JEDDAH/MADINA/TABUK: A number of presidents of Saudi universities and officials described the Prince Naif Chair for Moral Values as a constructive initiative to protect the society from deviant thought and foreign ideological invasion. They told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the Chair would instill, consolidate and strengthen values and morals in the society; enrich public libraries with studies and research in this field; and confront all forms of behavioral deviation and contemporary challenges in the age of globalization. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulema and Religious Research and Ifta Administrations, said the Prince Naif Chair for Moral Values is a means to disseminate values and virtues and intensify scientific research that urges the diagnosis of moral diseases to find the medicines that treat them. The Grand Mufti said the Islamic Shariah has urged Muslims to attach great importance and attention to morals and values and it has instructed them to have such qualities. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Hassan Aal Al-Sheikh, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema, said the Chair is starting from a correct vision by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and minister of Interior, adding that he is concerned about the overall concept of security, including the intellectual, moral and values-based aspects of people's lives. Aal Al-Sheikh said if values in the society weaken, they become susceptible to evil and thoughts that disturb the sons and daughters of the society and lead them to adopting ideological and intellectual trends outside Islamic values and teachings, which do not bear the motto of the religion, the Islamic approach and the nation. Dr. Bakri Bin Ma'toug Assas, President of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, said consolidating the proper values is the first line of defense against the menacing aspects of globalization and the adverse aspects of modern civilization, which are rejected by the virtuous people in the society. The Prince Naif Chair for Moral Values has come to stress that the concept of real civilization is linked to its main moral component, which is a major part of man's outlook toward life on one hand, and guarantees survival and continuity for any civilization, on the other, said Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Al-Enizi, President of Tabuk University. At a time when development becomes incomplete, as modern civilization empties it of its moral content and values, the scientific, intellectual and cultural institutions have started viewing this matter with concern, he said. These institutions are striving to put a limit to this adverse aspect of modern civilization and look into the dangers that might stem from it, he added. Dr. Al-Enizi said universities are eager to ensure that research under the Chairs in these universities should not be merely theoretical. He stressed that this is what makes the idea of research Chairs distinctive and added that they are based on making the best use of time and stimulating capabilities to conduct serious, fruitful research. The Prince Naif Chair can be a new state of contemplation on a number of moral issues relevant to all generations, boost positive values and pave the way for a number of projects that tackle issues such as behavioral and ideological deviation and the appearance of morals that do not conform to the values of the Muslim society, which has guaranteed mental, social and cultural security for mankind, he said.
