Iqbal Performed A Role Of Bridge For Cultural Ties

KARACHI: Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Karachi Holger Ziegeler on Tuesday said that since the poet-philosopher Dr. Mohammad Allama Iqbal plated a role of bridge for the cultural connection between Germany and Pakistan, our predecessors chose his birthday to sign the cultural agreement between the two countries on November 9, 1961.

‘This leads us to commemorate today on Iqbal Day 60 years of cultural cooperation in addition to this year’s celebration 70 years of diplomatic relations,’ he added.

While addressing to a press conference at Karachi Press Club, the Consul General r, Director of the Goethe-Institut Pakistan Ms Simone Lenz and Chair of the Karachi University’s urdu department Prof. Dr. Tanzeemul Firdous said that Allama Iqbal’s work promoted the philosophy of self-hood and dealt with the intellectual and cultural reconstruction of the Islamic world, was credited to had given the vision for the creation of Pakistan, whereas Mohammad Ali Jinnah was considered to be the person, who cast this vision into political shape.

They said that the poet-philosopher received his Ph.

D. degree from the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitat Munchen Germany in 1908 and that was the greatest historical cultural link existing between Germany and Pakistan.

They said that thousands of students every year from Pakistan followed the footsteps of their national philosopher to pursue their higher studies in Germany.

They further said that Dr. Allama Iqbal found notable intellectual connections with Kant, Hegel, Goethe and Nietzsche, among others and quoted these German scholars in his prose and poetry many times.

‘Dr. Iqbal paid tribute to Germany in these words: The nature has deputed a special duty to every nation. And according to the nature, the ordering and the arrangement of human knowledge is the duty of German nation.’They said that in order to value the pact and cherish the diamond jubilee, the Goethe-Institut Pakistan had produced a facsimile (a true copy) of Allama Mohammad Iqbal’s doctoral thesis submitted to the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitat Munchen.

Later, they also cut a cake to mark the birthday of poet-philosopher Dr. Mohammad Allama Iqbal.