The managing committee of the Shibli Academy (Darul-Musannafin) Azamgarh, U.P. taking advantage of the presence of some of the eminent religious and literary personages who were present on the occasion, a general meeting was convened on Sunday the 30^th April 1972, under the presidentship of maulana abdul Majid Daryabadi. In a largely attended meeting both by educated Muslims and non-Muslims, this speech was delivered by the chief guest, Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi.

“The contribution of Islam to the cultural heritage of India”, but a number of learned dissertations already exists on the subject and Shibli Academy has itself brought out several publications which contain valuable material on this topic. This is an attractive topic of discourse for any student of Islamic history and I would have also been too glad to express my views on this subject. However, a lot has already been written on it both by Muslims and non-Muslim writers.

The present is undoubtedly more important than the past. The role that Islam can play in the reconstruction of Indian society is now much more significant for the Muslims as well as for the country. We ought to consider, in this select gathering of educated persons, the contribution that the Muslims of this country can make both as Indian and as the custodians of a revealed religion, in the reconstruction of the fast changing society and the evolving cultural pattern of India? Do we have anything in our religion to guide and save the country from the impending danger and to help it achieve an honourable place in the comity of nations? I have not raised these questions out of any chauvinistic boastfulness, nor on account of any superiority complex, which have been unfortunately one of our national weaknesses but in all seriousness and from the practical viewpoint of community to which I belong. My community, I would like to emphasise, is not an offshoot of any fortuitous circumstances, but that it has an ideal, a mission before it. The Muslim community cannot simply live in it own imaginary world; it is its bounded duty to be fully seized with the problems facing the country. It cannot remain unconcerned with its surroundings nor can it afford to cut itself adrift from mainstream of national life. It has to realise that it is boarding one and same boat along with all the other communities and peoples living in this great country

Reconstruction Of Indian Society What Muslims Can Do