Muslims not contributing to creation of new knowledge: PU VC

Lahore: Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has said that the Muslims were defying the instructions of the Holy Quran by not contributing to creation of new knowledge. He said that acquiring knowledge of nature and creating new knowledge was obligatory for the Muslims. He was addressing the first convocation of Centre for High Energy Physics held at Law College Auditorium here on Tuesday.

Director CHEP Dr Bilal Masud, Prof Emeritus Dr Mohammad Saleem, Chairman Convocation Committee Dr Munawar Iqbal, faculty members, students and their parents were present on the occasion. Addressing the ceremony Dr Mujahid Kamran said that around 750 verses of the Holy Quran, which is 1/8th of the Holy Book, directed man to study the mysteries of the universe and to carefully observe nature. He said that unfortunately, the Muslims had made almost no contribution to the creation of scientific knowledge during the past few centuries which was the major reason for their weakness against the onslaught of knowledgeable nations. He said that the US’s total GDP was around 16 to 17 trillion dollars and it was spending around 800 billion dollars on education and around 320 billion dollars on research and development. On the contrary, he said, Pakistan’s GDP was around 200 to 225 billion dollars and we were spending less than 2 percent on education and 0.1 percent on research and development. He said that the real difference between the advanced and backward nations lay in the mastery of knowledge of the former. Knowledge, he said, was the source of power, wealth and respect of nations. He advised the students to master their subjects and adopt reading habits.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr Bilal Masud congratulated the graduating students and said that this was a memorable moment of their life. As many as 98 degrees were distributed among M Phil, BS Hons and Master’s students.