Doha - Information Office - May 23
The Encyclopedia of Occidentalism, the first-ever and largest intellectual project in the Arab and Islamic world that provides a comprehensive understanding of the wests culture, ideology, history, religion and politics, was inaugurated today during a ceremony in the Diplomatic Club.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vice President of Qatar Committee for Alliance of Civilizations Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti, HE President of Qatar University Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham, HE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, HE Director-General of Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Dr. Salem Al Malik, and Dean of the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Qatar University Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Ansari, as well as a number of Their Excellencies heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the State, officials, academics and media.
The first part of the encyclopedia was issued in cooperation between Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar University represented by the ISESCO Chair for Dialogue of Civilizations at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi said that this huge scientific project came in implementation of Qatar National Vision 2030, which emphasizes the support of dialogue of civilizations and coexistence between different religions and cultures, and in line with the general goal that Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations to achieve understanding between nations and peoples, establish solid relations between them, and remove the causes of division and misunderstanding, in pursuit of the human goal of peaceful coexistence, acceptance of others and respect for different peoples and cultures. This was translated into the implementation of the stated goals of the State of Qatar's plan for the Alliance of Civilizations (2018-2022), which emphasized, in the field of education, the establishment of scientific encyclopedias specialized in promoting the principles of dialogue among civilizations and consolidating objective scientific knowledge about the other.
He said that the Encyclopedia of Occidentalism constitutes an integrated reference on various aspects of Western civilization through an Islamic vision that contributes to presenting the correct and comprehensive objective picture of the West, promoting dialogue and civilized understanding according to a deep perspective based on an integrated scientific approach, in addition to highlighting the peculiarities of Western civilization, in terms of commonalities with Islamic civilization and points of difference between the two civilizations.