As
part of its constructive response against the insulting cartoons of
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Islamonline.net has
begun a project, Muhammad: A Mercy for All to introduce the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) and his message of Islam as a way
of life to peoples worldwide. The project is presented in different
European languages and is carried out on three levels.
1.
Web Sites
At
this level are the following programs:
A.
Web sites in several languages will be launched to introduce the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Islam to non-Muslims
in a way that suits their different cultures and contemporary
issues. The work team to carry out this task must be native
speakers of the given language, as mere academic knowledge of the
language is not sufficient. The following steps will be taken
during 2006:
1.
The materials that IslamOnline.net already has in both Arabic
and English will be translated or updated to be published in an
independent Web site. This is expected to be completed by the
end of March. Forty-seven percent of Europeans speak English (as
a first or second language).
2.
A Web site in German on the model of the IslamOnline.net English
Web site will be launched. Thirty-two percent of Europeans speak
German (as a first or second language).
3.
A Web site in French will be prepared. Twenty-eight percent of
Europeans speak French (as a first or second language).
B.
A cultural training course will be given via the Internet to about
40 European journalists to acquaint them with Islam and Allah's
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
2.
Books and Compact Discs
IslamOnline.net's
materials will be reprinted in books or on compact discs (CDs).
Specialist companies will take the responsibility of publication and
distribution. Work has already been done on a book about the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) to be published in English.
3.
Dialogues
IslamOnline.net
can arrange dialogues between Muslim and non-Muslim journalists,
scholars, and intellectuals in an attempt to create constructive
understanding on both sides. Such dialogues can take several shapes:
A.
Lectures by speakers on both sides
B.
Discussions by members of both sides
C.
Cultural courses
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Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.
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Dr.
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the chairman of the board of IslamOnline.net, and
his deputy, Dr. `Ali Al-Qura Daghi, announced in the first week of
February the launch of the project Muhammad: A Mercy for All as a
constructive response against the anti-Prophet campaign.
In
a statement issued on Monday, February 6, 2006, Dr. Al-Qura Daghi
said, "We have decided to launch a big Web site about Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him): A Mercy for All under the
supervision of IslamOnline.net, the greatest global Islamic Web site
on the Internet."
Al-Qura
Daghi also called upon Muslims to support this project financially
and morally: "We call upon our brothers and sisters in Islam to
support this project financially, especially that the eminent
scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who supervises the implementation
of the project, has given a fatwa to the effect that it is
permissible to pay zakah, sadaqah and doubtful money to
IslamOnline.net as a donation. Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, moreover, has
described this project as 'jihad of the modern age.' We also call
upon Muslims to give moral support to the project by inviting the
friends of IslamOnline.net to participate voluntarily in its
activities and services. We are going to prepare special programs to
show how they can share in this respect."
In
the same statement, Al-Qura Daghi called upon people to use
"the modern mass media, the Internet, printed materials, and TV
channels to face the anti-Prophet campaign positively, in compliance
with Almighty Allah's teachings to defend Islam against ridicule and
malice."
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Dr. `Ali Al-Qura Daghi.
|
In
his contribution to the Shari`ah and Life program on Al-Jazeera
Satellite Channel on February 5, 2006, Al-Qura Daghi said, "I
suggest that we can effectively and positively deal with the
anti-Prophet campaign through some steps, at the top of which is
launching an international Web site in all spoken languages to
introduce the biography of Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be
upon him) [to all peoples worldwide]. This step can be carried out
by the institution of IslamOnline.net, which I feel highly honored
to belong to."
In
fact, IslamOnline.net has received many requests to introduce Islam
and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in several
languages. IslamOnline.net launched a page in early February to
address European
Muslims. It has also launched a special page for
dealing with the crisis of the offensive cartoons of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him).
Donations
for the project can be paid to the following account:
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Qatar
Islamic Bank - Main Branch
Doha – Qatar
Account No. 242020
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Main
Languages Spoken in Europe
|
Total
Percent of Europeans Who Speak It |
Percent
of Europeans Who Speak It as a Second Language |
Percent
of Europeans Who Speak It as Their Mother Tongue |
Language |
|
32 |
8 |
24 |
German |
|
47 |
31 |
16 |
English |
|
28 |
12 |
16 |
French |
|
18 |
2 |
16 |
Italian |
|
15 |
4 |
11 |
Spanish |
|
7 |
1 |
6 |
Dutch |
|
3 |
0 |
3 |
Greek |
|
3 |
0 |
3 |
Portuguese |
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
Swedish |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
Danish |
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
Finnish |