wikishia:About: Difference between revisions

'''WikiShia''' is a free online encyclopedia about Shi'a, one of the major denominations in [[Islam]]. This wiki contains more than 7000 pages about Shi'a in 8 languages including English, Farsi, Spanish, Turkish, French, Arabic, Urdu, Bahasa. WikiShia which is affiliated with [[Ahl Al-Bayt World Assembly]] was officially launched On [[June 22]], 2014 in the International Congress of Sibt al-Nabi (a) in Tehran, by Hasan Rohani, the president of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]].

[[Religion]] in general and [[Islam]] and especially Shia are among topics about which there are extensive information provided in virtual encyclopedias. But, since the contributors of these encyclopedias either have lack of Islamic information or they might be non-believers in Islam or Shia, frequent misconceptions and errors are found in entries regarding Islamic concepts.

According to the problems in Internet websites about Shia beliefs, the needs of Shia around the world and also other researchers for accessing genuine Islamic and Shia beliefs, it was found necessary to build this encyclopedia on the web. Therefore, launching WikiShia with the goal of introducing and defending the school of the Ahlul Bayt (a) was scheduled among the programs of the Cultural Deputy of the Ahlul Bayt (a) World Assembly.

On [[May 22]], 2013, the first session for collaboration of the authors of WikiShia was held<ref>[http://fa.abna24.com/cultural//archive/2013/05/22/421966/story.html Photo report on the first meeting of the researchers of WikiShia Project] (Farsi)</ref> and after some session of education, on June 17th, the first entry of WikiShia was published on the web.

 

In July 2013, the option for browsing the website without username was made available to all Internet users.

On [[June 22]], 2013, in the International Congress of Sibt al-Nabi (a) in Tehran, WikiShia in English was officially launched by Hasan Rohani, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

* General Islamic concepts which are believed by all Muslims or related to the Islamic history.

* Concepts related to other Islamic sects will be introduced in WikiShia only if they are related to the school of the Ahlul Bayt (a) in some ways or they are frequently mentioned in WikiShia.

The first entry of English WikiShia was [[Hannana Mosque]] which was published on November 30, 2013. By the end of 2014, the number of articles reached 597. And Right now, WikiShia has [[special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}]] articles in English and it's growing up day by day.

* The content of WikiShia is supervised so it can be relied upon as an authentic source for introducing Shia.

* WikiShia is an encyclopedia which is currently running in a limited way but it is planned to be opened to all Shia to contribute to its perfection and propagates the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt (a). Currently, editing this encyclopedia is possible with the permission of the managers. Users are allowed to contribute and make synergy in writing the entries and try to increase the scholarly value of them.

* Neutrality policy in the concepts of Shia and the Ahlul Bayt (a) are observed but it is obvious that WikiShia is preaching the school of the Ahlul Bayt (a) and the entries are written to explain and defend their teachings.

* Due to religious disagreements, authors try their best to benefit from first hand sources accepted by the two great Islamic schools (Shia and Sunni).

 

* Permanent editing

* Updating and adding information to entries

* The page of "Recent changes" which show all changes made to the entries of WikiShia to the readers.

* The option for retrieving previous information and changes

* Cross-links between entries, so that to read about anything mentioned in the entries without searching, the reader can instantly hit the cross link and go to the entries explaining the concepts in the links. This feature helps the reader have access to all the concepts in every entry and receives complete information surrounding the topic he is studying.

* Linking every entry in one language to the same entry in other languages

* Using categories at the end of entries. Categories are general topics and topic indices of WikiShia.

* Navigation templates are templates which make the links related with every entry in the horizontal box below the entries and sometimes placed vertically at the sides of the entries. The links between the concepts in these boxes are parallel so that all these concepts are categorized under one general topic.

* Infobox are templates which are usually placed above entries and play the role of presenting information in brief. By referring to Infobox, one can get a picture of major issues mentioned in the entry without reading all of it.

* Every page and entry in Wikishia has a discussion tab as well. The discussion page let the readers inform the authors and editors of the entries about their opinions. The discussion page is in fact a place for discussion of experts and enthusiasts in one topic and helps the content richness of the entries.