AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On the morning of Wednesday, December 11, 2024, a group of managers and members of the WikiShia Encyclopedia Planning Council visited the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute and met with Ayatollah Mahmoud Rajabi, the head of the institute and a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom.
115 Researchers and Translators work in WikiShia
In this meeting, Ebrahim Amini, the head of the WikiShia Encyclopedia, spoke about the encyclopedia’s history, stating, “WikiShia was launched in 2013, and over the past 11 years, 400 researchers have collaborated with this encyclopedia. Currently, 115 individuals, including researchers and translators, are involved in its activities. Everything related to Shia, even terrorist incidents targeting Shiite communities, is documented in the WikiShia Encyclopedia. The largest age group of its audience is between 18 and 25 years old. Approximately 60% of WikiShia’s audience is male, while 40% are female.”
“We have received positive feedback from WikiShia’s audience, and based on these responses, we have enriched the encyclopedia’s articles. We primarily interact with our audience through the website, although some individuals independently share WikiShia articles on social media. The website records an average of 12 to 15 million monthly visits. During special occasions, the number of real-time visits to the encyclopedia can reach 8,000 to 9,000. We have upgraded the WikiShia website technically to ensure easy access for our users,” he continued.
“In terms of the encyclopedia’s impact, the feedback we have received from various countries has been encouraging. For instance, during an exhibition, a person from Brazil approached me to express gratitude and mentioned that he had authored a book using WikiShia articles. Additionally, when I visited certain Islamic centers in Indonesia, I observed that WikiShia articles had been printed and were being studied. WikiShia’s articles undergo continuous editing, with some articles being authored collaboratively by as many as 40 individuals,” the head of WikiShia added.
Research Projects of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly
Further in the meeting, Sayed Saeed Hashemi Nasab, the director of the Studies, Research, and Scientific-Cultural Affairs Office of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, referred to the presence of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi in the Assembly, stating, “This distinguished scholar served for years as the head of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, maintaining a close relationship with the Assembly. His books were translated within the framework of the Assembly’s projects. Even now, we continue to benefit from the professors of the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.”
“Currently, we are working on two major research projects within the Assembly. The first project involves an in-depth examination of the status of Shiite communities worldwide to develop a comprehensive understanding of these societies. The second project focuses on Islamic lifestyle practices adapted for an international context,” he added.
WikiShia’s activity in 22 world languages
Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Reza Fallah Tafti, a representative of Alborz Province in the Assembly of Leadership Experts and the scientific and content manager of the virtual WikiShia Encyclopedia, also highlighted the linguistic reach of this encyclopedia, stating, “WikiShia operates in 22 major languages worldwide. For foreign languages, we have endeavored to localize the content. Thus, articles originally written in Persian are not fully translated but are instead adapted to suit each language. While we have made some progress in authoring original content in foreign languages, the number of such articles remains limited, and most are translations.”
“Most of WikiShia’s articles are in Persian, Arabic, English, and Urdu. In some languages, WikiShia articles constitute the first Shia content ever translated into those languages,” he noted.
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