Merry Christmas ceremony by the Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum of the MQI

An exiting and exhilarating Merry Christmas ceremony was held at Central Secretariat of Minhaj-ul-Quran International Lahore today on 27 Dec, 2006. The Principal Officer American Consulate Mr. Bryan. D. Hunt graced the occasion as the special guest while Bishop of Multan, Dr Andrew Francis and Bishop of Faisalabad Joseph Coutts were the Chief Guests. Sahibzada Hussain Mohy ud Din Qadri member Supreme Council MQI presided over the ceremony. Fathers, Pastors and a large number of Christian brothers also attended the ceremony. The ceremony was organized by the Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum of the MQI.

Secretary General Pakistan Awami Tehreek Anwaar Akhtar Advocate extended warm welcome to the guests and conducted the ceremony as a compare.

The happy Christmas ceremony commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quran and Bible followed by Na`at-e-Rasul (on him be peace) and Christmas song. The honorable guests cut the Christmas Cake and lit the peace candles.

Addressing the ceremony Sahibzada Hussain Mohy ud Din Qadri emphasized that Islam teaches peace and harmony. Faith in peace, obedience, discipline and excellence in moral conduct are the pillars on which the citadel of Islam stands. It is the need of the hour that the Muslim and Christian Community jointly strive for world peace to make the globe a pleasant place to live. He paid tributes to Shaykh ul Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri for his untiring endeavors spread over long 25 years to bring out inter-faith harmony and promote an environment of dialogue among the two faiths.

Dr Andrew Francis the Bishop of Multan paid homage to Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri and said that he was engaged in creating Muslim Christian harmony from the very beginning of the Movement. He made a special mention of opening the central mosque of Minhaj-ul-Quran for the Christian community for worship in order to bring the two communities ever closer. In recognition of his marvelous efforts in this direction the Bishops Conference has bestowed the Peace Award 2006 on Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri. His Muslim Christian Dialogue Forum is playing a key role in promoting inter-faith harmony and peace at global level.

Mr Bryan. D. Hunt, the Principal Officer Consulate of America while addressing on the occasion welcomed and appreciated the growing harmony between the Muslim and Christian Communities in Pakistan and the world over.

Addressing the ceremony Ameer Tehreek Sahibzada Faiz-ur-Rehamn Durrani said that joint efforts launched by both the communities guarantee world peace.

The Chief Organizer of the Ceremony and Principal Secretary to Shaykh ul Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri Mr Muhammad Mustafa (G.M. Malik) thanked the honorable guests on gracing the occasion and said that celebration of Christmas is an expression of faith of Muslims in the Prophethood of Jesus Christ.

The ceremony ended with the prayer offered by Father James Chanan, Bishop Joseph Coutts and Sayyid Ali Ghazanfar Kararvi.

All leaders and administrators of the Minhaj-ul-Quran Markaz were present on the occasion including Brig. (Retd) Iqbal Ahmad Khan, Sheikh Zahid Fayyaz, Ch Muhammad Sharif, Syed Ali Raza Rizvi, Sajid Mahmood Bhatti, Muhammad Hussain Azad, Col Retd Muhammad Ahmed, Jawad Hamid, Imtiaz Hussain Awan, Sajjad-ul-Aziz, M Aqil Malik, Najam-us-Saqib, Dawood Hussain Mush`hadi and others. Father Francis Nadeem, Pastor Dr Majed Able, Father Asif John Gill, Aftab James, Pastor Lobin, Daniel Nadeem, Mr Zahid Anwar, Mr Shaheen Mehdi Javed Akhtar, Father Mosis Jalal, Willium Javed and Mubashir saleem Raza Gill.