Saeed Salman calls for Renaissance Project to Liberate Al Quds

The College of Engineering at Ajman University of Science & Technology (AUST) has hosted a seminar on ‘Jerusalem: History and Culture’ in collaboration with the Tarim Center for Architecture and Heritage in Damascus as part of the celebration of Al Quds/Jerusalem as a capital for Arab culture.
Sponsored by the German UAE Company for Trade and Services, the seminar brought together a group of historians, architecture and archeology experts, and media professionals from the UAE, Syria, Jordan and Germany, as well as a number of personalities representing different UAE governmental entities, including Mr. Mohammed Diab Al Mousa, Advisor of His Highness Ruler of Sharjah, Mr. Bilal Al Bodoor, Ministry of Culture, Youth & Community Development, Mr. Ibrahim Al Dhahiri, Department of Culture and Communication in Ajman, and Mr. Awad Saleh, Representative of the National Committee for Culture (UNESCO) in Abu Dhabi. In addition a number of intellectuals and academics from Berlin Open University attended.

The seminar included six lectures; the first being given from Berlin through video conference by Dr. Saeed Abdullah Salman, President of AUST. In his opening address Dr. Salman congratulated H.H. Sheikh Humaid Al Nuaimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ajman, AUST Chair of the Board of Trustees, for obtaining an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Bedfordshire. This, Dr. Salman said, he considered to be also an award to AUST, Ajman, the UAE in general and also to all Arab elites involved in the renaissance project for the rise of the Arab and Islamic worlds. The second lecture was delivered by H.E. Engineer Raef Najm, ex-minister of Jordan Endowments and Islamic Affairs, President of the Association for Al Quds Protection, and Vice President of Al Masjid Al Aqsa Reconstruction Committee. The subject of the lecture was ‘Jerusalem is in Danger’ and in it the speaker rang alarm bells with the intention of mobilizing the Arab and Islamic nations. Ms. Reem Abd Al Ghani, President of the Tarim Center for Architecture and Heritage in Damascus presented a lecture entitled ‘Makdisi/Jerusalem Dream’ in which she presented rare pictures of Al Quds with its minarets, churches, and historical monuments and landmarks which she enjoyed during her ‘dream visit’ before waking to find Israel occupiers inspecting Palestinian children and pointing their guns at old women at checkpoints. Engineer Rashad Bokhsh, Head of Architectural Heritage in Dubai Municipality, then presented a lecture entitled ‘Al Quds and the Architectural Heritage in the UAE,’ in which he highlighted the light and dark historical junctures that Al Masjid Al Aqsa and Al Quds have passed in ancient and modern history. He then gave an overview of features of UAE architecture and heritage derived from different types of Islamic and Arabic architecture. The fifth speaker was Dr. Eman Al Assi, Heritage Expert at Dubai Municipality. She presented a lecture entitled ‘Reconstruction of Old Houses in Al Quds Old City’ in which she talked about one of the ways to preserve the architectural heritage of Al Quds Medina. The seminar was concluded by a lecture by Mr. Haroon Al Soweis, Head of the Arabic Section at Berlin Radio in Germany, via video conferencing. He spoke about the great blackout of the Israeli authorities in occupied part of Al Quds regarding its historic monuments and heritage, the change of Arab names, denominations, distortion of history and its negative exploitation through the presentation of wrong information to visitors and tourists in all languages except Arabic. In addition, Arab residential areas in Al Quds were deliberately not shown as a means of suppressing everything related to Arabic and Arab heritage.

During the discussion that followed the lectures, attendees made comments and asked many questions on the effectiveness of the government and non-governmental finance of the reconstruction of Al Quds; how Arabs can raise awareness campaigns on Al Quds; the utilization of Arabic culture to rectify the false image spread by Zionists; and ways in which academia and the research community can contribute to the rise of the Arab and Islamic worlds and the liberation of Al Quds/Jerusalem.