PRESS RELEASE RELIGION AND SOCIETY TOUR

Press Release

For Immediate Release:                               

Contact: 888-616-1192 or SaharTaman@yahoo.com

Press Statement Issued by Members of Arab Delegations Participating

in the Religion and Society Study Tour

Sponsored by the National Peace Foundation and the Islamic Society of North America

The National Peace Foundation, in partnership with the Islamic Society of North America, has organized a second Religion and Society Study Tour for a delegation of citizens from several Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia).  The program is an exchange program that provides participants with an opportunity to share experiences, interact with members of different religions, and become familiar with the situations of Muslims from various Islamic sects in America.

The Study tour (July 17 – August 1) involved 13 participants, including four Saudis, three Syrians, four Egyptians, and one Jordanian.

The participants visited places of worship of the monotheistic faiths.  They were hosted by American families in their homes, which gave them a chance to become acquainted with each other and to exchange views and experiences.  They also participated in discussions at research centers at several American universities.

The participants have varying professions and interests.  They include an imam and cleric, a journalist, a university instructor, a lawyer, a publisher, a translator, a social activist, a storywriter, an academic researcher, and an Islamic architecture specialist.

The study tour participants acknowledged the importance of the tour in allowing them to gain familiarity with the different religions in American society.  They were also able to convey their own views of American society and serve as first-hand sources of knowledge about their own countries, rather than the media, which they feel presents an inauthentic, distorted picture of the Islamic and Arab world for the most part.  The participants represent only themselves as citizens.  They thus hold varying views, as expressed during their meetings.  Nonetheless, all of them agree that the study tour has been an important experience; some of them even consider it a turning point in the views of American society.

Ms. Wourud Hassan Al-Saffar is from Saudi Arabia and serves as the Director of the Office of Sheikh al-Saffar for Women’s Affairs.  Commenting on her experience, she said, “I truly recognize that this tour has affected me positively.  It has provided me with new information and information known to me previously, but from different angles that others have shown me.”

Islamic researcher Dr. Rufida AlHabash from Syria also expressed her opinion:  “My opinion of many of the American clergy has changed in general.  But the question is, have the Americans changed their views of us?!”

Syrian attorney Rana Madfaay expressed her surprise at the rights enjoyed by Muslims in a non-Islamic country.  She underscored that the tour confirmed for her that Muslims in America enjoy various rights to a greater degree than in many Islamic countries, although she said that Muslims undeniably face the challenge of maintaining their Islamic identity in a non-Muslim society.

Mr. Sayed Deafallah, a university instructor and researcher from Egypt:  “I now feel that I have gotten to know America through my interactions with Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and other Americans, not just through the media and the military equipment located in the Middle East.  Just as I have come to know these ordinary Americans, I think that they have come to know me as a person—as an ordinary, peace-loving Muslim from Egypt who hates no one, but rather hates oppression and war.”

Saudi reporter Ms. Nayruz Husawi stressed that the tour helped clarify fundamental differences among the various parties, eliminating some of the ‘mystery’ with which we view each other, although she had some reservations about this term.”

Mr. Tamer Amin Abdou, a storywriter from Egypt, stated his view on this study tour as follows: “The basic idea of the tour, which is to become familiar and acquainted with each other, has largely succeeded.”

Mr. Sherif Ahmed Raef, a publisher from Egypt, expressed his opinion on the study tour and the religion and society dialogue program in general, saying, “This program is very beneficial for Islam and Muslims, as it unites Muslims and non-Muslims in their love for the God of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.”

Imam Adel Bokhamseen from Saudi Arabia affirmed that the tour was for him a great opportunity to meet all these people from different social groups and different ideological orientations and religious beliefs.  The tour allowed him to develop knowledge and relationships that would have otherwise been possible to develop only over a long time.

Finally, the participants expressed their hope that these efforts would bear fruit by changing minds in a way that improves the reality we are living, though they realize that years are needed for the seeds that have been planted today to bear fruit.

For more information contact NPF which has offices in Washington, DC and Wisconsin.