistic approach, simple and dignified lifestyle based on the life of Sunnah.
7. It will provide an international counter-narrative to various misconceptions against Islam.
8. The Authority will consult the relevant experts to make the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) a part of the curriculum.
9. The Authority will formulate policies, strategies and interventions to advance and propagate key elements of the life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) including peace, empathy, tolerance, knowledge, care for others, progress, wisdom, ethical behaviour, and other prominent aspects from the Seeratun Nabi (PBUH).
10. The scholars of the Authority would also be charged with monitoring the curriculum of the schools and how the curriculum was being taught on the biography of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and whether any changes were needed to improve it.
11. A Board of Scholars will also be responsible for promoting and promoting research in universities on diverse topics such as the reasons behind the mercurial rise of Muslims after the advent of Islam.
12. Scholars would be responsible for monitoring the media as well, including all mediums from print to social media.
13. The Authority will take steps to make the dream of justice and a welfare state a reality.
14. The Authority will also remain vigilant of any blasphemous content being shared on the media and to portray a real picture of Islam.
Analysis of PM Khan’s Speech
In his speech, the Prime Minister outlined an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Western culture, among other aspects of the research. He particularly emphasized the importance of cartoons, saying that, at present, cartoons being shown to children were “a form of education and foreign culture”. He added that a cartoon series will be made to introduce Islamic culture to our children saying that presently, cartoons being shown to children were “a form of indoctrination and alien culture”. “We cannot stop them but we should make our own cartoons to teach our children about our culture,” he stressed.
The biggest revolution in the world came between 625 AD and 636 AD and 637 AD, it would never have happened but if it had happened in Europe that two superpowers were brought to kneels, how many books would have been written and films would have been made. The personality of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), which had brought about this revolution: one was His personality and the other was the establishment of the state of Madina, which was his Sunnah. There were 313 people in the Battle of Badr in 625, two superpowers in 636 and 637 knelt down in 11 and 12 years. Allah is commanding us because if you build your country on the principles of the state of Madina, your country will rise, if you try to adopt His role, you will rise. We celebrate Rabi-ul-Awal, resort to firecrackers and fireworks, celebrate happiness but do we try to follow His life or not, it is like we keep the Holy Quran in the house and everyone is picking it up with great literature but not reading what is written inside it. We are ready to give our lives for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) but should also try to learn from His character, whether we are following His character or not, Allah has commanded us to follow his Sunnah.
It is inevitable for our country if we have to uplift our country, as long as we do not follow his [the Prophet’s] Sunnah, this country cannot be uplifted, this is my faith because we have got things inside us that are stopping us from moving forward. The prime minister rightly said, “If we train our youth, they will fight.” The morality of the country has gone down, especially those who come to power and steal then the morality of the whole country goes down. When someone talks about obscenity, there is a class here that calls itself liberal, starts making noise about how great injustice has been done: they are calling us backward. The veil is not just a matter of women’s or men’s clothes but a general concept of what should be done to save the family system in society. The Western influence is taking place here, people sitting here adopt the western influence but they do not know what its effects are. We should have had scholarships to know what its effects are.
The writer is a PhD scholar (English Literature). He can be reached at hbz77@yahoo.com