CAIRO: Participants of the 35th International Conference of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, hosted by Cairo on Sunday, stressed the importance of women’s role and status in building cultural and religious awareness and promoting values of coexistence and tolerance. Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdullatif Al-Sheikh said in his speech during the opening session of the two-day conference, held under the slogan ‘Women and Building Awareness’, that “Islam has given women great attention that has never been seen in history.”

He added that “women’s rights and duties were explained by Allah Almighty in His Holy Book and His Messenger (PBUH) in his Sunnah. Islam preserved their dignity and ordered them to be dutiful as mothers, protect them as sisters and daughters, and fulfill their rights as wives and partners in building the family on which the structure of society is based.

He stressed that “those who contemplate the religious texts will find in them a sophisticated treatment of women and an order to take care of them without arbitrariness or injustice,” warning that it is not permissible to apply personal practices or societal customs and traditions that involve injustice or arbitrariness against women.

Al-Sheikh expressed his pride in the Saudi experience in this field, saying that Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and with the support and follow-up of the Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has preserved the rights of women who have been honored and have received their share in education, health, financial rights, job opportunities, and leadership, noting that today they “compete in the fields of construction.”.

He reviewed a number of prominent models that Saudi women have achieved in various fields, whether governmental, scientific, medical, in the field of space, as well as in the field of human rights, at the level of ambassadors, in international forums and organizations, and also at the level of the Shura Council and in the economic fields.

In his speech, Omar Al Darei, Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs, and Zakat in the Emirates, said that women are “the impregnable dam against sweeping currents,” stressing that “the role of women is essential and must be activated to be a bridge of thought throughout history, as they are the guardians of moderation, tolerance, and education and transmit the national identity to generations. He added that “extremist groups target women not because they are the weaker party, but because their determination is strong and their will is strong,” stressing that to achieve the purpose of this awareness, “we must bring to mind pioneering female scholars in various fields” so that these models can be inspiring.

Al Darei stressed the need to support women and their issues and confront customs and traditions that diminish their value, pointing to the importance of digital worlds, which “have become a complex reality that targets our families and people with unsuitable intellectual and religious content. He stressed the importance of being aware of the dangers facing women.

For his part, the Palestinian Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Dr Muhammad Najm, said in his speech that Palestinian women have a role in spreading religious awareness, stressing that Palestinian women are inspiring and have taught their sons to love their homeland and will not submit no matter how many of their sons, fathers, or husbands are killed.

They are an example to be emulated in the Islamic nation and a great model for women. Najm stressed the importance of qualifying scholars and preparing them for the science of fatwa, especially preachers or exhorters, adding that “the Prophet (PBUH) showed us that we should focus on the role of women and that they should be qualified for every specialty required of them by legal or other authorities.

He explained that a preacher should understand the objectives of Sharia and its consequences and should understand that love of the homeland is part of faith, pointing out that women have a role in achieving local security and peace, whether in their homeland or in the entire nation. The 35th International Conference of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is being held in Cairo over two days under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, with the participation of about 60 countries and more than 100 dignitaries, including ministers, muftis, representatives of Islamic bodies, councils, and institutions in countries around the world. — KUNA