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Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Shahabudeen Adam Shah, Ambassador of Malaysia to Morocco, and Dr. Mohd Farid Ravi, President of Selangor Islamic University (UIS). The meeting discussed ways to develop cooperation between ICESCO and Malaysia in the fields of education, science and culture, and tackled the proposal to establish ICESCO’s center for teaching Arabic language at the University’s headquarters.

At the outset of the meeting, held on Thursday (24 October 2024), at ICESCO headquarters, in Rabat, Dr. Al-Malik affirmed that the Organization, as part of its new vision and strategic orientations, is open to cooperation with all parties to benefit its Member States and Muslim communities around the world, expressing his aspiration to enhance cooperation with Malaysia.

He also reviewed ICESCO’s programs and projects on building women and youth capacities, promoting the values of coexistence, peace and civilizational dialogue, encouraging investment in technology, innovation, artificial intelligence and space science, disseminating the foresight culture, and promoting the status of Arabic language globally.

For his part, the Malaysian Ambassador commended ICESCO’s roles in contributing to the advancement of its areas of competence in the Islamic world, and invited Dr. Al-Malik to pay an official visit to Malaysia to meet the country’s senior officials and discuss developing cooperation in areas of common interest; an invitation that ICESCO Director General welcomed and affirmed that he would respond to it at the earliest convenience.

Dr. Ravi expressed his thanks to ICESCO for its continuous cooperation with UIS, reviewing the major areas of cooperation between the two parties, particularly in teaching Arabic language and harnessing the latest digital applications in this field, highlighting the training sessions organized by ICESCO Educational Center in Malaysia, in cooperation with UIS, for the benefit of hundreds of Arabic language teachers.

Moreover, the meeting tackled a number of proposals for future cooperation between ICESCO and the University, including the establishment of ICESCO’s center for teaching Arabic language at the University’s headquarters, and the provision of a number of scholarships by the Organization for Malaysian students in a number of prestigious universities in the Islamic world.

After the meeting, Dr. Al-Malik took Ambassador Adam Shah, Dr. Ravi and the accompanying delegation on a tour of the International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, which is currently housed at ICESCO’s headquarters.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Government Relations in Sharjah, State of the United Arab Emirates, and together they discussed ways to promote cooperation between ICESCO and Sharjah in areas of common interest.

At the beginning of the meeting, held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik reiterated his thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, for his sustained support to ICESCO’s efforts as well as to its Regional Office in Sharjah, whose new headquarters will be inaugurated soon to serve as a house of knowledge, thought and culture.

For his part, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi conveyed the greetings of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah to ICESCO DG, stressing that this visit to ICESCO headquarters is made based on His Highness’s directives to ensure the promotion of the Emirate’s cooperation relations with ICESCO through the implementation of a number of initiatives and programs that bring together ICESCO’s vision and Sharjah’s strategy in the fields of education, science and culture.

In addition, the DG highlighted the key axes of ICESCO’s new vision and strategic orientations, through which the Organization seeks to become a global beacon of civilizational and knowledge outreach within its areas of competence. He added that ICESCO adopts openness to the Member States to take stock of their priorities and needs to design projects and programs tailored to each country.

Following the bilateral meeting, Dr. AlMalik and Sheikh Al Qasimi attended an extended meeting with ICESCO officials including Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy DG, and several heads of sectors, departments and centers. The ICESCO officials put forth proposals for cooperation programs between ICESCO and Sharjah for the upcoming period.

Afterwards, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi held a series of meetings with heads of ICESCO’s sectors and centers, where he was briefed about each sector and center’s action strategy, major initiatives, programs and activities implemented, and prospects of cooperation between ICESCO and Sharjah regarding some of these initiatives and programs.

At the end of the visit, the Chairman took a tour of the various sections and pavilions of the International Museum and Exhibition of the Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, currently housed at ICESCO, which is the outcome of a trilateral partnership among ICESCO, the Muslim World League and the Mohammadia League of Scholars.

The participants of the International Seminar: “Civilizational Insights in the Thought of Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi”, organized by the Islamic World Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ICESCO), commended the choice of this theme to highlight the rich legacy of this great writer and philosopher and his advocacy of the values of dialogue, debate and tolerance, and emphasized the importance of revisiting the civilizational dimensions in Al-Tawhidi’s thought. As several of his works provide a theoretical framework for dialogue between individuals, communities and cultures, his thought can be instrumental today in addressing the root causes of cultural conflict.

The seminar, which was held at the ICESCO headquarters in Rabat and was attended by high-level participants, began on Monday, October 21, 2024, with some verses from the Holy Quran. Then Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Director of the ICESCO Center for Civilizational Dialogue, gave a general introduction in which he presented the most remarkable philosophical and critical features of the thought of Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi and his famous works.

In his opening speech, Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), affirmed that the celebration by every nation of its great scholars is an obligation dictated by a sense of loyalty, responsibility, and pride, pointing out that Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi deserves this tribute and recognition for what he has done in restoring the thought of nations and civilizations, a thing that has earned him to be at the forefront of those who call for upholding multiculturalism, which confirms the pioneering call of Islamic thought for the rejection of bigotry and racism.

He then reviewed the most prominent thoughts and sayings of Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, who founded wise convictions based on his belief that man is the problem and the solution at the same time. Dr. AlMalik also pointed out that al-Tawhidi called for the avoidance of comparing nations in incomparable things and established the concept of adapting to the environment, drawing attention to the need to make renewal a vital method.

Praising al-Tawhidi’s book “Enjoyment and Sociability” for its emphasis on human partnership in building civilization and for being a reference for all advocates of dialogue among cultures and civilizations, ICESCO Director General concluded his speech by saying that the Organization’s celebration of al-Tawhidi is part of its commitment to linking the past with the future in such a way as to avoid fanatical attachment to the past and embracing the future to the detriment of inherited foundations and legacies.

The first session of the seminar, moderated by Dr. Saber Moulay Ahmed, a Moroccan writer and researcher, featured rich working papers and discussions by a number of researchers from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Italy. The papers all agreed that al-Tawhidi was at the forefront of touching on the relationship with the other, excelled in mixing philosophy and literature, and was a pioneer of modernity. His thought also contributed to understanding the deeper meanings of human differences.

The second session, moderated by Dr. Mohammed Al-Masaoudi, professor at the Faculty of Humanities of the Mohammed V University in Rabat, featured presentations by a number of researchers and academics on the dialogue of civilizations in al-Tawhidi’s thought and the humanistic tendency in his Sufism, as highlighted in his art of debate and his encyclopedic thought, which showed the central place of humanism in his thought, as he focused on the spiritual dimension of the human being in his book “The Divine Signs”.

Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received the third cohort of young interns from Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk) in Saudi Arabia, on Friday (18 October 2024), at the Organization headquarters, in Rabat. The interns spend a 10-week professional training at ICESCO’s departments, sectors and centers, within the framework of cooperation and partnership between ICESCO and the Foundation, in coordination with the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.

During the meeting, Dr. Al-Malik commended the outstanding cooperation between ICESCO and Misk Foundation, which has provided opportunities for young talents from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to receive professional training at ICESCO, and lauded Saudi Arabia’s continuous support for the Organization through the joint implementation of a number of initiatives, programs and activities, the Kingdom’s hosting and sponsorship of a number of ICESCO’s conferences, and the warm welcome shown to ICESCO delegations to participate in several events in Saudi Arabia.

ICESCO DG stressed that the training provided to Misk Foundation’s interns is part of the modernization of ICESCO and its strategic vision, and the great importance it attaches to building the capacities of youth, enhancing their skills, equipping them for tomorrow’s professions, and learning how to benefit from the technological revolution and modern technologies to achieve their goals.

ICESCO DG also gave several tips to the interns to succeed in their professional lives, emphasizing the need to set their goals, work diligently and perseveringly to achieve these goals, demonstrate steadfastness towards difficulties and crises, always seek knowledge, be creative and innovative, and use modern technologies to bring positive change to their societies.

The meeting saw an open discussion between the ICESCO DG and the young interns about the roles of the Organization, its working mechanisms and ways to benefit from training in its various sectors, departments and centers.

Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), stressed that the current global challenges necessitate rethinking the way to strengthen the human rights system, given the failure to enforce these rights effectively and the recurrent flagrant violations of ratified international laws and treaties, especially during armed conflicts, including war crimes, forced displacement and attacks on civilians, which undermine the international system aimed at protecting human rights.

This statement was made in the video address he delivered on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at the opening session of the 10th Glion Human Rights Dialogue, organized by the Ministerial Delegation in charge of Human Rights, the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights and the Global Rights Group, with the support of ICESCO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in Marrakech over two days.

He also highlighted the pivotal role of international cooperation in improving the efficiency of the UN human rights system, stressing the importance of national mechanisms in translating international instruments into tangible reality at the local level in such a way as to transform international commitments to human rights into concrete policies and programs that promote human dignity and protect human rights.

Moreover, ICESCO DG reviewed the Organization’s initiatives and programs to support the efforts of its Member States in promoting inherent rights, including the right to education, cultural, health and digital rights, developing sustainable environmental policies, ensuring women’s rights, as well as issuing the Charter on Artificial Intelligence for the Islamic World, which includes upholding rights and enriching human values emanating from our noble religion.

Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Director of ICESCO’s Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards, participated in the discussion session on National Implementation, Reporting and Tracking Mechanisms – Key Characteristics, Best Practices and Challenges: Participation/consultation with judicial authorities, civil society, national human rights institutions, UN groups, and local governments.