FaceOf: Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan, secretary-general of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies

Updated 01 August 2018
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FaceOf: Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan, secretary-general of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies

JEDDAH: Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan is the secretary-general of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS).

The center was established in 1976 with a vision of continuing the noble mission of the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz (1906-1975) in spreading knowledge between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.

The center serves as a platform bringing together researchers and institutions to preserve, publish, and produce scholastic work.

This week, Al-Sarhan co-signed an agreement with Amazon, the international e-commerce company, to post books and studies of the KFCRIS on the Amazon Kindle e-reader website.

The agreement also includes providing KFCRIS’s publications on the Kindle application, available on mobile devices such as iPad, iPhone and Android, and other application stores.

Al-Sarhan said this step reflects KFCRIS’s eagerness to spread the cultural, literary, and scientific heritage of Islam and the Arab world through a notable electronic platform.

Having been appointed in 2016, Al-Sarhan is tasked with supervising the center’s research department.

He is also an honorary research fellow at the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at Exeter University, as well as a Distinguished International Affairs Fellow of the National Council on US-Arab Relations, in the US.

A Saudi writer with a focus on political and social changes within the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Sarhan received his doctorate from Exeter University in the UK.

He has multiple publications that touch upon the Iraq and Syria crises, as well as topics relating to the ideology of political Islamic groups, specifically their justifications for violence within Islamic ideology.


Two Holy Mosques authority launches smart interactive map system

Updated 4 sec ago
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Two Holy Mosques authority launches smart interactive map system

MADINAH: A new smart interactive map system has been inaugurated for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.

CEO of the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque Ghazi Al-Shahrani said that the smart interactive map facilitated the movement of visitors and worshipers while significantly enhancing navigational efficiency within the two holy mosques. The system is designed to guide visitors along the most suitable routes, support real-time updates, ensure safe navigation and enhance the overall quality of the experience.

Al-Shahrani said that the results achieved were part of the authority’s efforts to advance digital transformation and leverage smart technologies in serving pilgrims. He said that this system was one of dozens launched recently that contributed to generating operational data that supported decision-making, enhanced understanding of challenges and paved the way for developing future digital systems.

Interactive maps are part of a smart digital system that provides real-time spatial guidance, powered by live operational data linked to control rooms. This enables visitors to be directed to the most appropriate routes during closures or congestion, with immediate and accurate updates.

Executive vice president of digital transformation at the authority, Mohammed Al-Saqr, said that the pilot phase of the maps, which began during Ramadan, was integrated with the color coding and metric addressing system, which divided the Two Holy Mosques into clear geographical zones that supported smart operations and activated spatial data as part of an integrated services and analytics ecosystem. He said that this launch represented the first step in a project that would continue to evolve over the coming years, with further development planned through 2026.

Al-Saqr said that the system featured more than 950 points of interest across 13 service categories, supported by more than 650 QR codes for easy access. It could also generate more than 100,000 dynamic routes, automatically optimized in real time based on operational conditions and crowd flow.

Director of business solutions at the authority, Waheeb Al-Mutrafi, said that the maps enabled precise location-based reporting and contributed to accelerating access to electric carts through ticket numbers via a smart platform built on field data verified over several months, enhancing operational efficiency and improving the quality of services provided to worshippers.