Doves, this guy seems to possess alot of the
characteristics of the AC...any thoughts?
Cairo, Egypt – One of the world’s
most
influential Muslim television preachers - sometimes called Islam's
Billy Graham - is scheduled to deliver a major address in Egypt on
Friday for the first time since President Hosni Mubarak left office.
Amr Khaled, best known for his popular television shows
promoting
activism and self-improvement throughout the Middle East, returned to
Cairo on January 28 to show his support for the revolution that wound
up sweeping Mubarak from power this month.
Over those years, the sharp-suited 43-year-old, heralded by many in the West
as a voice of Islamic moderation, has
turned into something of a rock star.
Earlier this month, the
Washington Post reported
that Facebook users from Egypt created 32,000 groups and 14,000 pages
during the revolution; the page with the most fans from Egypt was
Khaled’s.
A firm believer in the power of youth, his popular 2010
"Apprentice"-style reality show "Mujaddidun," which translates
to "renewers or revivers," now seems prescient.
Khaled tasked
youth to pitch charity plans and formulate solutions to region-wide
social ills such as unemployment and poverty.
His trademark brand of “faith-based development” and
massive
popularity among the nation’s young and restless was a thorn in the
side of Mubarak’s regime. Khaled was forced to leave Egypt several
times, as critics worried he was inspiring youth to not only change
their lives, but also the regime.
The genial accountant began preaching in mosques in the
early
1990s. His frequent denunciations of Osama bin Laden and extremism and his promotion of peaceful coexistence and cultural
development won him international acclaim.
In 2006, he hosted an interfaith
conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, after the
publication of controversial Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet
Mohammed.
In December, he was invited to Yemen by President Ali
Abdullah Saleh to counter al Qaeda’s presence there.
Khaled says he plans to train thousands of activists in
the Middle
East to promote tolerance and to set up microfinance programs for the
poor, the people he says are most susceptible to fundamentalism.
Mohammed Riskallah, a 24-year-old Egyptian, says he
doesn’t watch
Khaled’s shows because he doesn’t agree with his religious beliefs, but
says Khaled is nevertheless an important leader in building a “new
Egypt.”
“This is a man whose heart is in the right place,” he
said. “He’s always been very moderate,
peaceful and inspirational in his approach. He’s a
great spokesperson for Islam and Egypt.”
Khaled will deliver his Friday speech in Sohag, a
governorate in
Upper Egypt. Hundreds of thousands are expected to gather in
Midan Thaqafa, or Culture Square, the city's equivalent Cairo's
Tahrir
Square, for Friday prayers.
This will be Khaled’s first lecture in Upper Egypt. “I
want youth
to realize their dreams,” he says. “And Egyptian youth have already
showed us evidence they can.”