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Rahmatan lil 'Alamin (Blessing for All Creation)
Global Counter-Extremism Network
Egypt
CAIRO, Egypt -- In May of 2008, LibForAll Foundation
expanded its operations to Egypt,
home to al-Azhar
~ the world's oldest university
~ and one of the key centers of Sunni Islam. A LibForAll
delegation traveled under the auspices the Egyptian and Indonesian
foreign ministries, for the purpose of interviewing key religious
leaders for LibForAll's Lautan Wahyu (Ocean of Revelation)
television series, and to expand LibForAll's network in the Arab
heartland.
The Grand Shaykh of al-Azhar University and Grand
Imam of al-Azhar Mosque
~ Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi
(below, right)
~ blessed LibForAll Foundation's activities, and its mission
to promote a pluralistic and tolerant understanding of Islam, at
peace with itself and the modern world.
From right to left: Grand Shaykh Muhammad Sayyid
Tantawi; LibForAll CEO C. Holland Taylor; Shaykh Mohamad Gameaha of
al-Azhar; Indonesian embassy representative; Indonesian film
director Uli Rahman
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As
Al-Ahram
~ one of the
oldest (est. 1875) and most
widely-read newspapers in the Arab world
~ reported:
"LibForAll Foundation is an NGO that cares deeply about
Islam and Muslims. The foundation strives to express,
clarify and widely disseminate a true understanding of Islam
not only to non-Muslims, but also to Muslims in general. LibForAll
aims to present the moderate and tolerant face of Islam, and
explain the importance of [Muslims] returning to the essence
of Islamic teachings which, until now, have been poorly
understood by many groups [both in Islam and the West]."
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Journalists including Al-Ahram
reporter Alaa
Amer (center), interviewing C. Holland Taylor |
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The LibForAll film crew interviewed a number of key Muslim
figures in Egypt, including Dr. Kamal Abdul Magd (below),
and Dr. Hassan Hanafi (seated, right), two of the nation's
most widely-published experts on Islam.
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Sites filmed for the television series include the tomb of
Sayyid Hossein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (left) and
the mosque of al-Azhar (below)
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LibForAll crew filming the pyramids in Giza (below) and the
skyline of Islamic Cairo (right)
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President of al-Azhar University and Chairman of the
Egyptian Parliament's Committee on Religion Ahmed Omar
Hashem (left) welcomed LibForAll's presence in Egypt, and
offered full cooperation in future activities. Dr.
Hashem has been deeply involved in Egyptian efforts to
persuade former Islamic Jihad terrorists to renounce the
ideology of religious extremism. |
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The Deputy Minister of Religious Endowments (right) likewise
praised LibForAll's work, setting the stage for continued
expansion of LibForAll activities in the Middle East, where
government cooperation can prove vital in efforts to impact
society as a whole. |
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Maryam Ishaq al-Khalifa Sharief
~ great-granddaughter of the 19th century Sudanese
nationalist leader known as al-Mahdi
~ provided LibForAll's television series with a deeply illuminating
view of Islam as rahmatan lil 'alamin (a blessing for
all creation), rooted in a pluralistic, tolerant and
profoundly spiritual worldview. |
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"When asked his opinion about the actions
of Muslims that violate the teachings of Islam, the Grand
Shaykh replied that this constitutes a gross error which
stems from Muslims' own lack of knowledge and understanding
of Islam, and the importance of good acts in keeping with
its teachings. In fact, within Islam, good acts
[towards others] are no less important than the act of
worshipping God Himself."
~ Al-Ahram, May 27, 2008 |
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