Category: News

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful,

“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’ Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.”

With complete submission to the Divine Decree and Will of Allah, the staff of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) extends its most heartfelt condolences to H.E. Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, on the profound loss of his gracious mother, who passed away on Monday 20 January 2025, leaving behind a remarkable reputation and a legacy held in the highest esteem.

The ICESCO family, deeply saddened by this loss, prays to Allah the Almighty, to accept the departed soul into His mercy and grace, grant her the highest gardens of Paradise, and bestow upon her family patience and solace.

“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”

Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), took part in a cultural symposium held on the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing of Royal Advisor and Dean of Moroccan Literature, Dr. Abbès Jirari, organized by the Jirari Club, in partnership with the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco on Friday, January 17, 2025, at the Library’s headquarters in Rabat, in the presence of a number of literary and intellectual figures.

In his address at the Symposium, Dr. Benarafa highlighted the close relationship between Dr. Jirari and the Organization, and his selection as the first lecturer in the “ICESCO Cultural Forum”, held on October 22, 2019. The lecture discussed the “Future Cultural Challenges in the Islamic World”, whose contents were later published in an ICESCO book bearing the same title, the first in the series of books of the Forum’s meetings.

Dr. Benarafa also referred to the tribute paid to the late scholar and thinker by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, who presented him with a certificate of excellence and the Organization’s Shield, on December 10, 2019, in recognition of his efforts to enrich Arabic literature.

The Deputy Director-General recalled the great appreciation Dr. Jirari had for ICESCO’s efforts, and his keenness to follow up on the developments that the Organization has witnessed in recent years, as manifested by its initiatives and programs, praising the great Moroccan thinker’s contributions to academia, thought, culture, literature and human heritage.

As part of their efforts to promote the global presence of the Arabic language, and within the framework of their signed cooperation agreement to build educational and linguistic capacities among teachers and learners in several non-Arabic-speaking countries, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation launched the “Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers Curriculum Support Project” in the Republic of Mauritius, in cooperation with the Blue Crescent Society of Mauritius.

Held on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the University of Mauritius in Port Louis, the project launch ceremony was attended by a number of ministers, senior officials, members of the Mauritian Parliament, ICESCO Director-General, the Director-General of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, the Secretary-General of the Blue Crescent Society, in addition to a host of experts and specialists in Arabic language education.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Mahend Gungapersad, Minister of Education and Human Resources of Mauritius, reaffirmed his country’s keenness to support Arabic learners, commending the efforts of ICESCO, its Director-General, and the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation in this field, including this pioneering project officially launched today.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Government of Mauritius for the keen attention it accords to promoting linguistic and cultural pluralism in this country, a land steeped in history, abundant with diverse cultures and coexisting ethnicities, and deeply rooted in a rich heritage of cultural and religious identities, all proudly standing in one nation.

Dr. AlMalik also shared ICESCO’s hope to develop the project, in cooperation with the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, to become an educational center for developing skills or a training pole for building capacities, praising the distinguished partnership between the Organization and the Foundation in service of supporting Arabic education in non-Arabic-speaking countries.

Moreover, the Director-General stressed that linguistic diversity is a key factor in promoting dialogue and understanding among nations and peoples, a reality that immensely influences the Organization’s works, as evidenced by its programs to support teaching Arabic to students speaking different languages and belonging to other cultures and religions, and promote it as a language of peace, love, science, and dialogue. He further explained that Arabic is considered the richest language worldwide in terms of lexicon, with more than 12 million words; the first language of worship, used by one and a half billion Muslims around the world; one of the most widely spoken languages by non-Arabic speakers, used in more than sixty (60) countries; the language with the fourth largest online presence; one of the UN’s six official languages; and the official language of 25 countries.

Dr. AlMalik concluded his address by pointing out that the findings of several language foresight studies confirm Arabic’s ability to further spread on the global linguistic map, calling on various stakeholders to accord due attention to strengthening its presence through initiatives to mainstream Arabic education in all schools in non-Arabic-speaking countries, expressing ICESCO’s readiness to cooperate with Mauritius and other countries in this field.

For his part, Mr. Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi, Director-General of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, stated that the launch of this project in the Republic of Mauritius stands witness to the attention the Foundation accords to promoting the status of Arabic at the global level, in cooperation with international organizations, especially ICESCO and the Blue Crescent Society.

He further explained that this approved curriculum, which was developed with funding from the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, in cooperation with Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia, caters to the needs of Arabic language departments in a number of European universities, pointing to the curriculum’s role in advancing Arabic education in many countries of the world.

Speaking next, Sheikh Ghulam Muhammad, Secretary-General of the Blue Crescent Society of Mauritius, praised the cooperation relations among the Society, ICESCO, and the Foundation to support the Arabic language as a bridge of communication and intercultural dialogue.

Sheikh Ghulam then presented certificates of appreciation to Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Al-Khulaifi. Afterwards, electronic devices were distributed to the beneficiaries, along with certificates of participation in the first training session held in Mauritius, on January 6–11, 2025.

Over the course of three months, the first phase of the project will benefit 15 schools from different regions of Mauritius with a total of 375 students, in addition to intensive training sessions for the benefit of 30 teachers.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Ms. Raja Youssfi, Chargé d’Affaires of the Tunisian Embassy in Morocco, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat on Thursday 16 January 2025. The meeting was an opportunity to explore ways of strengthening cooperation between the two parties and to finalize preparations for the visit of a high-level ICESCO delegation, led by Dr AlMalik, to Tunisia at the end of January.

ICESCO Director-General started the meeting by reaffirming the Organization’s keenness to strengthen the distinguished partnership between ICESCO and the Republic of Tunisia, particularly in the fields of education, science and culture. He pointed out that the visit would include high-level talks with several Tunisian officials to examine prospects for enhancing cooperation between the two parties in the near future, stressing the special role played by Tunisia in the Organization’s fields of competence.

Dr AlMalik also proudly mentioned the contributions of Tunisian talents working at ICESCO, praising the numerous joint programs and initiatives, as well as Tunisia’s role as host of several international events and conferences organized by the Organization.

For her part, Ms. Raja Youssfi affirmed that preparations for the official visit of ICESCO’s delegation to Tunisia were in their final stages, underlining the commitment of the Tunisian authorities to ensuring the success of the visit.

She also presented a number of projects and programs designed to strengthen cooperation between the two parties including the inscription of certain Tunisian heritage sites. It was agreed to examine the modalities of their implementation soon. These initiatives include the inscription of some Tunisian heritage sites on the Islamic World Heritage List and the implementation of programs concerning submerged heritage in Tunisia.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received, at ICESCO headquarters, Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hano, Minister of Culture of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and together they explored prospects of cooperation between the Organization and Egypt in the fields of creative culture and innovation promotion.

During the meeting, held on Thursday, January 16, 2025, the two parties discussed the cultural indexes launched by ICESCO with the aim of offering a better understanding of the cultural scene in the Islamic world, and highlighting the need to capitalize on modern technologies to develop cultural work to keep up with the global rapid advancements. The two parties also discussed the prospect of launching joint programs in the fields of Arabic calligraphy and heritage promotion.

Moreover, the Director-General highlighted ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations which embrace creativity and innovation, include women and young people, and attract great profiles across all specialties from different parts of the world. The Director-General also noted that 40% of ICESCO staff members are younger than 35, while women hold 50% of leadership positions at ICESCO.

Talks also focused on the importance of promoting creative culture and supporting cultural industries and knowledge economy, and highlighted ICESCO’s efforts over the past years to invigorate the cultural field in the Islamic world, through its innovative and creative activities, programs, initiatives. The two parties also discussed the Organization’s steadfast view of culture as a soft power, stemming from its belief in the significance of safeguarding the plurality and diversity of the civilizational heritage of the Member States spanning various historical eras.

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hano commended ICESCO’s impactful roles in promoting cultural creativity in the Islamic world, stressing the importance of promoting collective intelligence to foster creativity and ensure the representation of an identity of plurality and diversity in cultural action, within the civilizational and historical contexts of nations.

Following the meeting, Dr. AlMalik took Minister Hano and his accompanying delegation on a tour to The International Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization, currently housed at ICESCO headquarters.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr El Houssein Ould Meddou, Mauritania’s Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication, and Relations with Parliament, Spokesperson of the Government, on Wednesday 15 January 2025 at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat. The meeting explored strengthening the distinguished partnership between ICESCO and Mauritania in the cultural sector.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Mohamed Ould Sidi Abdallah, Secretary-General of the Mauritanian National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science, and explored various aspects of the fruitful partnership between ICESCO and Mauritania, which has been further strengthened by the recent visit of Dr. AlMalik to Chinguetti. During this visit, ICESCO committed to rehabilitating the historic Chinguetti Mosque, with both parties agreeing to immediately commence the restoration project by appointing specialized focal points to oversee its implementation.

Additionally, the meeting addressed several requests submitted by the Mauritanian National Commission and discussed the potential recruitment of Mauritanian talent to work within ICESCO’s departments.

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General, Dr. Mohamed Zine El Abidine, Head of the Culture and Communication Sector, and Ambassador Fathalrahman, Head of the Center for Civilizational Dialogue.