"I’m confident that the Islamic call will gain ground in Africa, but we need wise and prudent preachers," said Samit

By Rajab Al-Damnhouri, IOL  Correspondent

KUWAIT CITY, May 9 (IslamOnline.net) – A Kuwaiti Muslim relief group has sent aid convoys to the war-torn region of Darfur in western Sudan to counter blooming proselytizing activity under the guise of humanitarian relief.

"The Direct Relief was quick to send aid relief to Darfur and plans to upgrade schools in the restless region," the charity president, Abdul Rahman Al-Samit, told IslamOnline.net.

He said the effort is nothing new to the region, noting that the group sent drills and generators to pump underground water and had been working there for 20 years.

Al-Samit regretted that missionaries had succeeded in snaking through Darfur "which has given birth to scores who learnt the Noble Qur’an by heart".

"They have, unfortunately, pitted the Arab shepherds and their native non-Arab farmers against each other, sparking a bloody civil war inflamed by misconduct of some government officials," he said.

Humanitarian Guise

Al-Samit warned that missionaries wanted to get a foothold in the region under the guise of humanitarian relief.

"I’m pretty sure that the wisdom of the warring parties there would prevail at the end of the day, bringing peace and stability to the restive area.

"I wish to see hundreds of thousands of Darfur people, who fled the conflict, return to their farms and loved ones," he said.

Irrespective of mind-boggling budgets, proselytism "lacks a creed compatible with intuition", Samit remarked.

"I’m confident that the Islamic call will gain ground in Africa, but we need wise and prudent preachers," recalling that up to four million people in Africa have converted to Islam since 1980.

Al-Samit regretted mounting pressures on Islamic charities worldwide under the pretext of fighting "terrorism", warning that this would eventually backfire by stoking up extremism.

"We are determined, however, to press on with our relief effort, taking such wrong accusations in our strides."

He blamed media and security services for tarnishing the image of Islamic charities and dampening their successes.

Al-Samit asserted that his association is now focusing on improving education standards across poverty-stricken Africa at school and university levels by offering scholarships, upgrading schools and building more Islamic centers.

The association, he added, also issues a monthly magazine called Al-Kawthar, on Muslims in the black continent to draw the attention of Arabs to this corner of the world.

"Development is the keyword. We try our best to develop marginalized African societies though an organized and institutionalized aid work," Samit stressed.

An Egyptian medical convoy was sent to southern Sudan May 5, becoming the first Arab relief aid to the region in 10 years.

Two rebel groups in Darfur - the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) - took up arms last year, accusing the government of ignoring the region.

A ceasefire was signed between the government and the rebels on 8 April to allow humanitarian aid to reach those affected.

But the rebels have accused the government of consistently breaking the truce by bombing villages and backing the militia in the area, a charge repudiated by Khartoum.