Our discussion with Dr. Ayesha Al-Qahtani about “The role of the father in instilling language, values, and religion in children.”
The major challenges facing Muslim families in both Muslim and non-Muslim communities were the focus of discussions at a forum organized by Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) in partnership with the College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) – all members of Qatar Foundation.
The forum, which took place at Minaretein (Education City Mosque) under the theme “Family and Values in a Changing World”, opened with a special session addressing family values resulting from wars and conflicts, including Palestine.
Speaking about a family in Palestine, Dr. Nour Naim, a Palestinian academic and writer, said: “Between killing and displacement, hunger and homelessness, Gaza is losing more and more of its means of life every day. However, amidst all the images of death that besiege the family structure and its values there, the mother continues to provide for her family “the bread of unity”, and the bereaved father offers sacrifice and steadfastness, so that the image of family cohesion emerges in the children that does not shake it until death.”
In a discussion on the criteria of constants and variables in Sharia and social studies, Dr. Recep Şentürk, Dean at CIS, said: “Family is a sacred trust from Allah for us to protect and serve. The sustainability of Islamic civilization depends on the sustainability of the Muslim family which is the building block of the Ummah.”
Highlighting the rapid changes taking place, Dr. Sharifa Noman Al-Emadi, Executive Director of DIFI, said: “These changes force family members to search for new strategies for interaction and communication, which requires integration between traditional values and modern technologies. Technology opens a horizon for communication beyond borders, which requires determining the balance between technological progress and maintaining family ties.”
Dr. Ali Al-Sanad, presenter of “Mawazine” on Al Jazeera and Assistant Professor in the Department of Islamic Studies at the College of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait, said: “The necessity of understanding the nature of the era in which we live, and its most important features, is so that we can deal with the values fixed and variable within the Arab and Muslim family.”
Other topics discussed during the forum were the challenges of preserving values and absorbing change due to globalization and cultural openness for Muslim families; religion, geography, and global citizenship as part of the identity of Muslim families; the role of civil society in strengthening the family; and the role of policies and law in the social inclusion and exclusion of migrant families and its impact on the family’s value system.
The forum concluded with an open discussion on the priorities of the research agenda, recommending that it constitutes an interactive platform for experts, thinkers, researchers, policy makers, and civil society organizations to meet and exchange experiences and ideas on the topic.
The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) has launched the OSRA research grant in its sixth cycle which is a research grant on Arab families and family policy related issues.
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