The 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 studios along with the live streaming of such sessions. In particular, the sessions on the Quran are a big hit. Now CPS has become a globally recognized organization.
In 2002, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was awarded the Demiurgus Peace International Award by the Nuclear Disarmament Forum AG. The award, under the patronage of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, was given to acknowledge his outstanding achievements in strengthening peace among nations and for his efforts to develop a complete ideology of peace and present Islamic teachings in the style and language of the present day. The award was presented at a ceremony by Dr Alexander Bessmertnykh, chairman of the World Council of Former Foreign Ministers (WCFFM).
He has also been awarded the title of Ambassador of Peace by the International Federation for World Peace, Korea. Some of the other awards presented to him are the Padma Bhushan (2000), the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award (2009), the National Integration Award, the Communal Harmony Award, the Diwaliben Mohan Lal Mehta Award, the National Amity Award, the Dilli Gaurav Award, the FIE Foundation Award, the Urdu Academy Award, the Aruna Asaf Ali Sadbhavna Award and the National Citizen’s Award, presented by Mother Teresa. He was conferred with the Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Ibn Ali Peace Award (2015) in Abu Dhabi and Lifetime Achievement Award by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) at Chicago in 2015.
Acknowledging his contribution for a peaceful India, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar commented:
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is a very renowned spiritual leader of our country. I call him our Bhishma Pitamaha, the eldest of our spiritual wealth of this country. His way of peace gives a new understanding about Islam and what Islam says. (…) tenets of peace, I think that is most needed today where there (are) so much fractions, fanaticism and small mindedness. Wahiduddin Khan’s philosophy and his interpretation are most valuable. Harmony and diversity are his main sutras. I think it is a very valuable mission that he is on in bringing peace to people.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan envisions India as the Spiritual Superpower of the world. Former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam paid tribute to his efforts towards this end. He said:
I have read many of his books. I see him as an embodiment of real spiritual engagement. I have got great respect for him.
