Abu Dhabi: Several mosques in Abu Dhabi will offer Friday sermons in English, French, Mandarin and Urdu for non-Arabic-speaking worshippers, Dr Mohammed Mattar Al Kaabi, chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, told the Federal National Council on Wednesday.
The move is part of the new plans for the next year approved by the Cabinet, Al Kaabi said as he answered a question raised by Marwan Ahmad Bin Galita, First Deputy Speaker of the House.
Worshippers will also be able to receive interpretation of the sermon via a smart phone application and TV screens posted at these mosques.
“At present, the Friday sermon is translated into English and Urdu and posted on a weekly basis on the portal of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs,” Al Kaabi said.
He said 100 mosques across the country offer a brief Arabic sermon, followed by sermons in other languages including English, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam.
“English and Urdu interpretation of the sermon is also aired on the Abu Dhabi Quran Radio, shortly after the Friday prayer.
The General Authority for Islamic Affairs also offers more than 26,000 lectures in Urdu in mosques annually.
The authority also published and distributed to members of communities in the UAE around 500,000 books about religious, social and moral values. It also issued around 5 million fatwas to answer all sort of their queries about Sharia.
