Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is already known for his pan-Islamist ideas, has once again emerged as a leader of the Muslim world. The subject matter of his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, 75th session, on September 25, was reflective of his ideological position; the Muslim world must get united to counter Islamophobia.
Notably, in September last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad agreed to jointly counter anti-Islam forces. The three leaders reportedly took part in a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UNGA where they agreed on possible measures to counter Islamophobia.
PM also announced on his Twitter handle that a TV channel was going to be launched by these three countries. “President Erdogan, PM Mahatir and myself had a meeting today in which we decided our 3 countries would jointly start an English language channel dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia and setting the record straight on our great religion – Islam.”
President Erdogan, PM Mahatir and myself had a meeting today in which we decided our 3 countries would jointly start an English language channel dedicated to confronting the challenges posed by Islamophobia and setting the record straight on our great religion – Islam.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 25, 2019
He further noted that “Misperceptions which bring people together against Muslims would be corrected; the issue of blasphemy would be properly contextualized; series & films would be produced on Muslim history to educate/inform our own people & the world; Muslims would be given a dedicated media presence.”
Misperceptions which bring people together against Muslims would be corrected; issue of blasphemy would be properly contextualized; series & films would be produced on Muslim history to educate/inform our own people & the world; Muslims would be given a dedicated media presence.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 25, 2019
Some analysts are of the view, that the Muslim world is not a homogenized entity and PM Khan has not been able to Saudis get onboard. The relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia suffered a major setback when Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that if it didn’t convene a meeting of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss India’s abrogation of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year, Pakistan would go ahead to call a meeting of Islamic countries that would stand by it on the Kashmir issue.
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Sources claim that the efforts are underway to get Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) onboard and create a joint platform to deal with the increasing anti-Muslim forces across the world.
PM Khan’s idea of the state of Medina
Prime Minister Khan has said several times that he intends to create the state of Medina in Pakistan; his agenda to develop a governance model to create an egalitarian society. On November 10, 2019, while addressing the International Rehmatul-Lil-Alameen (SAW) Conference in Islamabad, the prime minister said the state of Medina was a “source of inspiration for a progressive society”.
The prime minister further said that the greatest role model in the world was the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). “I used to have some other role models, but now my role model is the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
“The Muslims ruled the world for thousands of years. We must educate our youth about the reality of Islam,” PM Imran said. “Youth must follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). His life is a role model for humanity.”
“Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey have decided to jointly produce films depicting great Islamic leaders in order to familiarize our population with our great history,” the prime minister said.
He continued, “I did not speak about the state of Medina before the elections because if I had, people would have said he is talking about the state of Medina for votes.”
Muslim Man of the Year
Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named Prime Minister Imran Khan the ‘Muslim Man of The Year‘ in the recent list of influential Muslim personalities worldwide. Premier Khan’s influence in the world has soared following his maiden appearance at the 74th United Nations General Assembly convention.
“If The Muslim 500 was in print back in 1992 and I was the Chief Editor then, I would have nominated Imran Khan as our Muslim Man of the Year because of his brilliant performance in cricket, which culminated in Pakistan winning the 1992 Cricket World Cup — a sport I have always admired for its combination of elegance and intense competitive play,” said Professor S Abdallah Schleifer, a professor emeritus of journalism at the American University in Cairo, who chose both the winners for the titles.
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Similarly, globally acclaimed Muslim scholar Maulana Ahmed Akoo on Tuesday lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the UNGA session. Maulana Akoo expressed gratitude to PM Khan on behalf of the entire Muslim population.
Maulana Akoo in the video asserted that PM Khan represented the Muslims of the entire world and appreciated his courage for courageously speaking for Muslims, strongly putting up their case ahead of the United Nations.