The Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at Qatar University College of Arts and Sciences have signed a collaborative agreement with Qur’anic Botanic Garden, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) to promote research in Qatar.
The agreement was signed by CHSS director Dr Kaltham al-Ghanim and Qur’anic Botanic Garden director Fatima bint Saleh al-Kholifi in the presence of CHSS faculty and researchers.
The terms of the agreement include collaboration on the exchange of technical, advisory, and training services and exhibitions to enhance the knowledge about the centres’ common themes. They also include the participation of students from QU and Hamad Bin Khalifa University in joint research projects.
Other areas of collaboration include the organisation of joint seminars and workshops, and joint publications on plants and their heritage. Both parties will also organise next October a joint conference on local medicinal plants and plants mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Dr al-Ghanim said, “CHSS presented two scenarios for joint research with the Qur’anic Botanic Garden, which can be implemented as follows: First, the linguistic control of plant names in Arabic and Latin characters; second, prophetic medicine in the light of medical sources in the ancient East: a thorough study.”
She also noted that CHSS faculty members and researchers participated in training courses provided by Qur’anic Botanical Garden, and that they recorded several episodes of Ramadan for food in Islam in co-operation with Qur’anic Botanical Garden.
Al-Kholifi said, “The Qur’anic Botanical Garden is part of the development sector of QF. Therefore, one of our tasks is to build bridges of co-operation with other institutions within Qatar, which have common interests. Our interest in the plants mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah as well as the Flora of Qatar, is in line with the concerns of the Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences.”
