Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) recently announced that during the first half of this year, the number of beneficiaries of the various programs by the centre exceeded 50,000, an increase of 70% compared to the same period in 2018. Additionally, the number of programs undertaken by IACAD increased by 18% compared to the same period last year, bringing the total number of initiatives to 1,854 spanning lectures, lessons, courses and workshops.

Furthermore, IACAD provided 180 care services to new Muslims, assisting 1,908 people – an overall increase of 21% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2019. The centre also provided social, awareness and religious support to new Muslims, while introducing them to the principles of tolerant Islam and the value of peaceful co-existence that characterizes the UAE.

Hind Lootah, Director of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture, highlighted that the performance indicators during the first half of the year underscore the centre’s continuous efforts to raise awareness about Islamic culture and communicate its cultural discourse to the various strata of society.

“We are working to achieve these goals by organising diverse programs and events that encourage communication between different nationalities and create greater awareness about Islamic culture to all our target groups,” said Lootah.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture assigned 24 lecturers from within and outside IACAD to deliver seminars organised by the centre. During the first six months of the year, IACAD organised 31 lectures and 7 workshops, delivered 183 courses for teachers and adjunct teachers, as well as 1,633 religious classes for teachers and adjunct teachers. The centre worked with 121 government and private bodies to deliver these programs.

Hind Lootah added: “The centre’s ongoing success in forging partnerships and cooperating with various government and private entities to launch its awareness programs underscore the importance of our mission to promote Islamic culture in the UAE and to establish Dubai as a regional and global hub for humanitarian communication. In the second half of the year, we will continue to implement our strategy of effective communication with the various segments of society.”

In the first half of 2019, IACAD received 612 inquiries: 60 via its social media channels, 10 through e-mail, 110 via phone and 432 through in-person visits.

The Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture has organised a series of events to promote the culture of tolerance in the community, aligning with the Year of Tolerance in the UAE. These events are aimed at Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the emirate of Dubai. The Department of Cultural Communication at the Centre also organised site visits to non-Muslim residents, as well as to certain mosques in the emirate. The response at these events reiterated Dubai’s standing as a global centre for tolerance.