Bartamaha(Nairobi):-At the continent’s largest Islamic conference, the disclaimers in the Journey of Faith program, given out to the thousands of attendees, highlights the difficulty of portraying the modern face of an old religion.
Organizers, it says, “are not responsible for materials or opinions expressing views contrary to Canadian and international laws.”
Likewise, “promotion of any materials deemed illegal by Canadian federal and provincial laws is strictly prohibited,” and those caught doing so are on their own.
The warnings suggest that not everyone who might come here is in complete agreement with the conference theme of peaceful coexistence.
“Whatever lifestyle you chose in this country is your choice,” said Said Rageah, conference chairman, in an interview.
“Whether you chose to wear the burka or walk the street in a bikini, it is your choice,” he said, adding he fled repression in Somalia to seek freedom in Canada, where he is raising his six Canadian-born children.
“I’m telling the Canadian public that we can both coexist, both live together in peace.
“We’re not radicalizing anyone, and we are not abandoning Islam. We are here to correct, not to corrupt.”
The conference, which opened yesterday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, is billed as North America’s largest Islamic gathering with an expected attendance of 10,000.
It has already grabbed headlines over apparently incongruent views.
Dr. Zakir Naik, a 44-year-old Indian televangelist scheduled to deliver the keynote address tomorrow, was recently barred from entering Britain after highlights of past speeches drew attention to disparaging remarks about women, gays, Jews and non-Muslims and apparent support for Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader.
Mr. Rageah says it is a case of cutting and pasting excerpts of past speeches to portray an inaccurate picture.
Because of the British ban, Dr. Naik and his entire production crew with Peace TV are not travelling to Canada, on suggestions he would receive similar treatment by the Canadian government. He has cancelled the trip “due to the uncertainty of his admission to Canada.”
“Last year he came to speak and he had a visa five years,” said Mr. Rageah. There were no problems, he said. “If a person like that is so dangerous then why was he given a five-year visa?”
Dr. Naik will still be heard tomorrow, but via a live video feed.
Yesterday, the 2,000 early registered attendees heard beautifully rhythmic recitations of the Koran in Arabic, lectures on forgiveness and the importance of following the message of the Koran.
An ethnically diverse crowd of men and women, almost all of whom wore hijabs or face-covering niqabs, sat in different sections of the huge hall, where seating for several thousand was set up.
The first speaker, Abdulkadir Ali Cambe, from Britain, drew upon a story in the Koran for his message, saying: “We must be kind to our brothers and sisters in Islam. We must be kind to our brothers and sisters in humanity.”
Canadian-born Yahya Abu Sumayyah, who converted to Islam after reading the autobiography of American radical Malcolm X, implored Muslims to not compromise their religion for the sake of the pleasure, money or love.
Source :-National Post.
