DICID Receives His Excellency Dr. Mohamedou Kony Minister of Religious Affairs, Worship and Customs of the State of Mali

21 Nov DICID Receives His Excellency Dr. Mohamedou Kony Minister of Religious Affairs, Worship and Customs of the State of Mali

In the context of enhancing dialogue and learning about the conditions of Muslims around the world, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Naimi, Chairman of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, received Dr. Mohamedou Kony, Minister of Religious Affairs, Worship and Customs in Mali and his accompanying delegation in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Tijani Diakite, the Malian ambassador to Doha.

During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance dialogue between Muslims on the one hand, and between Muslims and others on the other hand, and to call for love, coexistence, and avoidance of extremism and fanaticism, to build bridges of love and establish world peace. The two parties also stressed the importance of the meeting being an opportunity to establish cooperation between the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and the State of Mali, in areas of common interest.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Al-Naimi welcomed the guests and expressed his happiness for the visit, especially in light of the distinguished relations between the State of Qatar and Mali. Dr. Al-Naimi also indicated that the 14th International Conference on Interfaith Dialogue will resume in May of next year 2022, which had been postponed earlier due to the Coronavirus pandemic. His Excellency presented an official invitation to His Excellency the Minister to attend the conference and welcomed the participation of thinkers, academics and religious scholars from Mali who were nominated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to attend the conference.

For his part, His Excellency Minister Mohamedou Kony welcomed the kind invitation to attend the conference and expressed his readiness to communicate with the Center and submit nominations for participation, especially since the State of Mali has attached great importance to interfaith dialogue. However, since the establishment of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Mali, it has become concerned with everything related to religious affairs, worship and customs. His Excellency indicated that his ministry and the State of Mali are keen on integration and dialogue between followers of religions for all its citizens, even if 95% of the population is Muslim. He also stressed that the presence of institutions specialized in interfaith dialogue in Islamic countries, especially the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue in Qatar, is an openness to the world, and one of the concepts that we Muslims seek to have, especially in today’s world.

During the dialogue, Dr. Al-Naimi made an inquiry about the activities to promote interfaith dialogue in the State of Mali. The Minister explained that this is one of the important roles played by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. With the aim of achieving harmony between Muslims and Christians, there are private institutions in Mali working in the field of dialogue under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

During his talk about the center, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi delivered a presentation on the various activities offered by the center; This includes the annual International Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, and round tables that are interested in discussing issues related to communities in Qatar. At the local level, the Center regularly organizes training courses for students and teachers in independent and private schools with the aim of training on dialogue and communication skills with different religions and cultures, in addition to issuing the “Adyan” journal in Arabic and English, periodical newsletters, translated books, and selected letters, and publications related to the center’s activities. The center also holds a library specialized in comparative studies of religions and dialogue. On the international level, Dr. Al-Naimi mentioned that the center has numerous symposia and international conferences outside Qatar focused on promoting a culture of dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

At the end of the meeting, HE Minister Mohamedou Kony expressed his happiness with this visit, which comes as his first visit to Qatar since he took over the ministry. He also expressed his welcome to receive Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi on a visit to Mali in the near future.