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“Our
mission is to present Islam as it is without any sort of cosmetic
improvements,” Soliman said.
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By
Ahmad Maher, IOL Staff
CAIRO,
June 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Dedicated to educating non-Muslims
about the true values of Islam and Muslims how to reach out to the
other, acclaimed Muslim activist Fadel Soliman is championing a new
organization which aims at bridging the gap between the two sides.
“Our
mission is to present Islam as it is without any sort of cosmetic
improvements,” Soliman told IslamOnline.net in an interview about
the nascent Cairo-based Bridges Foundation.
“To
that end, we use all possible means, including media, PowerPoint presentations, CDs, etc. with a focus on training Muslim activists and
imams on how to present Islam to the other,” added the Egyptian-born
activist.
Soliman,
Muslim Chaplain at the American University in Washington D.C. from
2001-2004, said prevailing misconceptions about Islam in the West make
more pressing the need for revealing the true essence of a
much-stereotyped Islam.
“The
word jihad, for instance, conjures up images of wars though under
Islam there are many sorts of jihad, including fighting evil desires.
Even jihad when it comes to the battlefield is by no means a loose
term but governed by rules set up by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who
instructed Muslim fighters not to kill the innocent, the elderly,
children and women,” he explained.
Soliman
said there are until now three confirmed members of the
organization’s Board of Trustees: German Muslim intellectual Murad
Hofmann, Canadian Egypt-born Gamal Badawi and award-wining British journalist
Yvonne Ridley.
The
organization consists of two main divisions: Public Presenters for
Peace (PPP), which has to do with presentation materials and skills,
and International Institute for Training Presenters (IITP), which
trains willing imams and preachers in presenting the Muslim faith to
non-Muslims.
The
Bridges Foundation will launch its Web site in ten days’ time.
PowerPoint
Presentations
The
work of Soliman, the former national chaplain of the World Assembly of
Muslim Youth (WAMY) in North and Central Americas office, is mostly
done through PowerPoint presentations.
A
graduate from Catholic St. George Language Schools in Cairo in 1983,
he is the author of several presentations on Islam.
“In
‘Islam: a Religion of Peace or a Religion of War,’ we provide
hard evidence that Islam is undoubtedly a religion of peace and that
war exists only as an exception,” said
Soliman, who studied communication and electronics at the Faculty of
Engineering in Ain Shams University, Egypt.
In
“Qur’an: the Discovery of Freedom,” he draws a comparison
between the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the human
values enshrined in the Noble Qur’an, which preceded the man-made
charter by 1400 years.
“The
Qur’an guaranteed, to mention but a few examples, the freedom of
thought and freedom of religious belief years and years before the UN
charter saw the light,” Soliman said.
The
activist said the uniqueness of the PowerPoint presentations and
trainings is that they help create generations of well-qualified
preachers and activists, who can reach out to the other.
“In
the USA, I made my presentation to a group of Muslims and afterwards
some Muslims from Hispanic background translated it in Spanish and
went out presenting Islam to the Hispanic minority in the US,” he recalled.
Sensitivity
Courses
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A
group of US army officers with Soliman in the national war
college at the Pentagon.
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Soliman
also organizes “sensitivity courses,” which educate non-Muslims on
how to deal with Muslims in sensitive issues.
“We
provide sensitivity training to police, like the FBI in America, on
how to deal with Muslim detainees and to teachers on how to address
issues like reproductive health when they talk to Muslim girls,” he
added.
Soliman
said the presentations have become even sought-after by travel
agencies, which have put them on their tourist programs.
“In
Egypt, we were approached by a travel agency at a request from the
tourists themselves,” he elaborated.
The
activist also cooperates with Islamic centers in the US and across the
world in organizing open days to introduce the Muslim faith to
non-Muslims.
“All
we need is that Islamic centers advertise for an open day in
newspapers and then we step forward with our presentations,” he
said.
Soliman
has presented Islam to more than 15,000 people in American churches,
universities and governmental departments, including the Pentagon, as
well as in international events such as the Frankfurt International
Book Fair, 2004.
He
was, for four years, the host of a weekly television show on channel
30 in the USA entitled “The Islamic Show” and a weekly radio show
entitled “Let the Qur’an Speak.”
