emirates7 - The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre recently hosted two cultural workshops at the Mosque Library, welcoming 39 male and female students from schools across Abu Dhabi. Organised in partnership with the Ministry of Education, these events are part of a broader series of four workshops scheduled for April and May 2025, aimed at engaging school students in cultural enrichment.
These workshops fall under the "Al Shabab Al Banie" initiative, a programme dedicated to nurturing the youth—the group the late Founding Father considered the nation’s true wealth and the foundation of its future progress. As part of this vision, the Centre consistently holds educational and interactive events designed to enhance the intellectual and cultural development of various age groups.
The initiative aims to inspire a generation of creative and forward-thinking young minds by providing a dynamic learning environment. It also strives to make the Mosque Library a cultural hub for young people. Each workshop began with an introductory tour, allowing students to explore the library’s extensive collections, services, and facilities.
Covering a range of cultural and artistic themes, the workshops explored the role of reading in developing language skills, strategies for instilling a love of reading in children, and techniques for selecting appropriate books. Students also examined the historical relevance of maps, their interpretation and uses in navigation, and learned about different styles of ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy.
In addition to the workshops, students toured the Light & Peace Museum and experienced the immersive “Diya – A Universe of Light” exhibition. These visits provided further insight into Islamic civilisation and its interactions with global cultures through various books and artefacts.
Opened in 2010, the Mosque Library serves as a gateway for scholars and enthusiasts to access the intellectual and artistic legacy of Islamic civilisation—an enduring bridge between cultures. This rich repository was made possible through the ongoing support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court. His Highness notably donated nearly 3,000 rare and valuable books and journals in 14 languages, underlining a strong commitment to preserving Islamic knowledge and arts for future generations.
The library also features 27 publications produced by the Centre, which spotlight Arab and Islamic heritage and promote the values of tolerance, coexistence, and fraternity—principles central to the UAE’s national identity. A special section of the library houses approximately 500 rare volumes, including a standout piece: A Description of an Arab Celestial Sphere Inscribed with Kufic Script – Preserved at the Borgia Museum in Padua (1790). This Latin text by Simon Assemani and Giuseppe Toaldo is the oldest in the collection.
Additionally, the library safeguards an expansive archive of Arabic manuscripts with over 50,000 microfilm copies, offering a valuable resource for research in fields such as Hadith, biography, and Islamic arts.
These workshops fall under the "Al Shabab Al Banie" initiative, a programme dedicated to nurturing the youth—the group the late Founding Father considered the nation’s true wealth and the foundation of its future progress. As part of this vision, the Centre consistently holds educational and interactive events designed to enhance the intellectual and cultural development of various age groups.
The initiative aims to inspire a generation of creative and forward-thinking young minds by providing a dynamic learning environment. It also strives to make the Mosque Library a cultural hub for young people. Each workshop began with an introductory tour, allowing students to explore the library’s extensive collections, services, and facilities.
Covering a range of cultural and artistic themes, the workshops explored the role of reading in developing language skills, strategies for instilling a love of reading in children, and techniques for selecting appropriate books. Students also examined the historical relevance of maps, their interpretation and uses in navigation, and learned about different styles of ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy.
In addition to the workshops, students toured the Light & Peace Museum and experienced the immersive “Diya – A Universe of Light” exhibition. These visits provided further insight into Islamic civilisation and its interactions with global cultures through various books and artefacts.
Opened in 2010, the Mosque Library serves as a gateway for scholars and enthusiasts to access the intellectual and artistic legacy of Islamic civilisation—an enduring bridge between cultures. This rich repository was made possible through the ongoing support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court. His Highness notably donated nearly 3,000 rare and valuable books and journals in 14 languages, underlining a strong commitment to preserving Islamic knowledge and arts for future generations.
The library also features 27 publications produced by the Centre, which spotlight Arab and Islamic heritage and promote the values of tolerance, coexistence, and fraternity—principles central to the UAE’s national identity. A special section of the library houses approximately 500 rare volumes, including a standout piece: A Description of an Arab Celestial Sphere Inscribed with Kufic Script – Preserved at the Borgia Museum in Padua (1790). This Latin text by Simon Assemani and Giuseppe Toaldo is the oldest in the collection.
Additionally, the library safeguards an expansive archive of Arabic manuscripts with over 50,000 microfilm copies, offering a valuable resource for research in fields such as Hadith, biography, and Islamic arts.