CPS NEWSLETTER
CPS INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFERENCE
A Report by Mohammad Usman (sub-editor SOI)
“Humiliation in obedience is far better than honour and prestige in disobedience.” These moving words were uttered by Dr Rajat Malhotra during the welcome speech of CPS International Peace Conference. The Peace Conference was held at The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, New Delhi from April 29-30, 2023. CPS members from across India and from many countries participated in the conference to renew their pledge to carry forward the legacy of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s peaceful and universal message derived from the Quran and the exemplary model of the Prophet Muhammad. The conference had long been in the planning. Originally planned as a biennial event, and being held since 2012, the coronavirus pandemic halted the continuation. This also marked the first CPS International Conference after the demise of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan in 2021.
The conference was opened by award-winning children’s author Dr Saniyasnain Khan followed by Dr Rajat Malhotra’s welcome note. Both emphasized on the unity of the team, staying true to the core values of CPS mission which are peace and spirituality, and introducing the peaceful message of the Word of God, i.e., the Quran. Prof Farida Khanam, the chairperson of the CPS International, in her talk mentioned and acknowledged the role of all those people who had played important role in the journey of the CPS mission which had started in the 1970s. A panel discussion between Islamic scholars discussed the importance, means and the purposes of God-realization and peaceful coexistence.
It is mentioned in the Quran: The recitation (of the Quran) at dawn is indeed witnessed. (17: 78) Explaining this verse, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan writes: ‘People have always believed that morning time is the best time because one’s mind is most fresh at this time of the day. Several research corroborate to the fact that morning is the most productive time of the day. Therefore, one prayer should be said in the morning, the special feature of which should be a longer recitation from the Quran.’ Keeping this special mention in the Quran in mind, the Fajr (dawn) prayer was followed by a Quran lecture.
A major feature of the conference was Mr Mattias Dahlkvist’s lecture on the relevance of the works of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan in today’s times. Based in Sweden, he is a senior lecturer in religious studies. He has done a lot of research work on Maulana’s works and thoughts. He has visited the CPS International office many times to interview Maulana. His talk was very insightful, and he also obliged the audience by answering many of their questions.
The age of technology has taken a revolutionary turn with the advent of Artificial Intelligence. The launch of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) has entirely and essentially altered the way we create texts. Various GPT-based chatbots have come up. Many chatbots have been designed based on the Bible, the Gita and other Hebrew texts. Keeping abreast with the latest trends, CPS has a dedicated team that has designed a WhatsApp-integrated chatbot based on the English translation and commentary of the Quran as well as other works of Maulana. A prototype of this chatbot, named Spiritual Message was introduced in the conference.
Highlight of the conference was the participation by women members of the CPS International. They shared their learnings and their strivings in practising and introducing the peaceful message of Islam. Braving many odds, they have contributed greatly the CPS mission. All sessions were interspersed with many short videos of Maulana. About these videos, a participant observed: Selection of Maulana’s videos couldn’t have been better, feeling like Maulana was addressing the team live saying the most appropriate words to the occasion!!! (~Sajid Anwar, CPS UAE Team)
An English book Living in God’s Glory and other booklets by Maulana were launched. The two-day conference concluded with dua (supplication).
The following is a list of YouTube links for different sessions of the Peace Conference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z94aS7nevv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsD04dOvGeE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWMy2u1iAEg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrP-HOSml6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SjTa1qYUR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfTBajRastM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzv3vK9HorU
The participants of the conference were very appreciative of how the whole affair was conducted and of the many learnings they took home. Here are some of their responses:
It was the first conference conducted in the absence of Maulana. There might have been many apprehensions about it. However, it was successful beyond any one's expectation. It happened definitely through tireless efforts and preparations by entire Delhi team, and by the help of God. We thank God and Delhi team for conducting such a wonderful conference to review and ignite the I will do it spirit in all of us. May God accept our efforts and give strength to stand for the mission of introducing the peaceful message of Islam and to take forward Maulana’s legacy. ~Raichur CPS Team
Alhamdulillah the programme was very good. The members of the mission played their best role, may Allah accept it. Thanks to Farida aapa, Dr Saniyasnain Khan, Dr Rajat Malhotra and all the members of the Delhi team. The panel of Islamic scholars expressed their opinions and impressions during the discussion. Electronic media is a great blessing in the modern era. It seems that Maulana’s teachings had been saved along with his personality. The online address by Maulana is still going on. While the Almighty God has protected the text of the Quran, he has preserved the words of Maulana as a living record for the correct interpretation of Islam. It became apparent in the conference that the guidance Maulana gave us is still relevant. The CPS teams have made God-realization and introducing the Word of God their goal and mission. When there is so much clarity, and the task is agreed upon and the action plan is clear, God willing, no temporal or spatial alteration will affect the desired goal. A divine mission following the principles that God has laid down, will find that God is protecting and guiding the mission. (~Maulana Iqbal Umri, Chennai)
*My takeaway from our spiritual gathering*
It was my first experience of participating in CPS Conference and I felt like I was in Paradise. I always pray to God, "O God please admit me in your Paradise and grant me the companionship of your beloved servants.”
My Creator accepted my prayer so mercifully. Indeed! He answers those who call upon him. Now, I want this blessing forever. Maulana used to say everything has its price tag, so does the Paradise. I thought deeply, and I remember those who spend whatever they have in God's way, God will increase their reward and he will admit them in Paradise.
I am not wealthy, and I do not deem myself intelligent. I am a helpless creature, but I have a strong wish to enter Paradise. For this, I have one thing only, i.e., myself. So, I took a decision that I want to spend myself in the way of God. With the help of God, I need to improve myself as much as I can, to fulfil the task of becoming a person with great realization of God and spreading peace in society. May God almighty accept all our efforts and admit us in his neighbourhood. (~A CPS Member)
All CPS teams deserve congratulations on the organization of this wonderful spiritual programme. The Bihar CPS team especially thanks the Delhi CPS team for organising such an inspiring conference.
It was the first programme after Maulana passed away. We certainly all had some concerns about how this would be implemented. To what degree will people be interested? But the exemplary efforts of the Delhi team dispelled any fears and set up a successful programme.
The fire of introducing the peaceful message of Islam that Maulana has ignited in the hearts of the people and the enthusiasm that he has created, all the members of the team were a living example of this. It was evident that the whole team was filled with the same spirit that Maulana instilled into all of us. May Allah keep this sense of God's responsibility within us to our last breath!
When Maulana's video came out, it looked like Maulana was present among us. The minute Maulana's video started, there was silence in the hall. I got goosebumps every time Maulana's video was being played. During the conference, I felt that technology was a big miracle for the Muslim ummah. If used properly, it will show its effect to the same extent that the miracles of prophets have shown their effects. Thanks to Allah, our team is determined to make full use of technology.
Our mission is God-realization (Marifah) and introducing the peaceful message of Islam (Shahadah). God-realization for us and introducing the peaceful message of Islam amongst others. The CPS mission is founded on literature. So, we have to carry out this process mainly on the basis of literature and continue until our last breath. Maulana has fulfilled his responsibility completely. It is now our turn to take this work to the next level.
There's just one impediment and obstacle to that, and that's our disagreement. May Allah help us to remain together in spite of our differences! (~Hafiz Abul Hakam Danyal, Bihar)
I am short of words to express my happiness for being a part of such a well-knit, substantial, and meaningful to the core conference. It had the potential to address minds of all ages and variegated intellectual levels. It was much more than a simple conference rather can safely be called a spiritual workshop. The content, the methodology, the management, the sincerity, the captivating expression blended with a positive body language, the quality work of introducing the message of Islam being done worldwide with the help of technology, the meticulous and responsible attitude of every member of the team was phenomenal. It will not be fair if I don’t make a special mention of CPS women team. The thing to be noticed was the team spirit. It is said that teamwork demands a level of understanding at which no words are needed but simply a look and an instantaneous response. We witnessed this culture in the conference. The willingness for subordination, no ego clashes, amazing!
For me and all our team members, it was truly a great learning and recharging experience. We feel spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually elevated. I don’t have even an iota of doubt that it was divinely supervised. Allah bless all the CPS missionaries from Delhi and other state and international chapters to take this mission from strength to strength in the days to come with even greater zeal. (~M Saleem Wani, Rajouri, Jammu)
