Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed session addresses importance of fostering positive values in community
25 Mar 2025 13:57
ABU DHABI (WAM)The fourth and final Ramadan session of Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed was held under the title 'Fostering Positive Values in the Community' in the presence of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, as well as senior officials, academics, and representatives of UAE entities.The session, which was held at the dedicated Majlis venue at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, was moderated by Eisa Al Subousi, Project Lead at the Year of Community, and featured a panel of guest speakers recognised for their contributions to UAE society.Throughout their discussion, speakers explored the importance of encouraging values such as generosity, compassion, and social solidarity, as well as the far-reaching impact of volunteering and humanitarian work in strengthening community cohesion and wellbeing.Foster mother Dr Aysha Al Busmait began by discussing misconceptions regarding fostering and adoption, explaining that Islam encourages fostering as a blessed act of service to others.She noted that the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, left behind an enduring humanitarian legacy, including through his kindness towards children in need of family care.Tree-planting pioneer and civil engineer Sinan Al Awsi commented that his initiative of planting 209 trees over a 500-metre stretch in Abu Dhabi to grant shade to pedestrians embodied his belief that all individuals can demonstrate responsibility towards their community and country through volunteering.He remarked that his planting of trees throughout the city was an expression of gratitude to the UAE, noting that his volunteer efforts led to beneficial environmental and societal outcomes while inspiring the surrounding community.Addressing his motivations for establishing the Rabdan Volunteer Team, Salem Al Braiki recalled his realisation that volunteering opportunities were available to the public and could achieve significant impact locally.Now responsible for leading programmes focused on improving the integration of senior citizens into society, including through the 'Journey of Generations' programme involving over 700 senior citizens, Al Braiki has worked to develop bridges of communication between generations and encourage youth to learn from the experience and expertise of senior citizens.Reem Al Dhabyani, a volunteer at the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination, remarked that people of determination are an integral part of the UAE community across various fields, including sports, media, entrepreneurship, and volunteering.Noting the contributions of People of Determination to initiatives such as 'The Document' project and The Bee Café, Al Dhabyani commented that volunteers can develop lifelong skills and forge lasting relationships with other individuals and entities through their service.At the session's conclusion, moderator Eisa Al Subousi asked each panellist to outline the most important decision they would make if they were an official in their chosen field, as well as their desired impact, with speakers emphasising the importance of all members of society taking the first step towards serving and uplifting the broader community to shape a more prosperous future for all.'Fostering Positive Values in the Community' will be broadcast on Wednesday, March 26 at 5 pm on Abu Dhabi TV and the Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed YouTube channel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
13 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Islam is world's fastest-growing religion, new Pew study finds
The number of Muslims grew more than all other religions combined, making Islam the fastest-growing religion over the decade between 2010 and 2020, a new study by the Pew Research Center has found. Pew's Global Religious Landscape study, released on Monday, attributed the growth of Islam to natural demographic growth. It also concluded that at the global level, Muslim population change had "little to do with people converting into or out of the faith". "Muslims have more children and are younger, on average, than members of any other major religion," the study said. "Based on data for the 2015-2020 period, we estimated a Muslim woman would have 2.9 children, on average, in her lifetime, compared with 2.2 children per non-Muslim woman," the report added. The study, which examined how global religious composition changed between 2010 and 2020, concluded that while Christianity remained the world's largest religion, comprising 2.3 billion people, the gap between the proponents of Islam and Christianity continued to shrink. According to the study, the world's Christian population decreased by about 1.8 percent since 2010. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Regional changes The increase in the number of Muslims in the world was concentrated primarily in Muslim-majority countries. Islam saw the largest growth relative to other religions in Kazakhstan, Benin, and Lebanon, while the share of Muslims in Oman and Tanzania decreased. The quiet migration: Why Muslims are leaving India in staggering numbers Read More » The percentage of religiously unaffiliated people grew particularly steeply in the US, with an increase of 97 percent from 2010. The majority of religiously unaffiliated people live in China, where 1.3 billion people are not affiliated with any religion. Pew's analysis found that Christians were still a majority in 60 percent of all countries and territories surveyed. However, Christianity decreased by at least five percent in 40 countries, while only significantly increasing in one. Pew attributed part of this decline to people leaving Christianity, by measuring the number of adults who changed their religion to one different than the one they were raised in. Between 2010 and 2020, for every one adult that joined Christianity, three left. For the religiously unaffiliated, the opposite was true. For every one adult who stopped being unaffiliated religiously, three more became religiously unaffiliated. Both Buddhism and Hinduism also saw more adults leave their religion than join it. Islam was the only religion where more adults joined than left. The growth of Islam Islam is the world's second-largest religion, with around two billion people, or around a quarter of the world's population. It grew by nearly 350 million people since 2010, almost three times as much as Christianity and more than all other religions combined. There are also nearly two billion religiously unaffiliated people, an increase of 270 million people since 2010. They were the only category, along with Muslims, to grow relative to other religions as a share of the world's population. Hinduism, the world's third-largest religion, with 1.2 billion people, grew by 126 million people. However, its percentage of the world's population remained unchanged. The number of people belonging to other religions, such as Sikhism and Baha'i, grew to around 200 million people, or 2.2 percent of the world's population. Judaism grew by nearly a million people, and remained around 0.2 percent of the world's population. Buddhism was the only major religion to have fewer people in 2010 than in 2020, with a decrease of 18.6 million people. It fell from around five percent to four percent of the world's population.
Gulf Business
a day ago
- Gulf Business
Hajj 2025: Here's how many pilgrims visited Saudi Arabia
Image courtesy: WAM Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has reported that a total of 1,673,230 (1.67 million) Hajj pilgrims visited Mecca for the year 1446 AH. Of the total number, 1,506,576 The remaining — 166,654 pilgrims — were domestic, consisting of both Saudi citizens and residents. Hajj pilgrims by gender Breaking down the numbers by gender: 877,841 male pilgrims performed the Hajj, with 795,389 female pilgrims completing the rituals, the statistics As the kingdom's official statistical authority, GASTAT is the exclusive provider of official statistics in Saudi Arabia. Visitors during Ramadan In March, the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque reported a total of 122,286,712 worshippers during Ramadan 1446 AH, with 16,558,241 performing Umrah, 75,573,928 praying at the Grand Mosque, and 30,154,543 visiting the Prophet's Mosque.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Likely dates for Hijri New Year, next Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha revealed
As residents come back from the Eid Al Adha long weekend, many are already looking forward to upcoming holidays in 2026, while reminiscing the long weekends that flew by this year. Faithful across the country, like always, await the dates of major religious events that are set to take place during the next year. The UAE's Astronomy Centre on Monday revealed likely dates for major Islamic events in 2026, corresponding to 1447 AH in the Islamic calendar. Months in the Hijri calendar last 29 to 30 days and are determined on the basis of the Moon sighting. The UAE's Moon sighting committee gathers to sight the Moon at the end of every month, and urges residents to do the same on important occasions. Important to note is that the newly released dates are based on astronomical calculations. These may differ from official holiday dates and should merely be considered as the most likely dates, the authority stated. From Muharram (that is, the first month of the Hijri calendar) to Eid Al Adha in 2026, here are the important ones to know: Muharram The Moon sighting for the month of Muharram is likely to take place on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, which corresponds to Dhul Hijjah 29, 1446 AH. This would mean that the start of the new Islamic year will likely commence on Thursday, June 26, 2025. As per the official UAE holidays calendar, residents can expect a public holiday on the occasion. Ramadan Residents of the UAE are in for a treat with Ramadan set to fall in the cooler month of February next year. The holy month, which is observed by Muslims across the globe, shifts 10 to 12 days behind every year. This year, Ramadan was on Saturday, March 1. The month of Ramadan, which lasts 29 or 30 days, is observed with the act of fasting from dawn to dusk, and highlights the qualities of abstinence and charity. For 2026, the crescent is likely to be sighted on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. This would mean that the holy month would begin on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, in some parts of the world. Since the moon sighting differs in eastern and western regions of the world, countries located in the eastern region will sight the moon on Wednesday, February 18, and start fasting from Thursday, February 19, 2026. Eid Al Fitr The occasion of Eid Al Fitr is marked at the end of Ramadan, where faithful come together to celebrate the end of the fasting and charitable month. The Moon sighting to commence the month of Shawwal depends on whether Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days. It is expected to be on Thursday, March 19, 2026. This means that Eid Al Fitr could fall on Friday, March 20, 2026. This date will also differ depending on which part of the world you are in, with eastern regions usually sighting the moon a day later. Eid Al Adha The festival of Eid Al Adha, celebrated on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah — the last month of Hijri calendar — falls a day after the Day of Arafah (Dhul Hijjah 9), which is considered to be the most holy day in Islam. On Eid Al Adha, faithful come together to remember the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and slaughter cattle and distribute it among the needy. The nine days leading up to the festival are also spent in remembrance of God and spirituality. On the ninth day, Muslims across the globe fast, except for those performing Hajj (the holy pilgrimage). This journey is usually observed between the 8th and 12th or 13th of Dhul Hijjah. In 2026, the crescent marking the start of Dhul Hijjah is expected to be spotted on Saturday, May 16, which means the first day of Dhul Hijjah will begin on Sunday, May 17. This will similarly differ in the eastern region, where the Moon will be spotted a day later on Sunday, May 17, and Dhul Hijjah will begin on Monday, May 18, 2026. This would mean that Eid Al Adha may fall on Tuesday, May 26, in the UAE and western parts of the world, while other parts of the globe will mark it on Wednesday, May 27.
