D
David_Paul
Guest
Orly Halpern
Jerusalem Post
July 6th, 2005
He talks about the glory of God and hands the microphone to a young woman in the audience, asking her to talk about her feelings. His shows are broadcast around the world on satellite channels. Millions visit his state-of-the-art Web site.
But, no, he’s not preaching Christ and his name is not Billy Graham. He’s preaching Allah and he’s the hottest Muslim televangelist in the Arab world.
Welcome to Islam a la Amr Khaled.
Unlike graduates of Al-Azhar, one of the oldest and most prominent Muslim scholarly institutions, with their ankle-length tunics, long beards and somber faces, who speak in stern dictates, the clean-shaven, sharp-suited, smooth-talking former accountant is spreading a different message: You can be hip, modern and Muslim.
For young, educated, up-and-coming Arabs, that is an attractive package.
The American University in Cairo (AUC) is the enclave of Egypt’s ruling class, which espouses secularism. Young couples walk around campus hand-in-hand and few headscarves can be seen. Its students are typical followers of Amr Khaled. “He’s very popular here because he is modern and because he is preaching in a simple way,” said Engy Medhat, 19, a jeans-clad mass communications student.
Sitting in a coffee shop on campus with friends, Medhat explained Khaled’s appeal among the upper-class youth. “Other sheikhs preach in a complicated way and can even make teenagers like us hate the religion.”
Lindsay Wise, an “Amr Khaled expert” who wrote a master’s thesis about him for Oxford University, says that what is different about Khaled is his simplicity, his inward focus and his Western methods of preaching.
“He makes Islam simple by explaining complex ideas simply to youth,” Wise, managing editor of Transnational Broadcasting Studies, a journal published by the Adham Center for Television Journalism at AUC, told The Jerusalem Post. And instead of preaching politics, he “focuses on personal piety.”
Jerusalem Post
July 6th, 2005
He talks about the glory of God and hands the microphone to a young woman in the audience, asking her to talk about her feelings. His shows are broadcast around the world on satellite channels. Millions visit his state-of-the-art Web site.
But, no, he’s not preaching Christ and his name is not Billy Graham. He’s preaching Allah and he’s the hottest Muslim televangelist in the Arab world.
Welcome to Islam a la Amr Khaled.
Unlike graduates of Al-Azhar, one of the oldest and most prominent Muslim scholarly institutions, with their ankle-length tunics, long beards and somber faces, who speak in stern dictates, the clean-shaven, sharp-suited, smooth-talking former accountant is spreading a different message: You can be hip, modern and Muslim.
For young, educated, up-and-coming Arabs, that is an attractive package.
The American University in Cairo (AUC) is the enclave of Egypt’s ruling class, which espouses secularism. Young couples walk around campus hand-in-hand and few headscarves can be seen. Its students are typical followers of Amr Khaled. “He’s very popular here because he is modern and because he is preaching in a simple way,” said Engy Medhat, 19, a jeans-clad mass communications student.
Sitting in a coffee shop on campus with friends, Medhat explained Khaled’s appeal among the upper-class youth. “Other sheikhs preach in a complicated way and can even make teenagers like us hate the religion.”
Lindsay Wise, an “Amr Khaled expert” who wrote a master’s thesis about him for Oxford University, says that what is different about Khaled is his simplicity, his inward focus and his Western methods of preaching.
“He makes Islam simple by explaining complex ideas simply to youth,” Wise, managing editor of Transnational Broadcasting Studies, a journal published by the Adham Center for Television Journalism at AUC, told The Jerusalem Post. And instead of preaching politics, he “focuses on personal piety.”