Doha: The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, represented by the Department of Da’wa and Religious Guidance, recently held a symposium under the theme “Contemporary Islamic Issues” to discuss the activation of the roles of imams and preachers in social reform in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
The symposium which comes within the framework of the ministry’s keenness to keep up institutional development and upgrade the efficiency of its cadres attracted a lot of Qatari preachers and imams from within and outside the ministry.
During the discussions, Islamic scholar and preacher Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Awadi and the ministry’s Expert on Islamic Affairs Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Al Ferjani reviewed the challenges facing the Islamic Ummah and submitted proposals for activating the roles played by preachers and imams in social reform through a good understanding of the context and the nature of receivers and their mechanisms of thinking, particularly amid the age of globalization and the accelerating growth in modern technologies and social media platforms.
The speakers also noted that preachers and imams are required to understand the new reality dominating the whole world and impacting its culture as well as working on confronting the behavioral, psychological, ideological and cultural challenges according to a moderate understanding of Islam.
In addition to the excellent religious knowledge, preachers also need to develop their knowledge in languages, discourse styles, mechanisms of debate and concepts of the modern day, affirmed the lecturers, highlighting the need for enhancing da’wa on social media and other Islamic websites based on a balanced religious discourse.
In collaboration with the ministry’s Masjid (Mosque) Management, the Department of Da’wa and Religious Guidance holds year-round training courses and awareness programs for Qatari and resident preachers according to a well-designed strategy based on the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The 2030 Vision seeks to develop a just and safe society based on morals and social welfare to enable it to further interact with other societies and play an effective role in international partnerships for development.
