Speech delivered by Sidi Mohamed Rifki Secretary General of Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema during the training session in communication techniques and audiovisual communication organized by the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema in Fez for the benefit of technicians of its sections 23-24-25-26 Shaaban 1442 H corresponding to 6-7-8-9 April 2021

 

Praise be to Allah alone,

May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his kindred and companions.

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the Foundation branches,

Honorable professors,

Dear audience,

Allow me, first, to extend my welcoming greetings to all our guests representing the branches of Mohammed VI Foundation for African Oulema as well as the participants in this first training session in the field of communication techniques and audiovisual communication.

I am also honored to convey to you the greetings of His Excellency the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, the President Delegate of the Foundation, wishing that this first training session would be an outstanding success and highly instructive for you all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yes, you might wonder, what is the relevance of this training session, and what are our expectations behind it ? What goals does the Foundation seek to achieve through it ?

Truely these are legitimate and worthwhile questions that require accurate and well elucidated answers.

As you do know, ladies and gentlemen, Mohammed VI Foundation for African Oulema, as an institution that sponsors science and scholars in Africa, – under the supreme patronage of its president, the Commander of the Faithful, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah protect him  and grant him victory – seeks to develop a well-defined media policy towards the African religious sphere in general, in line with its lofty goals and a desire to ensure sound media applications on the ground in African, while giving branches at the level of countries- based on common religious constants – a wide leeway in planning and leading the implementation of the media supervisory plans of the Foundation.

Therefore, it has become encumbent to the Foundation to pursue media and communication plans characterized by prominent and effective performance, in line with the scale of official orientations. This requires preparing an ambitious supervisory media plan based on scientific foundations to enable the Foundation at the media and communication levels to set up its programs permeated with a spirit of integration and quality across the board to achieve its goals.

In order for the Foundation to ensure that the media and communication plans adopt an appropriate scientific methodology that incarnates the properties of a comprehensive and effective supervisory performance both qualitatively and quantitatively, the Foundation has taken upon itself to initiate training of its staffers at the level of branches in the fields of media and communication, in order to reach a standard methodology that preserves the quintessence  and helps preserve the specificities of the branches.

Consequently, contemplating the vision of the media and communication body in managing the African religious sphere, and assessing its outcomes on the ground to understand the ongoing current circumstances, its interactions and future prospects, is a process imperatively claimed by two necessities: the first is methodological, and the second realistic.

The methodological necessity in dealing with media and communicating with the African religious sphere must take into account the continuous evaluation through well-defined media and communication mechanisms, and through an action plan that takes into account the constants and variables that African societies pass through by their nature, and in their aspirations and religious needs.

As for the reality-driven necessity , the current international conjuncture requires a notable, active and vigilant presence for the Foundation in Africa when dealing with media and communication that cover the management of African religious affairs, especially those directly related to the realities of countries and branches.

And the effectiveness of this media and communication presence starts from setting sound rules and carefully developed plans, through providing training courses in the media and communication fields for the benefit of the Foundation branches.

Ladies and gentlemen, ours is an era described truely as an age of speed, technology and scientific progress in all its forms. Communication in our current era is experiencing unprecedented scientific revolutions that have made the world in which we live a small village.

Highlighting the building blocks of the Foundation in media and communication with regard to religiosity and ensuring the spiritual security of African societies, necessitates the establishment of a core of media correspondents at the level of the Foundation branches to follow and conduct electronic and communication media coverage of local and national religious activities and in many languages.

Mobilizing media platforms of competent branches in order to address bia media and communication the increasing threats of deviant and extremist ideas, requires, then, specific communication and media dynamics, and inspired spiritual and epistemological qualifications addressed directly towards African societies and without any intermediaries.

The Foundation media and communication sites should be a platform to keep up with the latest technological progress, with attractive designs, and in the four languages: Arabic, English, French and Portuguese, in addition to native African languages.

This, ladies and gentlemen, will help the Foundation to:

First: Contributing to covering the activities of the branches through media and communication, and launching several audio-visual religious programs with the participation of the Foundation’s Oulema and in several languages, presented in a new and attractive way that addresses African religious social phenomena in an affordable language that is far from complex style and sophistication.

Second: Contributing to recording extracts from the lectures of the Kingdom’s Oulema and the Foundation’s Oulema at the branch level, dealing with African religious, intellectual and social issues, laying out the applicable religious precepts on the matter in compliance with the principles and the moderate approach, thus contributing to the immunization of African youth against the allegations of extremism and radicalisation.

Third: Focusing on targeted training, localization and transfer of live experiences at the media and communication levels, in order to keep pace with African religious evolution and work around the clock to achieve communication with the branches of the Foundation through modern techniques and technology.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are opening, then, with the blessing of Allah, this first training session in communication techniques and audiovisual communication for the benefit of the technicians of the Foundation branches, supervised by experienced and highly qualified experts in the fields of media and communication.

We ask Allah the Almighty to grant success and efficacy to the proceedings of this session organized by the Foundation, under the High patronage of the Commander of the Faithful, its President, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him.

May Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you.