Category: Director General

Today morning, in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei Darussalam, the Majlis Ilmu Conference kicked off under the presidency of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, with the participation of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), as the guest of honor. The Conference was also attended by Government members and officials in Brunei, the ambassadors accredited to the Sultanate, and a large number of academic and cultural figures from the Islamic world and beyond.

In his opening address to the Conference, His Majesty Sultan Bolkiah welcomed the participants from various countries and stressed the importance of unity and determination in supporting cultural projects in the country and publicize the civilizational heritage of Brunei.

During the opening session, Dr. AlMalik congratulated Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for holding this Confence and reiterated his thanks to His majesty for his invitation and his keeness to hold this event concurrently with ISESCO Programme of the Celebration of Bandar Seri Begawan as the Asian region’s Islamic Culture Capital for 2019.  He also stressed ISESCO’s willingness to contribute to the action aiming to publicize this event and support the educational, scientific and cultural initiatives of His Majesty.

This year’s session of this annual conference is marked by the inauguration of the National Manuscript Exhibition, which dispalys significant historical manuscripts and documents of Brunei, including precious and rare manuscripts from the Sultan’s treasury. The participation of ISESCO Director General in this conference is part of his current visit to the Sultanate of Brunei, the first among his scheduled visits to ISESCO Member States, initiated by his meeting with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in ‘Istana Nurul Iman’.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, today morning in his office, received Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

During this meeting, the two parties discussed ways to promote cooperation relations between the competent parties in Nigeria and ISESCO in areas of common interest, particularly climate change, education, and emerging technologies.

On this occasion, Dr. Abubakar congratulated Dr. AlMalik on the success and the achievement of the objectives of the 8^th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers. He also expressed his interest in and support to ISESCO’s new programmes and vision, including the Waqf project under development.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ISESCO Director General, today in his office, received the Chairman of ISESCO Executive Council, Dr. Boubakar Doukouré. The two parties discussed the ongoing preparations for holding the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which will kickoff this Wednesday at ISESCO headquarters, and the 40^th session of the Executive Council, to be held in Abu Dhabi, State of the United Arab Emirates, in January 2020.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. Almalik, today morning in his office, received the Director General of Ankara-based Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre (SESRIC), Dr. Nebil Dabur.

During this meeting, the two parties explored ways to promote cooperation and expand its prospects in the areas of common interest.

For the record, the Joint Committee of ISESCO and SESRIC holds a meeting today at ISESCO headquarters to explore ways to promote cooperation between the two institutions over the period 2020-2022 and discuss the progress report on the fields of cooperation.

It is worth mentioning that the Centre, an OIC subsidiary organ, was established in 1977 and started operating in June 1978 in Ankara, Republic of Turkey. Among the key missions of SESRIC are collating, processing and disseminating socio-economic statistics and information; studying and evaluating the economic and social developments in the member countries to help generate proposals that will initiate and enhance co-operation among them; and organizing training programmes in selected fields geared to the needs of the member countries as well as to the general objectives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, today in his office, received Mr. Hamid Asghar Khan, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan accredited to the Kingdom of Morocco.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the outstanding cooperation relations between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and ISESCO and explored a number of issues of common interest as part of ISESCO’s areas of competence and Three-Year Action Plan for 2019-2021.

At the invitation of Dr. Habib El-Malki, President of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, President of the current session of the Parliamentary Union of OIC Member States (PUIC), Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, participated in a communication meeting held today morning at the headquarters of the Moroccan House of Representatives headquarters in Rabat. The meeting was attended by the ambassadors of Islamic countries accredited to the Kingdom of Morocco to notify on the proposed initiative to establish a world day on combating Islamophobia.

On this occasion, the Dr. El- Malki (PUIC) delivered an address, in which he highlighted that the initiative embodies the endeavours of Islamic parliaments to contribute to raising awareness of the dangers of Islamophobia and its contradiction with the values of peace, coexistence, and intercultural dialogue and that it comes in the context of defending Islamic peoples and communities and minorities in non-Islamic countries.

Dr. El-Malki lauded the positive and proactive response of ISESCO Director General, thanking him for his positive interaction with the idea.

Afterwards, ISESCO Director General delivered an address in which he stressed that the topic of the meeting is at the forefront of ISESCO’s interests to which it has paid great importance and attached special attention to in its educational, cultural, and communication programs and activities since 2007. It also pays special attention to addressing Islamophobia and stereotypes against Islam and Muslims in the Western media from a professional media and legal perspective.

In this context, ISESCO has worked toward ensuring the professional treatment of stereotypes against Islam and Muslims in the media, drawing on the document entitled “Curriculum for Training Journalists to Address Stereotypes of Islam and Muslims in the Western Media”.

Dr. AlMalik pointed out that ISESCO continues to implement an action program in European capitals, which aims at raising awareness of the need to strike a balance between freedom of expression and respect for religious sanctities, and coordinating with intergovernmental and civil society organizations, and urging them to activate charters, covenants and agreements, declarations and resolutions, and national and international laws,  that clearly draw the line between the freedom of opinion and expression, and the various forms of defamation of religions perpetrated by media outlets under the guise of freedom of opinion and expression.

 “Islamophobia is against the movement of history, against international law, and against the will of the world’s sages. It is a serious issue that threatens global peace and security, as it goes beyond the private sphere which includes Islam and Muslims in general, to the public sphere that covers the world and humanity as a whole. The defamation of Islam and the declaration of intellectual and religious war against it would have a negative impact on all religions and their followers”, he added.

In conclusion, ISESCO Director General stressed that those who direct and instigate Islamophobia are anti-peace groups and human rights offenders, who go against the international consensus on universal values shared between nations and peoples, and stand in the face of the human march to promote dialogue between cultures and alliance of civilizations, and dissemination of the values of tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect among all human beings.

Later, Dr. Salem Al-Malik presented Dr. El-Malki with some of ISESCO’s publications on Islamophobia and ways to address and eliminate it.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim Mohammed AlMalik, received, yesterday in his office, Mr. Darm Boontham, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand in the Kingdom of Morocco, and explored with him the cooperation relations between ISESCO and the competent parties in the Thai government in areas of common interest, including the development of teaching methods of Islamic sciences and Arabic language for non-Arabic speakers for Muslims in Thailand and neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and other countries.

For his part, the Ambassador expressed his interest in ISESCO’s programmes and new vision, including the development Waqf (endowment) fund of the Organization, whose structure and management board are being formed, and which will be operational by early 2020.

It is important to note that the Kingdom of Thailand is an Observer Member of ISESCO.

The Director General of the Islamic, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, announced an array of major projects that aim to upgrade working methods and improve the professional, financial and social situations of staff members, in a meeting he held today afternoon with the officials and staff members at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat.

In this regard, ISESCO Director General stated that these projects are part of his new vision to raise the standing of ISESCO and ensure a privileged position for the Organization at Islamic and international levels, in such a way as to fully discharge its civilizational mission and consolidate the outstanding achievements it made in favor of joint Islamic action. He also reaffirmed that these projects would be submitted to the 40^th Executive Council, due to be held end of January 2020, in the State of the United Arab Emirates.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik highlighted the most important new working mechanisms, namely the amendments made to ISESCO’s Charter and internal regulations using an accurate legal language; the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference and the Executive Council, respectively; the revision of Organizational Structure; and the amendments introduced to the Staff Regulations by closing its loopholes in order to improve staff’s financial, professional and social situations. The projects also seek to develop ISESCO’s Midium-Term Strategy in view of keeping pace with the successive mutations in education, science, culture, communication, and catering for Member States’ needs; open ISESCO’s office at UNESCO in Paris, and upgrade the Organization’s website to allow for the publicizing of ISESCO’s projects, programmes, achievements and publications at a larger scale.

In the same vein, Mr. Najib Rhiati, Director of Culture, delivered a detailed presentation on the main amendments regarding the allowances granted to staff members and the leave and promotion systems, stating that these amendments are unprecedented in the Organization’s history and constitute a comprehensive reform that will allow all staff members, regardless of their ranks and responsibilities, to enjoy more rights within a transparency and justice framework which is conducive to productivity, innovation and excellent performance.

Afterwards, many staff members put forward suggestions and opinions and inquired about the announced projects. It was also reaffirmed that these reform initiatives are of paramount importance and usher the Organization in a new stage of its history on the marked by justice, equity and promotion of diligence, productivity, development and creativity.