Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, participated in the 11th meeting of GCC Islamic affairs ministers held in Kuwait Monday.
The Qatari delegation participating in the meeting was headed by HE the Minister of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs Ghanem bin Shaheen bin Ghanem al-Ghanem.
The delegation included HE the Undersecretary of the ministry Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanem al-Thani; Assistant Undersecretary for Islamic Affairs Khalid bin Shaheen al-Ghanem; Director General of the General Administration of Endowments (Awqaf) engineer Hassan bin Abdullah al-Marzouqi, and Director of the Islamic Affairs Department Mohammed bin Jabr al-Mannai.
Kuwait’s Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim al-Wasmi, said that these blessed fraternal meetings embody the visions and directives of the leaders of the GCC states, towards strengthening unity, integration, and rapprochement among member states in various fields.
During the sessions, the ministers adopted a number of issues and topics of common interest, most notably: the exchange of scientific research and experiences in the field of endowments (Awqaf) among member states through interactive seminars via videoconferencing technology, in addition to presenting distinguished experiences in the field of Islamic affairs, and the organisation of the GCC Endowment Week and the GCC Week for the Protection of Religious and Moral Values of the Family.
The ministers also decided to establish standards and controls for the success of imams in their social role, prepare an intellectual security charter for mosque imams and regulatory indicators, and adopt technical guidelines for the construction and development of mosques, as well as a GCC vision for rationalising electricity consumption in mosques.
The ministers emphasised the importance of employing artificial intelligence in the fields of Islamic affairs, advocacy, and guidance.
They discussed a working paper on the risks of energy attraction, established a GCC scientific observatory to highlight the true image of Islam’s tolerance, and explored a shared vision for historic mosques.
It was also decided to develop a national index to measure the impact of endowments on society and to hold a GCC competition to raise awareness of endowments, charitable work, and volunteering.
The ministers also discussed mechanisms for developing joint action and integrating advocacy and guidance efforts, and exchanging best practices in consolidating the values of moderation, tolerance and strengthening community partnerships in serving Islamic and humanitarian causes.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Dr al-Wasmi honoured the members of the Permanent Committee working to study the proposals.
He also honoured Qatar’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs HE Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanem al-Thani, and Director of the Islamic Affairs Department Mohammed bin Jabr al-Mannai.
