Egypt Provides Digital Transformation Training to Mosque Preachers

The Egyptian Minister of Endowments leads the activities of an “educational camp”, organized by the ministry in Alexandria. (Photo: Egyptian Endowments website)
The Egyptian Minister of Endowments leads the activities of an “educational camp”, organized by the ministry in Alexandria. (Photo: Egyptian Endowments website)
TT

Egypt Provides Digital Transformation Training to Mosque Preachers

The Egyptian Minister of Endowments leads the activities of an “educational camp”, organized by the ministry in Alexandria. (Photo: Egyptian Endowments website)
The Egyptian Minister of Endowments leads the activities of an “educational camp”, organized by the ministry in Alexandria. (Photo: Egyptian Endowments website)

Egypt will train mosque imams and preachers on digital transformation and cyberspace, in an endeavor to improve their capabilities and maximize their communication skills.

The training on computer and digital transformation will kick off on Saturday at the International Endowment Academy for Training and Rehabilitation of Imams in Giza.

The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) said that the program was aimed at enhancing scientific excellence and knowledge among the imams and the ministry’s employees.

Egyptian Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa inaugurated in January the International Awqaf Academy (IAA), a training institute for imams and preachers in the governorate of Giza.

In a speech on the occasion, the minister said that the Academy was a starting point toward moving forward with the call “to renew Islamic discourse to face an intellectual stalemate and extremism.”

The IAA was built on an area of 11,000 square meters for 100 million Egyptian pounds ($5.6 million), funded by the Ministry of Endowments, and fitted with modern equipment and computer rooms.

The initiative came upon the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who had called for developing training programs for imams and preachers, to improve their capabilities and communication skills.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
TT

US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.