ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Spiritual democracy is the future of man, observed eminent scholar Suroosh Irfani, speaking on Rumi, Iqbal and Ali Shariati who have revived Mansur Hallaj’s culture of the passionate pursuit of truth as the answer to the crisis facing the present day world.

He was presenting the memorial lecture in honour of novelist Jamila Hashmi at a well-attended function at the National Art Gallery on Saturday. It was followed by recital of Sufi poetry by Sain Zahoor and Iqbal Bahu.

Suroosh Irfani centred his discourse on Mansur Hallaj around whom Jamila Hashmi’s novel Dasht Soos revolves.

Mansur was beheaded by the authorities for his declaration ‘I am the truth’ which was his assertion of his love for and unity with God which the mullahs sitting in judgment could not understand. His death was later described as judicial murder.

Mr Irfani condemned the extremism of the groups who were killing people in the name of Islam, which was a religion of the saints who taught love and ruled the hearts and minds of people due to their humanitarian views.

The memorial meeting was also addressed by poet and social activist Kishwar Naheed who not only paid glorious tributes to Jamila Hashmi as well as her daughter Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, writer and political analyst, whose book Army Inc had created quite a stir about two years ago.

Kishwar remembered the episode and prayed that this young author would survive embarrassment and hardship which her illustrious mother had to endure during the terrible regime of Gen Ziaul Haque.

Well-known critic and writer Asif Farrukhi who had come from Karachi to speak at the function remembered he had received encouragement as a writer from Jamila Hashmi. Farrukhi saluted her as a generous woman, but regretted the reversal of fortune of Urdu fiction which readers had abandoned in favour of foreign literature.

He said Jamila’s novels need to be translated in other languages.

Daughter Ayesha Siddiqa paid tributes to her writer mother who had instilled the love for writing in her.

The function used to be held annually in Lahore and now it had travelled to Islamabad. She thanked the large audience for their response to the event.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Director-General Naeem Tahir read three passages from the novel Dasht Soos. He said he had produced a ballet based on one of her novels.

—JI