AMI Faculty Members Complete ‘Faith Leader Training Initiative’

On the 8th of January 2020, Al- Mahdi Institute’s Shaykh Ali Redha and Shaykh Mahmood Dhalla completed the “Faith Leader Training Initiative” (FLTI) which commenced in October 2019. The FLTI is an initiative that seeks to empower faith leaders with the confidence and knowledge to meet the changing needs of their congregations.

The programme was designed and shaped in direct collaboration between the Ministry of Housing, The Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, and leaders of various faiths and denominations to ensure the training meets the needs of religious ministers themselves.

Held at the Edgbaston cricket ground facilities in Birmingham, the programme was delivered over four days. The modules focused on improving faith leaders’ skills and their capacity in leading faith-based organisations. It assisted them in identifying and addressing issues like domestic and sexual abuse and mental health concerns, as well educating them on equality legislation and UK marriage law.

The initiative seeks to develop well-qualified, informed and confident faith leaders who will able to better support their communities and signpost them to the relevant professional services.

According to Shaykh Mahmood, ‘The programme was inclusive and inspirational, challenging but constructive, and delivered significant practical rewards in the transformative effect that well-trained and supported leaders can make among their communities.