We named this year “the year of transformative measures”: Ayatollah Ramazani

News News of Secretary General News of Cultural Affairs Department

Thursday, 25 May 2023

The second meeting of the Council of Former Vice-Presidents of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly with the Secretary-General and the directors of the Assembly was held in the meeting hall of the Assembly in Qom.

ABWA Official Website – On Monday, May 25, 2023, the second meeting of the Council of Former Vice-Presidents of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly with the Secretary-General and the directors of the Assembly was held in the meeting hall of the Assembly in Qom.

The meeting was held with the presence of Hojat al-Islam Sayed Mohammad Reza Hosseini, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Mohammad Hossein Raeeszadeh, Hojat al-Islam Vahid Ahmadi, Hojat al-Islam Mohsen Rabbani, Hojat al-Islam Mohammad Hassan Shia, Hojat al-Islam Ali Reza Imani Moghadam, and Mr. Hamidreza Etminan former deputies of the Assembly’s Cultural Affairs.

In this meeting, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani stated, “The main task of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is the activity in the international arena, and we are looking to use all the capacity of the Assembly to improve the level of activities in different fields.”

We pay attention to the feedback on our activities

Emphasizing the need to continue such meetings, he added, “It is important for us to pay attention to getting feedback from the Assembly’s activities. We hold meetings with thinkers in person and virtually to evaluate the current situation, as well as move to reach the desired situation.”

About the plans of the Assembly this year, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “The Supreme Leader of the Revolution has mentioned and emphasized the importance of activity in Africa and Latin America, and before that, we had planned to hold regional summits. Therefore, this year we will hold two summits in Africa and Latin America.”

Referring to the new activities of the Assembly and naming the year 1402 (2023-2024) as “transformational measures”, he added, “In management and in the path of transformation, we have given the young staff the opportunity to work.”

“The General Department of Education is one of the departments established during the new management period”, Ayatollah Ramazani added, “We are very interested in the educational activity and expansion of Shiite education, and we are looking for it to improve the level of education. On the other hand, due to the importance of virtual space in the modern era, we established the General Directorate of Virtual Space in the new era, which has provided good performance so far.”

We must have new perspectives considering new requirements

Referring to the necessity of updating the perspectives, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “Considering the dramatic regional and global developments, we must have new perspectives according to the new requirements.”

“We believe in interaction, and we believe in its necessity. We can do great things with the cooperation of similar institutions in advancing the missions of the Assembly. On the other hand, we have emphasized to all the departments of the Assembly to cooperate and synergize with governmental and non-governmental institutions,” Ayatollah Ramazani stated regarding the necessity of interaction with other international institutions.

Explaining the publishing house of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the Secretary-General said, “Publishing books abroad is a transformational measure, and in this way, the distribution of works becomes easier. Some of the works of the Assembly have been published in third and fourth editions in other countries. Here, I should mention that we have not stopped the translation of works. But we have shifted to authoring works by native authors. Because we have trained the people before, and now we must use their abilities in the destination countries.”

“Among the actions of the publishing house of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is the resumption of publication of some magazines that were closed. The Book Council of the Assembly continues its work in 14 specialized disciplines to optimize its fruit and efficiency. In this regard, we prevented the publication of some works that had some problems,” Ayatollah Ramazani continued.

“Over the next two years, we will finish the incomplete translations,” he emphasized.

Report on the activities of the Department of Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly

In this meeting, the Deputy of the Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly presented a report on the activities of last year and plans for this year.

Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mahdi Farmanian stated, “In the first half of 1401, we were involved in holding the 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, which was held in Shahrivar last year (September 2022). In the second half of the last (Solar Hijri) year, the cultural and international activities of the Assembly continued in the field of refining missionaries and revitalizing local assemblies, and the General Secretary of the Assembly visited India and Pakistan.”

“In the Department for Cultural Affairs, we held meetings to review the translated works of the Assembly, and this year we will hold several meetings in this regard. Last year, we held the Anwar Hedayat (Lights of Guidance) exhibition in which non-governmental organizations participated. On the order of the Secretary General of the Assembly, we formed the Secretariat of Non-Governmental Organizations, and we are going to allocate a place for them in the Assembly building in Qom,” he said about the activities of the Department for Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“This year, the document center and museum will be established in the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly. Also, the “World Shia Atlas” software is being designed,” continued the vice president for Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

Referring to publishing activities, he added, “About the lifestyle of AhlulBayt (a.s.), we will publish a collection of works in fourteen volumes. Also, the works of the Assembly will be printed in other countries. We have 514 incomplete works translated, which will be finished in the next two years. Among the other activities of the Department for Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the Assembly in the past year are the unveiling of the Rahnama Portal, the Naba application in five languages, and the research network about AhlulBayt (a.s.) in the Google Scholar database.”

About the activities of the General Directorate of Education of the Assembly, Dr. Farmanian went on to say, “Last year, the General Directorate of Education of the Assembly held more than 834 training courses in different countries, and equipped seven training centers in other countries.”

Also, about the performance and records of the WikiShia encyclopedia, he said, “WikiShia was operating in 10 languages, which was upgraded to 22. This year we are going to add 6 thousand entries to this virtual encyclopedia. Also, the budget of WikiShia has increased significantly.”

The budget allocation is according to the performance and efficiency of the departments: Qazavi

Further in the meeting, the Deputy for Development, Management, and Resources of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Budget allocation in the Assembly is not done in a traditional way, but based on the performance and efficiency of the departments.”

Hojat al-Islam Sayed Mustafa Qazavi added, “Due to the presence of millions of pilgrims from different countries in Mashhad, we are to establish an office of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in Mashhad to organize programs for the Shiites of the world who come for the pilgrimage.”

“Considering that illiteracy is one of the reasons for the poverty of Shiites, one of the priorities of the programs of 1402 (2023-2024) is face-to-face and virtual education and training programs to raise the level of awareness of Shiites in the world, and this is the responsibility of the General Department of Education of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly,” Qazavi said at the end.

At the beginning of the session, the former Deputies for the Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly emphasized the following points:

Checking the feedback of the effectiveness of the activities, and strengthening the effective departments;

Holding meetings with intellectuals from different regions of the world;

The necessity of pathology, and understanding the needs of the target countries;

The necessity for the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly to work within the framework vision of the Supreme Council of the Assembly;

Prioritizing and grading activities based on the allocated budget;

Efforts to translate Shiite works, especially for the countries that are less paid attention;

The importance of education in virtual space;

Increasing interaction with various international bodies and institutions, to divide work, and avoid duplicate activities;

Compiling a comprehensive work to introduce Shiism to Muslims and even non-Muslims;

Using opportunities such as Hajj and Arbaeen for the education and awareness of Shiites;

The necessity of strengthening magazines, and continuing their publication;

Identifying and strengthening international active centers;

The use of foreign missionaries who live in Iran to publish the AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings in the international media;

Establishing an international publication to publish Shiite works in the world;

Construction of mosques and Islamic centers in some countries;

At the end of the session, the book “Report of the 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly” in four volumes, prepared by the Department of Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the Assembly, was unveiled.

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AhlulBayt (a_s_) World Assembly Ayatollah Ramazani