New Delhi:
PM Narendra Modi today addressed the inauguration of the World Sufi Forum in Delhi.
Here are the highlights of his speech:
- Welcome to a land that is a timeless fountain of peace and an ancient source of traditions and faiths
- I welcome all of you to the land that believes in 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'
- Welcome to the ancient city of Delhi. The city that has place for every faith from those with few followers to those with billions believers
- At a time when the dark shadow of violence is becoming longer, you (Sufi scholars) are the noor or the light of hope
- When young laughter is silenced by guns on the streets, you are the voice that heals
- In a world that struggles to assembly for peace and justice, this is an assembly of those whose light itself is a message of peace tolerance and love
- You represent the rich diversity of Islamic civilisation that stands on the solid bedrock of a great religion
- It is a civilisation that reached great heights in 15th century in science medicine literature art architecture and commerce
- For the Sufis, service to God meant service to humanity
- Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya said almighty holds dear to those who love for him for the sake of human beings and those who love human beings for the sake of almighty
- This is the message of oneness and humanity of all creations
- Sufism is the celebration of diversity and pluralism.
- Sufism blossomed in India's openness and pluralism. It engaged with her spiritual tradition and evolved its own Indian ethos
- Sufism's contribution to poetry in India is huge. Its impact on the development of Indian music is profound
- Lord is mixed in every heart
- These values are the needs of our times
- This is the reality of nature
- And it reminds us when we think of the 99 names of Allah, none stands for force and violence
- And that the first two names are compassionate and merciful - Allah is Rahman and Rahim
- Sufism becomes the face of Islam in India even as it remains deeply rooted in the holy Quran and holy Hadith
- All our people, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, believers, non-believers, are an integral part of India
- Just as it once came to India, today Sufism from India has spread across the world
- Let me paraphrase what I have said before: Terrorism divides and destroys us
- Terrorism uses diverse motivations and causes, none of which can be justified
- The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be
- Reach of terrorism is growing and toll is rising every year
- Since the beginning of century, tens of thousands have lost their loved ones
- Last year alone 2015, over 90 countries experienced terrorist attacks
- Parents in 100 countries live with daily pain of their children lost to the battlefield of Syria
- Impact cannot be fully captured in statistics alone
- It is changing the way we live,there are forces and groups that are instruments of state policy and design
- Indeed when terrorism and extremism have become the most destruction of our times, the message of Sufism has global relevance
- At the beginning of a new century, we are at yet another point of transformation on a scale rarely seen in human history