Dear Brother Rashid Shaz
Assalam Alaikum.

I was eagerly awaiting for the first issue of the Journal after reading your letter in 'Zindagi-e-Nau' of August 2004. Congratulations for your initiatives. Indeed such an effective international forum could only be established in cyber space.

I will insha Allah be participating in it as much as possible. I am suggesting to you  two things as part of your endeavor and editorial policy.

a.  Make an effort so that it includes people and not excludes them. Exclusivism combined with arrogance of knowledge leads to disastrous ends.

b. Involve some leading thinkers of Islam, including some of the non-Muslim scholars, to develop a list of issues that should be deliberated in detail and then prioritized.  Your letter of invitation is well written, but more initiatives are needed to engage people  from a wide spectrum of thoughts and ideas.

With best wishes and regards.

Sincerely

Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Ph. D.
Professor, Journalism and Public Relations
Western Illinois University,
Macomb, IL 61455   USA