Ramadan Forum to be bigger and better

A series of lectures, presentations and Islam-themed events will be hosted by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) from July 3 to July 14.

This year’s Ramadan Forum will see a bigger line-up of events and activities. During the 12-day event, Taraweeh prayers will be hosted at the Zabeel Hall in Dubai World Trade Center, bringing together thousands of Muslims and some of the finest Quran reciters from across the Muslim world.

Be careful when buying your iftar: DM

Staff Reporter

dubai – With Ramadan preparations in full swing, authorities in Dubai are making every effort to ensure food health and hygiene during the holy month. Keeping with the tradition of serving hot snacks during iftar, food outlets in Dubai are being asked to follow guidelines set out by the Dubai Municipality (DM).

“It’s a tradition to display and sell foods outside the shop during Ramadan. Without prior approval from the food control department, no food establishment would be allowed to display or sell snack food outside their premises,” said Khalid Sharif, Director of the Food Control Department.

Popular iftar snacks include foods like Samosa, Pakora and fried potato. Food outlets have been asked not to prepare foods long before iftar, keeping in view of the health and hygiene concerns.

Sultan Ali Tahir, head of the Food Inspection Section, said, “Foods can be displayed and sold two hours before iftar time. No food should be displayed or sold outside the premises after iftar. It is preferred that the final cooking should be done maximum two hours before the selling time.”

Each food outlet is also required to submit a list of foods that the shop intends to display outside its premises.

“All foods should be displayed in closed food cabinets that are suitable for food display and storage. Display cabinets must be located in a suitable place adequately protected from external contaminants. Food establishments must refrain from preparing, cooking and reheating foods outside the food establishment,” added Sultan.

Each eatery will also have to maintain a temperature and time record for foods displayed in shelves. The Food Control Department has published the instructions in different languages like Arabic, English, Urdu and Malayalam in order to ensure the message reaches several sections of the people.

Food inspectors will keep a tight watch on eateries serving iftar snacks, and instructions have been directed to all restaurants, cafeterias, sweet shops, bakeries and catering companies. Members of the public can also help the municipality by reporting violations to the hotline on 800900. -muaz@khaleejtimes.com

A series of lectures, presentations and Islam-themed events will be hosted by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) from July 3 to July 14 as part of the forum.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Hamad bin Mejren, Executive Director of Business Tourism at the DTCM, said, “The holy month of Ramadan is an important month for all of us living here. There is a large expat community who hardly understands the Islamic values and it is an opportunity for us to unite people from all nationalities and create an understanding among them.”

This year, the Arabic lectures and presentations will be translated into English simultaneously, offering non-Arabic participants an opportunity to make the most of them. The lectures could be available live via specially designed Apple and Android apps for people in areas outside Dubai.

In addition, participants attending any given lecture will be able to register for the next lecture by sending a ‘Short Code’ that is displayed on the screen during the session. They will also be able to register via the Apple and Android apps.

“The forum is considered to be an enlightenment platform that hosts the most famous shaikhs and Islamic scholars in the Arab and Islamic world while boosting religious tourism in the emirate by offering its own unique calendar of events. The forum also promotes the right teachings and concepts of Islam and cements Dubai’s position as a leading tourism destination, which maintains the Islamic values as well as the traditions and heritage of the Islamic community,” he added.

Last year’s Ramadan forum was attended by a total of 100,000 people and Dr Zakir Naik’s lecture was the most attended event with more than 9,000 people in the audience. This year, more people are expected to attend the forum with the live English translation expected to make the event more meaningful for non-Arabic speakers.

Lectures in 5 languages

Lectures will be hosted in five foreign languages with Bengali being the newest addition to the line-up. English lectures will be presented by Dr Zakir Naik and Wajdi Akkari, Tagalog by Omar Penalber and Nuh Caparino; Malayalam by Sheikh Hussain Salafi; and Urdu by Sheikh Dr Wasiullah Abbas and Sheikh Zafar Ul-Hasan. The newly added lecture in Bengali will be conducted by Sheikh Moti Ur-Rahman bin Abdul Hakeem.

Event organisers will continue to host daily Iftar for more than 3,000 labourers in special tents at Muhaisnah 2. An additional 1,000 meals will be served for Iftar in Hor Al Anz, aimed at reaching out to working class bachelors.

Exhibition

The Exhibition of Scientific Miracles in the Noble Qur’an is another new component of the forum, which will display posters showcasing verses of the Qur’an depicting scientific miracles, linked with recent discoveries in contemporary science. The posters will be bilingual with explanations in English and corresponding illustrations and CGI animations. Further, twelve television episodes will be broadcasted on Noor Dubai channel on ‘Scientific Miracles’.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com

Events and activities

Visiting the sick

The organising committee will arrange a team along with a few scholars and preachers for field visits to hospitals — meeting patients of all ages to spread the feeling of affection and healing in the hearts of the patients.

Health campaigns

In collaboration with Dubai Municipality’s Department of Health Education and Dubai Health Authority (DHA) as well as private medical companies, the forum will offer a health education campaign for visitors to the event in the main venue and in the workers’ iftar tent in Al Muhaisnah and Hor Al Anz. The aim is to focus on the integration between the Prophetic medicine and modern medicine by providing information and services focused on this aspect.

Convoy of Goodness

Under the Convoy of Goodness initiative, a number of buses will tour Dubai providing ‘The Ramadan Forum’ bag of Islamic educational material to people who are fasting as well as other citizens and residents.

‘Be a Preacher’ zone

Free gift bags of educational material will be distributed to the audience that can be further presented to non-Muslims. The idea behind the zone is to make it easier for anyone to present gifts that offer the message of the noble religion of Islam to non-Muslim colleagues, neighbours and friends.

Daily prize draws

Valuable prizes can be won daily including the ‘Ramadan Forum Umrah’, a Samsung S5 smart phone, and an iPad Air. The audience can improve their chances to win by registering on the forum website www.almultaqa.ae, via the Apple or Android apps.

More details on these links

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/almultaqa.ae

Twitter: http://twitter.com/multaqaramadani

Instagram: http://instagram.com/almultaqaalramadani

Connect with the organizers on WhatsApp: 0502136555

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