Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, confirmed in a call to the "Direct Line" programme hosted by Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, that the Sudanese historian, Professor Yusuf Fadl, the Cultural Personality of the Sharjah International Book Fair, is a savant of Arab and African areas of research.
His Highness’s relationship with Professor Yusuf Fadl
His Highness revealed, during the call, how His Highness got acquainted with the Sudanese scholar and historian, Professor Yusuf Fadl, stating that His Highness met Fadl in 1974, on an official visit to Sudan, and His Highness found him deeply knowledgeable of Arab and African areas of research, adding that their relationship continued in endeavours revolving around how to win African peoples with the Arab world.
Two big projects see the light soon in Sudan
His Highness also addressed upcoming projects in Sudan by saying: "Now we have before us a big project being carried out by Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Sharjah Art Foundation, where the Sudanese government previously provided a plot of land beside the river in the centre of the country, to implement the big project, and God willing, it will see the light soon, after its delay as a result of the recent conditions."
His Highness added: "Another project is the development of the city of Suakin, I have an in-depth study about this city, as it is the way to the African peoples that lie on the borders of the desert, such as Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Chad and others, all the way to Suakin, where this city on the Red Sea receives pilgrims from Jeddah."
His Highness also spoke of Timbuktu, which contains the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts, and has been subjected to a lot of vandalism. His Highness contributed to collecting these manuscripts that its people were able to smuggle, and they were restored in good condition.
A Touching story of Africans embracing Islam
His Highness also told a touching story that occurred in a farm in Zambia, where His Highness's generosity and good manners caused the people of an entire African area to become Muslim, His Highness was ordering to slaughter a calf daily and distribute it to the people of the houses that are located around the farm, and one day a tiger came and devoured a cow, so the official distributed its remains to the residents.
His Highness learned about the matter and called the supervisor stating that it is not permissible to eat the meat of the dead in Islam, maintaining that His Highness ordered to take the best calf, slaughter it and distribute it. The supervisor, who was a pagan, announced his conversion to Islam, and all the farm workers and their wives embraced Islam. In addition a mosque was opened on the farm, leading to the spread of Islam to the entire area, which consist of 32 thousand people.
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