November 04, 2015: CODE PAKISTAN held a discussion on “Who We Are? Pakistan’s Sectarian War” between the students of Abasyn University and various madrasahs of Islamabad. The discussion was held in a very cordial atmosphere in which students of the two institutions participated with exemplary respect towards diversity of opinions. Although there was diversity of opinion on the causes and consequences of sectarianism in Pakistan, a consensus emerged at the end of the discussion that despite sectarian differences, the similarities outweighed the differences between the followers of various sects. Mr. Ali Hameed of the Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness moderated the discussion. He emphasized the positive side of diversity. He urged the students to think about sectarian differences as a source of inclusion rather than exclusion because it gives rise to diversity and greater tolerance. He said that if everyone agreed on everything it would lead to stagnation.
The discussion was part of the University Madrasah Interaction Program (UMIP), which aims to bring the students of madrasahs and universities closer to each other by promoting positive and meaningful interaction between them. A total of ten discussions will be held between the students of Abasyn University and madrasahs under UMIP. For more details on UMIP, please click here for more details.