Dubai launches $1.5m global peace prize

[Al Bhatti]

April 10, 2014

Dubai launches $1.5m global peace prize

Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace will be presented every two years

A new world peace prize by Dubai will award the winner $1.5 million (around Dh5.5 million).
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace will award the prize to a person or organisation after a jury selects the winner, it was revealed in Dubai on Thursday.

Organiser’s billed it as “the richest peace prize globally”.

The announcement came during a press conference on the Dubai International Peace Convention (DIPC), scheduled for April 17-19.

The timing of the award has not yet been fixed but it will come after this year’s DIPC and be presented every two years.

An official said the award’s value has been approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“The award will honour deserving individuals and organisations from around the world for exemplary contributions to world harmony and inter-faith dialogue,” said Sultan Bin Mejren, vice chairman of the award’s board of trustees and vice chairman of DIPC.

“The ruler’s benevolent gesture also articulates his commitment to promoting world harmony. A special jury has been set up to evaluate nominees according to world-class standards to ensure credibility and inspire higher accomplishments worldwide.”

Pledge

In the build up to DIPC, social media users have been invited to “pledge for peace” using the Twitter hashtag #peacepledge.

“We want everyone to say ‘I pledge for peace during the next decade’,” said Mariam Al Afirdi, head of the media committee for the event.

Users can also follow developments on the Twitter handle @mrawpeace or by using the hashtag #Dubaipeace.

The three-day event is featuring high-profile speakers such as Dr Abdul Rahman Al Sudais, the grand imam of Masjid Al Haram in Makkah; Mishary Al Efasy, a renowned Quran reciter; Dr Zakir Naik, a famous orator who features on the Islamic Peace TV; and Yousuf Estes, an American priest turned Muslim preacher.

The sessions, with live English or Arabic translations, will cover topics such as inter-faith dialogue, women’s rights, and Islam and social media.

The third-edition of DIPC will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Residents have been urged to register on mrawp.gov.ae; entry is free to the event.

More than 10,000 people had registered in three days following the launch of the website.

The convention is being hosted in collaboration with Al Manar Quran Study Centre.

Dr Hamad Bin Al Shaibani, chairman of the award’s board of trustees and DIPC chairman, said the event is a “golden opportunity to accurately highlight Islam’s teachings of peace”.

Dubai launches $1.5m global peace prize | GulfNews.com

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Dubai International Peace Convention 2014 (DIPC 2014) will be held from 17-19 April 2014 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid AlMaktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the objective of spreading peace and security. The event aims to evoke a sense of compassion by bridging gaps, building relationships and developing an understanding among the people of the world. In addition, there is scope to create prospects for international cooperation by constructive dialogue related to freedom, justice and equality.

Unlike any other conference, this convention invites people from all walks of life and varying beliefs and opens the doors of opportunity, encouraging healthy dialog and discussion. The Dubai International Peace Convention will also honor all those who have helped maintain peace and stability.

Dubai International Peace Convention

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Speakers

Speakers:

Sheikh Mishary Al Afasy Kuwait

Dr. Zakir Naik India

Yusuf Estes USA

Mufti Ismail Menk Zimbabwe

Nouman Ali Khan USA

Tawfique Chowdhury Australia

Muhammad Salah USA

Abdul Bary Yahya USA

Shaykh Waleed Basyouni USA

Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem Saudi Arabia

 

[Al Bhatti]

Said Rageah Canada

Ahmed Hamed India

Arnoud Van Doorn Netherlands

Arnoud van Doorn is born and raised in The Hague (the International City of Peace and Justice, seat of the government and the Royal Family), in The Netherlands

Born at March 18th, 1966

Married and father of 3 sons (10, 17, 21 years old)

Former politician and advisor for the PVV (the anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders) from 2009-2012. Former vice-President of the PVV in The Hague City Counsel

Reverted to Islam in 2012


Arnoud van Doorn is co-founder of The Party of the Union (a new political party based on Islam) that recently is re-elected in The Hague City Counsel

Van Doorn’s Party of the Union is planning to participate in the Parliamentary elections in 2017


Arnoud van Doorn is Founder and President of the European Da’wah Foundation. This Foundation wants to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims, and aims to combat Islamophobia in Europe


The Foundation is committed to spread the true knowledge of Islam into Europe and supports the establishment of Islamic schools and study centers aimed at the younger generation


Arnoud van Doorn has done Umrah and Hajj in 2012

 

[Jaanbaz]

Zakir Naik & Peace.

 

[Al Bhatti]

Wednesday 23 October

Arnoud van Doorn: from anti-Islamic film-maker to hajj pilgrim

Why is a former member of Geert Wilders' anti-Islamic Party for Freedom – who made a film claiming Muslims are violent – tweeting from Mecca?


Name: Arnoud Van Doorn

Age: 47.

Appearance: White robes, white hat.

Nice. Is he some sort of Dutch medical orderly? Nope. These days he also sports a beatific smile.

He could be a happy medical orderly. He isn't. He's a happy Muslim.

Good for him. Why is that? Because he is currently doing the hajj.

Is that like the Netherlands' hokey-cokey? Again, no. It's the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are expected to perform at least once in their lives.

Ah. Been saving up for a long time, has he? About six months. He only converted from Christianity to Islam in April.

Fancy that. Well look, I'm very glad a middle-aged Dutchman is enjoying his religion, but I'm quite busy, so unless there's anything else ... He is not just any middle-aged Dutchman, mind you.

Oh no? Until his conversion, he was a member of the city council in The Hague, and a leading figure in Geert Wilders' anti-Islamic Party for Freedom, responsible, among other things, for producing the film Fitna, which argued that Islam, and Muslims generally, are violent, intolerant and bent on world-domination.

Quite a conversion then. Indeed. "According to some people I am a traitor," he told al-Jazeera at the time, "but according to most others I have actually made a very good decision."

Pretty much the same as before then? Yes, but with the people swapped around.

How on Earth does a professional Islamophobe end up converting to it anyway? Very gradually, Van Doorn says. He started by reading the Qur'an and was then persuaded to visit a mosque, where he was surprised to find himself made welcome and ended up staying all day. "I had a warm feeling, and I was really a bit confused," he says.

Perhaps he needed the loo? He says it was more than that. "It felt like a warm blanket … The more I learned about Islam, and the more I talked with other Muslims, the more I felt this is me." He now plans to launch a party to represent Muslims in Europe in a more positive light.

How sweet. And how's his hajj going? Fine. He's tweeting it, actually. So far it's mostly camel milk.

Through suffering we learn. I suppose so.

Do say: "I've always thought Abu Qatada would make a wonderful drag queen."

Don't say that to him.

Arnoud van Doorn: from anti-Islamic film-maker to hajj pilgrim | World news | The Guardian

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24 April 2013

"Fitna" movie leads a former Dutch Islamophobe to defend the honor of Prophet (PBUH)

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, delivers a copy of the Holy Qur'an to Arnoud Van Doorn during a reception in Makkah on Sunday as Shahzad Muhammad (right), head of the Canadian Dawa Association (CDA), looks on. — Okaz photo by Abdul Majeed Al-Dowaini


After taking part in producing a blasphemous movie tarnishing the image of Islam, a former colleague of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders is dedicating his life to spread the true message of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

“I will spare no efforts to protect the rights of Muslims in all European countries as well as to serve Islam and its followers throughout the world,”Arnoud Van Doorn, a former member of Wilders’ Freedom Party, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette in an interview on Tuesday, April 23.

“I will try my best to repair the damage that I caused to Islam and its Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) through the film ‘Fitna’.”

Doorn has embraced Islam earlier this year after an extensive study into the religion.

As a member of Wilders’ party, he participated in producing a film titled ”Fitna” that linked Islam and the Qur’an to violence and terrorism.

But as the movie triggered outcry from Muslims worldwide, Doorn began to read more about Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), leading him to embrace Islam.

The Dutch politician expressed sorrow for taking part in producing the offensive movie.

“However, now it is a closed chapter and absolutely I don’t want to recall about it,” said Doorn, who arrived in the holy lands in Saudi Arabia earlier this week to perform ‘Umrah.

“The film that sparked widespread reactions was a totally wrong step on our part as it contains a lot of misleading and incorrect information that are nothing to with this noble divine religion and its Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him).”

Doorn said that he would use his experience in producing an international film that highlights the noble traits of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him).

“I will use all my experience in producing an alternative film, which will speak about the true image of Islam and all aspects of the personality of the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) as well as his great qualities.”

Van Doorn at the Prophet’s Masjid in Madina

Ignorance

The Dutch politician blames ignorance and prejudice for the growing campaigns against Muslims and their religion in the West.

“I also realized the intensity of hatred that some Westerners have against Islam and the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and that was based apparently on their ignorance and prejudice,”he said.

“Therefore, I decided to make endeavors to repair the damage caused by the offensive film, which was produced with an ulterior motive of creating sedition in between Muslims and non-Muslims.”

Doorn laments that he blindly followed the hostile rhetoric preached by far-rightists against Muslims.

“It was unfortunate that I did not make any efforts to know what really Islam is and who is the Prophet before blindly believing in the misinformation campaign being unleashed by the anti-Islamic forces,”he said.

“When I came to realize that it was not Islam, I decided to study about the religion and that led to my conversion.”

He criticized his former party for championing an anti-Islam message.

“The party stands against Islam and its spreading in Europe. Some of them now consider me as a traitor.”

The former PVV member is now grateful that he has been guided to the true face of Islam.

“Now, I am really enjoying the beauty of Islam and am extremely delighted in Allah’s great blessing to guide me onto His path,” Doorn said.

“It is an explicable experience for me.”

Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population, mostly from Turkish and Moroccan origin.

The number of native Dutch Muslim converts has risen to around 15,000 from 12,000 a few years ago.

-------------------------------------------

 

[livingdead]

Zakir Naik & Peace.

he represents peace tv there I guess.

 

[Jaanbaz]

he represents peace tv there I guess.

 

[anonymus]

Zakir Naik & Peace.

It is Dubai,Bhai.

 

[Jaanbaz]

It is Dubai,Bhai.

This peace prize is actually a copy of this:
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace

 

[Al Bhatti]

21 April 2014

Iskander with his father Arnoud.



Son of distributor of anti-Islam film Fitna accepts Islam

Arnoud van Doorn's son, Iskander Amien De Vrie, was one of the 37 people who converted to Islam during the Dubai International Peace Convention.

The son of Arnoud van Doorn, the famous Dutch policy maker and distributor of an anti-Islam film Fitna that caused unrest in 2008, surprised the audiences at the three-day Dubai International Peace Convention by 
embracing Islam.

Arnoud’s son, Iskander Amien De Vrie, was one of the 37 people who converted to Islam during the convention.

“I bear witness that there is no God to be worshipped but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his worshipper and last messenger,” said Iskander in his Shahadah (testimony) to become a Muslim.

Arnoud van Doorn shot to fame in 2008 as one of the names associated with the anti-Muslim film Fitna, which was released in 2008. The film promoted misconceptions about Islam and Arnoud was one of the film’s distributors.

Five years later, Arnoud was a changed man having learned more about Islam, which he today calls as ‘a religion of peace’. He converted to Islam after learning more about the religion and his decision shocked the world.

“I saw my father become more peaceful after converting to Islam. That’s when I realised there is something good in this religion and it made me change my perception of Muslims. I started studying the Holy Quran and going through lectures of important scholars,” said Iskander in an interview with Khaleej Times.

Iskander, 22, credited his college friend Younis for setting a good example of what Muslims 
really are and how they live their life. “My friend Younis is a good practicing Muslim who taught me something new every day. He was patient with me and there was no way I could be rude to him,” said Iskander.

Iskander also drew inspiration from his father’s life and how he underwent a transformation to become a more peaceful person.

Talking about the anti-Islamic movie Fitna, Arnoud called it a “mistake”, which he deeply regretted. “There is a misconception among people that I produced the movie Fitna, but I wasn’t involved in it. I was only responsible for distributing the movie. Today, it is something that I deeply regret.”

Arnoud hopes to produce a movie about the righteousness preached in Islam and correct his earlier “mistakes”. “I feel an urge and a responsibility to correct the mistakes I have done in the past. I want to use my talents and skills in a positive way by spreading the truth about Islam. I am trying to make a new movie about Islam and the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It would show people what examples the Prophet set in his life and the 
movie would invite younger 
people to Islam.”

With both the father and son now leading life as Muslims, the astonishing story was talked about by speakers and scholars even after the convention was over.

Arnoud is now calling on people to support his Islamic Foundation, which is fighting Islamophobia in Europe. Having started the European Dawah Foundation, Arnoud has come a full circle from his earlier days as a member of the right-wing anti-Islam Freedom Party.

His team of volunteers works towards bridging the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims and helping people clear their misconceptions about Islam.

Iskander now plans to take a trip to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and hopes his mother would also embrace Islam soon.

Son of distributor of anti-Islam film Fitna accepts Islam

 

[Dubious]

So its more like an Islam prize I was looking for Edhi

Nouman Ali Khan gets my vote...Not sure about the others havent listened to them much!