Ministry of Islamic Affairs... and the Digital Memory
Sometimes a news item appears small in scope, yet it reveals a much larger project behind it.
A reader might dismiss the news as merely a new electronic service, which is understandable. However, I believe that focusing solely on the news item misses the real story. The story is not just about the service itself, but about what is happening behind the scenes.
When the Waqf (endowment) service becomes digital, following previous digital services for Hajj, mosques, and employee systems, and when dedicated mobile applications are built for these services, we are no longer discussing a ministry that has simply added some electronic services. Rather, we are witnessing a gradual process of building a digital infrastructure within the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. It is precisely here that this initiative deserves our attention.
From the citizen’s perspective, in the traditional model, completing a government transaction often meant identifying the relevant authority, locating it, finding the concerned employee, submitting documents, waiting, and then returning to complete any missing requirements.
In contrast, the digital model flips this dynamic. The citizen no longer searches for the employee; instead, the service comes to them. Therefore, when the ministry replaces paper with data, it does more than just save time; it builds a database, which serves as the raw material for any institution seeking to later transition to analysis, forecasting, and decision-making based on accurate information.
From a broader perspective, if we aggregate these services initiated by the ministry, we discover a network of data that is gradually expanding: data on pilgrims, data on campaigns, data on mosques, data on imams and muezzins, employee data, public feedback, customer satisfaction survey results, and data on Waqf, its donors, and its expenditures. If this data is interconnected within the frameworks of legal compliance, privacy, and information security, a digital memory is formed.
This digital memory is the key point that leads me to view the developments at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs from a different angle. True digital transformation does not mean simply replacing paper with a screen; it means enabling the institution itself to operate through interconnected data, standardized procedures, performance indicators, digital communication channels, and decisions based on information.
What we see today can be interpreted as the practical implementation of a broader strategic path and a continuous administrative decision. This highlights the role of leadership. Therefore, the vision of the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Al-Osaimi, which is being implemented by the Deputy Minister, Dr. Engineer Sulaiman Al-Suwailim, in collaboration with ministry leadership and relevant executive bodies, deserves praise from this specific perspective. This is not because a new application has appeared on a mobile phone, but because the sequence of steps leads us toward building a digital memory. This is the difference between digitizing a transaction and building a digital institution.
