JEDDAH: Universities across the country will help instill a sense of intellectual security and Islamic behavior in the minds and hearts of young people to safeguard them from the plots of the “enemies of Islamic religion,” said the President of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a), Wednesday, in Jeddah. The Hai'a has developed strategic partnerships with major educational bodies including, the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, to guide Muslim youth and prevent them from importing and imitating un-Islamic behavior from non-Muslim societies, said Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Hummayyen, during a scholarly gathering to review the achievements of the Prince Sultan Chair for Youth Research and Hisbah Issues, at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), in Jeddah. Al-Hummayyen called for a unified national strategy between the Hai'a and relevant government and civil community organizations to urge Saudi youth to follow the right path of Islam. The Hai'a has signed partnership agreements with King Abdulaziz University, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to help create Islamic behavior codes so that young people can comply with Almighty Allah's description of the Muslim Ummah as the best nation ever created for mankind enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, he said. The Hai'a is still looking for more partnerships to help it promote the values of true moderate Islam among Saudi youth, he added. The Saudi leadership has always been supportive of the mission and development of the Hai'a's operations, he said. “Crown Prince Sultan has always inquired about the works of his chair at the university (KAU) and has provided guidance for us all,” he added. Prince Sultan Chair for Youth Research and Hisbah Issues at KAU, which was founded early last year through a partnership between KAU and the Hai'a, aims to determine the major reasons for the wide gap between Hai'a officers and Saudi youth, and to try to reach out to the youth and guide them, said Noah Al-Shehri, supervisor of the Chair. “The contemporary discourse on young people should take into consideration the dynamics of social change as well as youths' exposure to the world around them,” he said. The Chair, however, aspires to be a distinguished research center to promote Islamic values among Saudi youth and spread a culture of Islamic-guided behavior, he said. The Chair also works to improve the performance of Hai'a staffers in different fields, including English language and communication skills, Al-Shehri added. The Chair is planning to set up an intensive English language program in February for its field officers to help them communicate better with non-Arabic speakers in the country, he said.
