A LIFE DEDICATED TO PEACE & SPIRITUALITY

A LIFE DEDICATED TO PEACE & SPIRITUALITY In the way of God for humanity T HE editor-in-chief of Spirit of Islam, the famous Islamic scholar and tireless pacifist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has recently been awarded India’s second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. The awards were announced on the occasion of Republic Day this year. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, in addition to having expertise in traditional Islamic theology, has an exceptionally good knowledge of science, history and social science. He is well-known for examining the Islamic principles in light of these modern subjects and presenting its interpretation in the contemporary perspective. “India’s template for a good Muslim is the same as its template for a good Hindu, Sikh or Christian, etc. Neither is it any different from the Islamic or the universal model of a good person—that he should be a good citizen who enriches society by service, charity, peace and amity. It is from this vantage that Wahiduddin Khan dives into the vast resources of Islamic traditions to bring to the surface its universal human values.” So writes Mr Najmul Hoda, an IPS officer, in his column for New Age Islam (Feb. 11, 2021). Born in 1925, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has been actively presenting the ideology of peace and spirituality since the early 1950s. Presenting Islam in contemporary idiom is his mission statement. To this end, he established Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS) in 2001. Before that, he also established the Islamic Centre and Goodword Books. The purpose of all these establishments was the same: to present the true face of religion through Islamic literature and present a counter-narrative in light of Quran and Hadith to those who are damaging the image of Islam in the name of Jihad and resorting to terrorism. Also, to remove misconceptions about Islam, he has written more than 200 books. He has also produced an easy-to-understand translation of the Quran in contemporary English. This is being further translated into many national and international languages. These Quran translations are being distributed all around the world. CPS has also been connected to the latest technology. The websites www.cpsglobal.org and www. cpsquran.com have been developed, and books are being digitized, video-recording of the lecture sessions is being done in recording