HE the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak bin Imran al-Kuwari honoured, in a ceremony held on Thursday night, graduates of the seventh training course for Qatari imams and preachers and a number of the course’s teachers.

The list of the graduates honoured at the ceremony, which was held at a Ramadan tent next to the mosque of Imam Mohamed Ibn Abdul Wahab, comprised 55 imams and preachers.

Director of Da’wa and Religious Guidance Mohamed al-Mahmoud said in a speech during the ceremony that the new batch of graduates was the fruit of the efforts made since 2005 when Qatari Imam and Preacher project was started.

He said: “We had been suffering from the lack of Qatari preachers and we received many complaints and questions about the reason for the absence of Qatari imams and preachers. That prompted the ministry to launch the project in 2005.”

The number of Qatari imams and preachers who have passed the courses, organised by the department’s Institute of Da’wa and Islamic Sciences exceeded 150, al-Mahmoud said.