AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Taghi Sobhani, head of Al-Bayan Institute for Communication and Foundations, accompanied by a group of institute officials, met with Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, to discuss ongoing projects.
Referring to the institute’s initiatives, Sobhani said, “Among our key projects is the compilation of a collection introducing Shiism, titled the Encyclopedia of Shiite Knowledge. We identified 30 thematic areas covering the Quran, Sunnah, reason, seminary scholarship, clergy, as well as contemporary challenges concerning women, human rights, and lifestyle. A detailed guide has been prepared to ensure that 30 distinguished scholars contribute individual works on these topics.”
He continued, “The works prepared for the encyclopedia have undergone multiple evaluations to ensure their quality meets the standards for presenting Shiism effectively. To date, 15 volumes are complete, and 15 more are in preparation. We aim to finish this project within the next year. Translations into Arabic, English, and Hausa are underway, alongside the production of a podcast series. Ultimately, we plan to condense the essence of the encyclopedia into a single volume that represents the culmination of the entire collection.”
Sobhani also outlined a new research initiative titled Monitoring Academic Shiite Studies Worldwide, a multi-volume project whose first volume focuses on English-speaking academic institutions. “Our goal is to track the position of Shiism and present it to the audience. Another important task is to map religious academic organizations globally to study their experiences and practices, for instance, a volume on Al-Azhar is under publication. Projects examining the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the relationship between the Islamic world and the Vatican are also underway, totaling five to six volumes,” he explained.
Referring to the forthcoming unveiling of the Encyclopedia of Shiite Knowledge, Sobhani emphasized, “One of our principles is to avoid parallel initiatives. We are planning to unveil the first 15 volumes at the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly. The aim is to present Shiism in a scholarly manner based entirely on Shiite sources. We also consider the Assembly as the reference authority for Shiism in the country and intend to leverage its media capabilities to produce a series of podcasts based on the encyclopedia.”
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