Representational picture
Doha, Qatar: The General Endowments Department of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs provided educational support to 308,017 students in 13 countries last year.
The support came from the Education and Cultural Fund, one of the six funds run by the department to help those in need in Qatar and abroad lead a happy life.
As many as 960 students from Assalam School received scholarships from the fund last year. Religious Institute, where students from 32 nationalities are enrolled, was given 197 scholarships in 2023. Students with special needs received 20 scholarships.
The fund also provided 244 scholarships to students to pursue their higher studies in national and international universities. With the support of the Education and Cultural Fund, Al Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani Public Library published thousands of religious books for free distribution in 2023.
The library published 103,051 books in Arabic and 35,000 books in English. As many as 36,000 copies of 6th edition of Umma Book were published last year.
The Fund for Caring Family and Children, also run by the Endowments Department, provided QR10m to an urgent relief campaign for earthquake affected people in Syria and Turkiye in 2023.
As many as 95 Qatari families benefited from the fund in coordination with social security programme of the Ministry of Social Development and Family.
Another 52 Qatari families benefited from the endowment of Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani programme.
The department implemented a number of investment projects in 2023. The revenues from the projects are being spent through six funds following the directives of the donors.
A service villa was completed at Madinat Kahlifa last year. Two projects in Umm Ghuailina – a residential building comprising four apartments and a commercial building comprising two shops – are being handed over to the department by the developer.
Five projects are under construction. They include a building comprising 51 administrative offices in Lusail city and a commercial building comprising five shops and 8 flats in Freej Kulaib.
A large commercial building comprising 45 shops and 89 administrative offices in Abu Hamour and a residential complex with 30 villas, 35 administrative offices and two shops in Al Mamoura are also under construction.
The first endowment forum for introducing the concept of endowment held at the premises of Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque is attracting a large number of visitors. The five-day event, organised by the department, will conclude today. A number of associated activities are being held at the forum. Speeches include a lecture titled “Take Care of Your Child” by Qatar Diabetes Association, and the “Plant It” lecture presented by the A Flower Each Spring programme.
The Family Counseling Center “Wefaq” presents a lecture “Sakana”, and Hifz Al Naema Center will present a session titled “Do not be spendthrift”. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center will present a lecture on “Good Manners”.
The competitions in Arabic, English and Malayalam extend over four days.
It also features a drawing event at the IslamWeb pavilion in the outer courtyard of the mosque. There is a competition for recording a prophetic tradition in the pavilion of Al Muhaddith Al Shagir, and another for recording an eloquent or Nabataean poem in praise of the Prophet in pavilion of the Katara Prize for Prophet’s Poet where 10 contestants for both competitions are honoured daily. The pavilion of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center offers various activities, including watching a time travel movie through technology that provides a three-dimensional environment. The pavilion allowed visitors to have their names written in Arabic calligraphy by a Qatari Qur’an calligrapher.
Visitors can also get a copy of the Qur’an, and the two books “Al Adhkar” by Imam Al Nawawi and “Al Shama’il Al Muhammadiyah” by Imam Al Tirmidhi, from the pavilion of the Islamic Affairs Department. The pavilion of Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani Endowment Library also offers various books to visitors.
