Workshop for religious figures emphasises development

Some 300 Muslim and Christian spiritual leaders from all over Syria attended a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening their capacity to integrate development concepts into their sermons and religious institutions. “Imams and preachers can spiritually influence people,” said Project Director Bassam Estwani. “When the government enacts laws, citizens sometimes don’t respond. But they obey their religion when it tells them to do good deeds, for which they will be rewarded by God.” The event, which ended on Tuesday, was held in the city of Aleppo, some 350 km north of the capital, Damascus. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the UNDP and the Syrian Ministry of Religious Affairs. According to Ali al-Za’tari, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative, the programme aims at utilising the influence of religious leaders to promote development issues as well as religion. “Many preachers limit their sermons to religious concepts only, to the neglect of everyday-life issues,” said al-Za’tari. “Therefore, it’s important to enhance the role of religious leaders because they’re the easiest way to influence people.” The workshop focused on a number of topics, including education, poverty, health and women’s education. Assidor Battikha, patriarchal vicar of the Catholic Church of Damascus, urged mosques and churches to focus more on development, reform and modernisation. “We are in dire need of helping ourselves,” he said. “Nobody will do justice for us unless we do justice to ourselves.” Speakers also urged participants to confront issues relating to their congregations’ everyday lives. “Our platforms should be dedicated to daily concerns and to the essential issues of the people,” said Syria’s Grand Mufti, Ahmad Hassoun. Participants interviewed were left with positive impressions of the seminar. “I usually focus on religious teachings. I haven’t ever talked about development when preaching,” said Sheikh Abdul Bassett al-Ali. “Following this event, though, I’ll start to focus on other issues, especially education for girls.” A number of similar training courses are scheduled to be held in the future, covering topics such as children’s and women’s health, the environment, HIV/AIDS, drugs and solar energy.