Smart plans to take UAE’s Friday sermon to the world

Authorities plan to reach a bigger expatriate and international audience with the Friday sermon by making it available in several languages and creating a smartphone app.

Yesterday, the Islamic Affairs Authority told the Federal National Council that it would be establishing a department dedicated to the Friday sermon in an attempt to win more hearts and minds.

Dr Mohammed Al Kaabi, head of the authority, said multilingual sermons will be drafted for non-Arab speaking audiences, with the aim of fostering a culture of tolerance and combating extremism.

The languages will include English, French, Urdu and Chinese. English subtitles will also be used when the sermon is broadcast live on television.

The authority currently has a committee that issues a unified Friday sermon for all mosques across the country.

Some mosques already provide an English or Urdu translated version of the sermon. The new plan seeks to build on this.

“We have people from 226 countries following the Friday sermon on the authority’s website,” Dr Al Kaabi told the council.

He was responding to a question from FNC member Marwan bin Ghalita on measures the authority was taking to reach non-Arab speakers.

“The Friday sermon is the best opportunity to reach the masses, so it is important that the message reaches as many people as possible,” Mr Ghalita said.

Dr Al Kaabi said the authority is “aiming to spread a culture of tolerance and co-operation between all members of society and to combat extremism, radicalism and terrorism”.

It organises lectures and functions to coincide with religious, national and international events. The authority also plans to redistribute imams based on their nationality.

“Nowadays many people read the Quran on their phones, so it is good to have other services available on mobile phones too,” Mr Ghalita said.