AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): At a ceremony held on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, in Qom, the Scientific and Cultural Affairs Department of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly introduced 50 new research works and formally launched the “Shiite Status Research Database.” The event, marking Research Week, was attended by senior administrators, seminary scholars, university professors, and researchers.
At the opening of the ceremony, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, the Assembly’s Secretary-General, pointed to rapid scientific transformations in the contemporary world and stressed the necessity of addressing ethics in research. Ethical frameworks and professional standards, particularly in the research domain, must be observed comprehensively, he said, especially amid growing engagement with technology and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, he added, “makes intelligent people more capable, and lazy people lazier and slower.”
Hojat al-Islam Dr. Shakeri, the Assembly’s deputy for scientific and cultural affairs, described research as the organization’s beating heart and said it should underpin its decision-making and strategic approaches. He emphasized the importance of accurately identifying the needs, tastes, and subcultures of audiences across different countries in order to produce tailored books, podcasts, and multimedia content.
The unveiled works were produced by three departments within the Scientific and Cultural Affairs division. They included 22 titles from the Office of Studies and Research, among them 13 Shiite status studies and eight volumes on lifestyle, as well as seven oral history volumes titled Heralds of Truth. The collection also featured 11 translated works in Albanian, German, and Pashto, and 10 educational coursebooks in Persian, Arabic, and Urdu.
Alongside the printed publications, the Shiite Status Research Database was officially launched. The comprehensive platform encompasses more than 2,200 research works in 10 languages, covering Shiite communities across 149 countries, with content focused on strategic Shiite studies, demography, and research on Muslim societies.
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