AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, the 16th session of the “Seminaries’ Specialized Centers Cooperation Forum” was held at the conference hall of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in Qom.
At the beginning of the session, Mustafa Behbahani-Pour, Director General of Cultural Services and Publications at the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Sayed Saeed Hashemi, Director of the Office of Studies, and Research, and Ebrahim Amini, Director of the WikiShia Encyclopedia, presented detailed explanations of their activities.
Further, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mahdi Farmanian, the Deputy for Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly elaborated on the Assembly’s activities, stating, “The Assembly’s duty is to manage the affairs of Shiites worldwide. Over the past thirty years, significant work has been carried out; however, unfortunately, no reports have been provided to seminary institutions.”
Hojat al-Islam Farmanian added, “The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly has translated more than 2,000 books into 58 languages, published hundreds of thousands of books, and distributed them to audiences across the globe.”
Discussing potential areas for collaboration with seminary specialized centers, he noted, “The Assembly’s digital library, with a networking-oriented approach, has the capability to host and promote seminary works in various languages. All content from seminary institutions can be made accessible to Shiites and audiences through this platform.”
About the virtual encyclopedia WikiShia, Dr. Farmanian stated, “WikiShia operates in 22 languages and has performed admirably so far. We are ready to collaborate with seminary researchers in authoring and translating of works.”
Explaining the Assembly’s recent approach, he remarked, “Over the past thirty years, the Assembly has taken a ‘line’ approach. Recently, however, we have adopted a ‘headquarters’ approach in various areas. A portion of the Assembly’s responsibilities has been outsourced, and our publication policies have shifted. As such, our works are now published in other countries, and their publications in Iran are very limited. We are prepared to cooperate with specialized centers of seminary in this regard.”
At the end of the session, representatives of specialized centers of seminary shared their perspectives on ways to enhance cooperation and engagement with the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
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