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    With Lecture on Literacy, “Cenacles of Gentle Exchanges” Kicks off at ICESCO headquarters

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    The headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) saw the launch of the lecture series, “Cenacles of Gentle Exchanges”, held by ICESCO in cooperation with the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco. The series kicked off with a lecture on the Literacy Programme that the Ministry has been implementing across Morocco since 2000, which benefited tens of thousands of people.


    At the beginning of the lecture, held on Thursday 28 April 2022, a video on the Mosque-Based Literacy Program was screened, which highlighted the royal directives for the Ministry to launch the Program that His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, gave during his address on the 47th Anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People in 2000. The video also addressed the Programme’s significance, outcomes, achievements.

    Following that, one of the Programme’s beneficiaries recited verses from the Holy Quran, before Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), took the floor to reaffirm the significance of the lecture series, which is part of the Celebration of Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022. He added that the series aims to highlight Rabat’s key civilizational and cultural aspects and the glorious and long-standing history of the Kingdom of Morocco in general.

    In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), commended the efforts of the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to support and guarantee women’s education, noting that schools in the Islamic civilization emerged from mosques.

    The DG added that Cenacles of Gentle Exchanges are circles of science and thought concerned with cultural and religious issues, stating that the theme of the first lecture is very significant given the vital role women’s education plays in building and developing societies and achieving sustainable development.

    After that, Ms. Fouzia Benabbad, Head of the Department of Mosque-based Literacy at the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, gave a lecture wherein she reviewed the history and stages of development of the Mosque-based Literacy Programme since its launch in 2000.

    She highlighted the programme’s objectives, which include restoring the educational role of mosques, contributing to job creation for unemployed holders of academic degrees, developing a production chain linked to the programme, and training and qualifying a group specialized in adult literacy with a view to contributing to development.

    She also pointed out that women constitute 90% of the programme’s beneficiaries, which highlights its importance in advancing women’s roles as agents to development, achieving socio-economic integration and raise awareness of the importance of equal opportunities.

    Ms. Benabbad reviewed the programme’s manuals and textbooks, explaining that the programme is overseen by administrative and educational staff in the educational spaces in mosques, institutions and on satellite channels. She also highlighted the programme’s contents and key educational materials, which aim at achieving the basic, functional, informational, cultural, environmental and professional literacy.

    Besides, Ms. Benabbad underlined that the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs launched and implemented the Handwritten Holy Qur’an Project by the programme’s beneficiary women in various mosques of Morocco. The Ministry taught every beneficiary how to write a word from the Qur’an, which has consequently been compiled and published following its revision by the scientific committee at the Ministry.

    Afterwards, the floor was opened for questions and idea sharing, with which Ms. Benabbad interacted.

    At the close of her lecture, Ms. Benabbad presented a copy of the said handwritten Holy Qur’an to ICESCO DG as a gift from the Ministry to the Organization.

    ICESCO Forum of Women Poets launches “20 Moons in the Poetry Sky” Project

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    The ICESCO Women Poets Forum launched its new creative project, “20 Moons in the Poetry Sky,” which will release 20 poetry collections by women poets.

    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), announced the launching of the ICESCO Women Poets Forum in March 2022 during ICESCO’s International Celebration of World Poetry Day, which was held under the theme “Perspectives of Women’s Poetry,” in recognition of women poetry to give them a creative platform.
    The Forum aims to highlight women’s poetry as a fulcrum of Arab culture and support women poets through increasing their participation in international cultural events, publishing their poem collections, and holding poetry seminars and readings.

    ICESCO Women Poets Forum, headed by Ms. Rawda Al-Hajj, continues its creative and introductory program, with three recent poetry sessions held via videoconference. The first session was moderated by Ms. Salwa Rabhi from Tunisia and featured the Libyan poet, Dr. Umm Al-Khair Al-Barouni; the second session was overseen by poet Soumaya Al-Yacoubi from Tunisia and hosted three poets, namely Ameni Zaibi from Tunisia, Amani Amine and Ameera Tawheed from Egypt. For the third session, it was moderated by Sumaya Wadi from Palestine and featured two poets, Asmaa Talaat from Egypt and Ameera Nader from Syria.

    Discussing Arrangements for Holding 2nd International Conference on Combating Terrorism and Extremism, at ICESCO Headquarters

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    The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Moroccan Observatory on Extremism and Violence held a meeting to discuss a number of ideas and proposals related to the arrangements for organizing the Second International Conference on Combating Terrorism and Violent Extremism, under the theme “Collective Intelligence in Combating Terrorism and Building Strategies to Combat Violent Extremism and Prevention”.

    The meeting, held on Monday, April 25, 2022, at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, explored a number of ideas and proposals related to the preparation for the conference, to be held on 8-10 June 2022. The two sides agreed that ICESCO will host the conference at its headquarters.

    The meeting brought together Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director-General, Ambassador Khaled Fathrahman, Director of ICESCO Center of Civilizational Dialogue, and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards at ICESCO, as well as Dr. Mostafa El-Rezrazi, President of the Moroccan Observatory on Extremism and Violence.

    Today, Launch of Cenacles of Gentle Exchange Lecture Series at ICESCO headquarters

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    The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in the Kingdom of Morocco, will launch today, Thursday, April 28th, 2022, the lecture series, “Cenacles of Gentle Exchanges”. Seeking to highlight the modern and ancient civilzational and historical aspects of Rabat, the series is part of the Celebration of Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022.

    The first lecture will kick off at 2:00 p.m UTC, at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, which will be presented by Ms. Fouzia Ben Abbad, Head of the Department of Mosque-based Literacy at the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. The lecture will discuss the topic of the role of mosques in women’s literacy.

    The lecture series will span over the period of two months and aims to highlight the civilizational and cultural depository of Rabat and the glorious history of the Kingdom of Morocco. These include historical mosques, patterns in manuscripts, ashama’il books, Moroccan endowments in the Two Holy Mosques, Moroccan monarchs’ special attention to the Holy Quran and Sahih Al-Bukhari, and other issues that cast light in civilizational aspects of the Kingdom.

    ICESCO Director-General Receives Vietnamese Ambassador in Rabat

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    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Ms. Dang Thi Thu Ha, Ambassador of Vietnam to the Kingdom of Morocco, and together they discussed cooperation prospects between the Organization and the Republic, particularly in the field of Arabic language teaching.

    During the meeting, held on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik reviewed the main thrusts of ICESCO’s vision and its strategic orientations. He also reviewed the major programmes and activities that the Organization is implementing in cooperation with the competent authorities in the Member States, notably in relation to building the capacities of youth and women, anchoring peace and civilizational dialogue, teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, encouraging investment in space sciences, inscribing and preserving cultural heritage, and contribute to ensuring quality education for all.

    ICESCO DG reaffirmed the Organization’s openness to all to establish partnerships and build cooperation that will benefit its Member States and Muslim communities around the world. He added that ICESCO enables non-Member States to join the Organization as observers for further cooperation with the Islamic world in the fields of education, science and culture, noting that various countries will soon join the Organization upon fulfillment of ICESCO’s accession requirements.

    For her part, the Vietnamese Ambassador commended ICESCO’s roles in its areas of competence, underscoring her country’s keenness to build fruitful cooperation with the Organization, particularly in teaching the Arabic language. She indicated that a wide number of people are currently learning the Arabic language in Vietnam, notably at the University of Hanoi and another Vietnamese university in another city.

    The meeting touched upon several cooperation proposals, namely training Arabic language teachers, the potential establishment of an ICESCO center for Arabic in Vietnam, concluding a cooperation agreement in this field, and organizing a cultural day or week in Rabat to promote the Vietnamese culture as part of the celebration of Rabat as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022.

    ICESCO Women Poets Forum Holds its First Activities with Participation of 200 Women Poets

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    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), announced the launching of the ICESCO Women Poets Forum in March 2022 during ICESCO’s International Celebration in observance of the World Poetry Day, held its first activities by presenting the experiences of three women poets from Syria and Iraq.

    ICESCO Women Poets Forum, headed by Ms. Rawda Al-Hajj, aims to introduce women poets and their biographies and creative productions, connect the generations of women poets, shed light on various experiences, establish linkages and promote exchange between women poets from different Muslim countries. The Forum’s activities include the presentation of the experiences of three women poets. The first meeting, held via videoconference, featured the experiences of the poet Ibaa Al-Khatib and the poet Israa Abdel Karim, from the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as the poet Israa Akrawi, from the Republic of Iraq. The meeting was moderated by the poet Dr. Khadija Al-Saidi, from the Kingdom of Morocco.

    The Forum, which is a new comprehensive and literary space for creativity, currently includes more than 200 women poets. It endeavors to attract the largest number of women poets from the Islamic world through membership forms. It is also preparing the first volume of its quarterly journal “Shawa’ir” and twenty poem collections. The first conference of the ICESCO Women Poets Forum, which will bear the name of one of the leading women poets, will be organized in one of the ICESCO Member States.

    The launch of this Forum marked the close of ICESCO Year for Women 2021 stressing the Organization’s sustained support for women in all fields. ICESCO Year for Women witnessed the implementation of a large number of programmes, activities and competitions, including the ICESCO Prize for Women’s Poetry: “Poem of the Year of Women 2021,” which was awarded to three women poets from Egypt, The Sudan and Yemen, and the publication of a poetry collection that includes the most prominent poems participating in the competition under the title: “Women’s Poetry Shining in Darkness (Hina Asrajna adayajira shi’ran).”

    Inauguration of “Lahadat” Project as part of the Activities of the Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World

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    The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the inaugural ceremony of the “Lahadat” Project, which is supervised by the National Organization for Urban Coordination in the Arab Republic of Egypt, under the patronage of Dr. Inès Abdel Daim, Egyptian Minister of Culture, as part of Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World, and in observance of the World Heritage Day.

    “Lahadat” is the fourth project launched by the National Organization for Urban Coordination, headed by Eng. Mohamed Abu Saada, as part of the series on the city’s memory to define and document the Egyptian cities, within the framework of the initiative “Our heritage is our identity, let us safeguard it together.”

    It documents the landmarks of heritage cities, the course of the Nile and the ponds that resulted from the river’s floods, and the impact of these ponds on the method of construction with hard stone and buildings in Egyptian architecture.
    The ceremony screened a documentary on the architectural spaces of Al-Ratli Pond, which used to exist in the center of the current city of Cairo. Eng. Abu Saada explained that the National Organization for Urban Coordination launched this project as part of the activities of the Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, noting that the project has a special website to introduce the history of this site and how it turned from a water pond to its current form.

    At the end of the ceremony, the National Organization for Urban Coordination honored three heritage figures for the year 2022, namely Dr. Muhammad Al-Kahlawi, Professor of Archeology and Islamic Architecture at Cairo University, President of the Union of Arab Archaeologists; Dr. Alaa Al-Habashi, Professor of Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Founder of Bait Yakun for the Preservation of Architectural and Urban Heritage in Historic Cairo and Heritage Crafts; and Dr. Jamal Al Shaer, Writer and Media Figure interested in heritage affairs.

    Dr. Sally Mabrouk, Head of the Office of ICESCO Director-General, represented the Organization in this ceremony, which brought together several officials, architects, university architecture students and those interested in urban heritage in Egypt.

    The Conclusion of ICESCO Training Workshop for Women in Income-generating Activities in Togo

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    The workshop on “Training Women in Income-generating Activities: Processing Agricultural Products and Forest Fruits,” held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with Togolese National Commission for ICESCO, concluded its activities. The aim of the training workshop is to involve women in the field of entrepreneurship and environmental preservation.

    During the last day of the four-day workshop, the participants visited processing units of grain and fruit in Lome to learn about the importance of quality control of raw material before storage, the conditions for storing products, the need to respect the stages of the product processing chain and to comply with hygiene and sanitation standards throughout the transformation process, as well as regular cleaning of materials and equipment, packaging of products, gaining customer loyalty and developing marketing strategy through relying on means of communication and technology.

    The workshop beneficiaries commended ICESCO’s efforts in promoting human development in the Islamic world and providing opportunities for women and young people in the field of entrepreneurship, capacity-building and environmental preservation. The participants also called for joining efforts to increase the number of programmes and training sessions in this field.

    ICESCO Headquarters Hosts Major International Celebration Launching “International Day of Mercy” Initiative

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    The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Muslim World League (MWL), and the Mohammedia League of Scholars held a major international celebration to launch the “International Day of Mercy” initiative at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, and via video videoconference, on Thursday, April 21, 2022.

    The celebration, which witnessed the attendance of high-level participants, began with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by introductory remarks by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General (DG) of ICESCO, in which he indicated that this initiative was recommended in the declaration of the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah, held by ICESCO in cooperation with MWL and the Mohammedia League of Scholars in May 27, 2021, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him.

    Participants in this conference urged the incorporation of the system of civilizational values into the international action mechanisms in the fields of education, culture, environment and public-interest issues, and called on the international community and bodies, as well as all peace-loving people, to proclaim the 21st of April as the International Day of Mercy.


    He added that ICESCO submitted this initiative to the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held last March in Islamabad, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which issued a decision to adopt the initiative and called for its implementation in the rest of the international community.


    Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, DG of ICESCO, began his address by noting that mercy is a divine matter that is embedded in all divine religions. “The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) scattered mercy upon the world like rain drops upon arid lands” added ICESCO DG.


    He pointed out that the Organization has proudly taken the initiative to proclaim 21st of April as the International Day of Mercy, an endeavor that has come to fruition thanks to the joint efforts between ICESCO, MWL and the Mohammedia League of Scholars, to disseminate values of tolerance, concord and compassion.

    In conclusion of his address, ICESCO DG called on all people to ponder upon the signification that the International Day of Mercy bears, and to cultivate mercy in younger generations, before reciting a poem entitled “The Gifted Mercy” that he composed in praise of the Prophet (PBUH).

    In a video-recorded address, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Secretary-General of MWL, underlined that this initiative deserves our utmost praise and appreciation as it stems from our constant need for more mercy among people of all races and religions.


    He pointed out that before being a human emotion that sparks a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress, mercy is a divine attribute and command that has been glorified by the wise and the moralists. Dr. Al-Issa noted that MWL’s Charter of Makkah, that is grounded upon mercy, among other principles of Islam, is a historical document bearing messages of awareness and enlightened Islamic thought.


    For his part, Dr. Ahmed Abbadi, Secretary-General of the Mohammedia League of Scholars, emphasized that this is an exceptional celebration that translates the thought-out initiative to proclaim the 21st of April as the International Day of Mercy, following a recommendation by the participants in the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah.

    He added that mercy is a value and an outcome at the same time that is entrenched in the Prophet’s message, noting that mercy is a multi-dimensional system that follows a certain pattern and ultimately seeks Allah’s satisfaction.

    His address was followed by the screening of a video summarizing the proceedings of the International Conference on the Civilizational Values in the Prophet’s Seerah, another ICESCO video on the Prophet’s lineage, and then a discussion.

    ICESCO Delegation Visits Royal Archives in Rabat

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    Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Mr. Najib Ghiati, Cultural Adviser to ICESCO Director-General and General Coordinator of the Celebration of Rabat, Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, made a working visit to the Royal Archives in Rabat, where they met Dr. Bahija Simo, Director-General of the Royal Archives. The two parties discussed the Archives’ contribution to the general programme of the Celebration of Rabat, Culture Capital in the Islamic world, which being held under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah protect him.

    During the meeting, held on Thursday (April 21, 2022), Dr. Bahija Simo stressed the willingness of the Royal Archives to contribute to Rabat Celebration by organizing an exhibition on “Masterpieces of Moroccan Writing through Rare and Unpublished Manuscripts”, at ICESCO headquarters, in October 2022, and a lecture on “Historical Examples of Texts of Allegiance to the Commandment of the Faithful in Morocco: From Moulay Idris to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah protect him”, on June 9, 2022, at ICESCO headquarters, as part of its program “Assemblies of Mubasatat” which includes a series of lectures on civilizational and cultural history of the Kingdom of Morocco.