Buenos Aires, 30 December 2021 (TDI): The Embassy of Pakistan in Argentina collaborated with the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI) to launch a book titled “Muhammad Iqbal Filosofo y Poeta Del Oriente.” The event was held at the auditorium of CARI.
The event was jointly presided by Ambassador Jose Octavia Bordon, the President of CARI. It was moderated by the eminent Argentine scholar, Dr. Lia Rodriguez de la Vega. Pakistan’s Ambassador, Dr. Muhammad Khalid Ejaz delivered a keynote speech at the occasion.
Talking about Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Ambassador Khalid enunciated that he was one of the prominent Muslim philosophers and thinkers of the modern era. Allama Iqbal was deeply concerned by the political fate of the Muslims of South Asia. Ergo, he proposed the idea of a separate homeland for Muslims.
The Ambassador highlighted that Allama Iqbal was a humanist who presented a new social order based on basic human values and spiritual democracy. Allama Iqbal is the national poet of Pakistan. He wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian and his work has been translated into English, German, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Czech, and Russian languages.
President of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina, Anibal Bachir Bakir underscored that the efforts of the visionary poet to safeguard the basic tenets of Islam under the British colonial rule and the then prevalent stagnation is commendable.
The event was also attended by Khaled Hallar, the host of the program ‘El Calamo’ of Public TV, and the member of the Directing Commission of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina, Bashir Bakir.
The Author of the book “Muhammad Iqbal Filosofo y Poeta Del Oriente,” Professor Ricardo H. Elia also spoke at the event. He stated that the book will express Allama Iqbal’s thoughts to Argentina. Moreover, he stated that the thinking of Iqbal has affected millions of people along with creating interfaith harmony.
The book has been published on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Argentina and Pakistan. The book encompasses Iqbal’s life, thoughts, and poetry. The Author of the book has presented the historical background that impacted the thoughts of Allama Iqbal, in the book.
The book is very comprehensive with 209 footnotes and will provide an opportunity to the Spanish-speaking people to interpret the philosophical thought process of Iqbal as well as the ideology of Pakistan along with its history and culture.
Allama Iqbal Forum in Argentina was established under the patronage of the Pakistani Embassy in Argentina. The purpose of the forum is to disseminate Iqbal’s thoughts and ideas in Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries. The initiative will pave way for similar work in the future as well.
