Reading essential to building knowledge society: Majlis

Scholars attend the last session of Sharjah Ramadan Majlis on Tuesday.

Distinguished UAE scholars, intellectuals and senior government figures called for greater efforts and public-private participation to make the UAE a true knowledge society in line with the 2016 Year of Reading campaign and Islamic teachings.
This came in the final session of the Sharjah Ramadan Majlis on Monday, hosted by the Sharjah Media Centre at Al Majaz Amphitheatre in Sharjah. Titled Building Knowledge Society in the UAE Dialogue. Reading is the Means, the session highlighted the importance of knowledge and culture of reading in Islam and why reading is essential to building an informed and empowered society.
Shaikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, and a number of senior government figures, intellectuals and media figures attended the final session of the Majlis.
Islamic scholar Sheikh Dr Aziz bin Farhan Al Anzi, Director of Religious Call and Guidance Centre, Dubai, opened the discussion with the argument that the pursuit of knowledge, both religious and secular, is keeping with the great Islamic traditions celebrating knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge. He pointed out that the very first verse of the Holy Quran, "Iqra bismi rabbika." (Read in the name of your Lord.) calls on people to read so that they know and think.
Pointing out that early Muslims pursued and disseminated a wide spectrum of knowledge including sciences, medicine, mathematics and astronomy, he called for contemporary Muslim societies to revive this illustrious history and rediscover the love of knowledge.
Sheikh Dr Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Haddad, Grand Mufti and Head of the Fatwa Department at the Dubai Fatwa Centre of Islamic Affairs and Charity Department, agreed with Dr Al Anzi, saying the pursuit of knowledge is part of Shariah.
He said that the whole world is experiencing a crisis in both positive and negative reading. "Negative reading breeds suspicion, mistrust and atheism, while positive reading, which Quran and Sunnah suggest, is achieved by considering three factors - the book itself, its writer and the fact that what we read is in harmony with reality," he said.
Dr Sajed Al Abdali, columnist and community activist, said that thanks to technology, knowledge is readily available everywhere. Using their smartphones and tablets, people can so easily read and access all sorts of information and knowledge. Yet book in its original paper form remains the most powerful medium and vehicle of knowledge. Nothing compares with the experience of reading a real book.
Dr Khalifa Ali Al Suwaidi, faculty member at the UAE University, expressed concern over the state of Arabic language, saying it is not just a language but our way of thinking and culture. The standard of Arabic language has been fast deteriorating across the region because we are teaching most of our subjects in foreign languages, he said. The best way to promote the Arabic language is to promote its reading and writing, he asserted.
Jamal Al Shehhi, founder of Kuttub Publishing and Executive Director of the Arab Child programme at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, said any content must have artistic value and talked about the serious crisis publishers of Arabic books are facing in the country, with few publishers interested in experimenting with new writers.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

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