Ramadan lecture series in Dubai featuring renowned sheikhs open to public

Sheikh Zayed Mosque at dusk on the first morning of Ramadan. Victor Besa / The National Section: National

An Australian doctor named on ISIL’s “kill list” in 2016 will be among the guest speakers at a series of lectures held in Dubai throughout Ramadan.

Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury founded the Islamic development organisation Mercy Mission and attracted the ire of ISIL in 2016 after giving a speech to British anti-terrorism experts about working with the West to dismantle terrorist ideologies using the Quran.

He will be addressing the Rashid bin Mohammed Ramadan Gathering alongside Ahmed Hamed.

Among the other prominent speakers will be Dr Zair Naik, an Indian Islamic preacher who founded and is the president of the Islamic Research Foundation. Dr Naik also founded the Peace TV channel with a reported reach of 200 million viewers. He will speak about Media and Islam and be available for a question and answer session the following day.

Ismail ibn Musa Menk, who is also known as Mufti Menk and is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe, will kick off the first of the talks.

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In its third year, the Rashid bin Mohammed Ramadan Gathering is open to the public and hosts lectures in a variety of languages, including Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali in addition to English.

Lectures - beginning at 10.30pm at the Rashid Bin Mohammed Ramadan Gathering tent in Al Khawaneej 1 - will cover topics such as happiness, the threat of extremism on communities, finding patience and "the celebrities of paradise".

The programmes are organised by Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department and held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.

The goal behind the Ramadan Gathering is to preserve Islamic values of tolerance and maintain the customs and traditions inherited among different segments of society in Dubai.

Besides the lectures, a traditional souq is also organised to promote the local culture and heritage.

For more information visit the Rashid bin Mohammed Ramadan Gathering website.