Rosemary Bechler, 11 May 2005
A Muslim civil society activist and politics professor in Egypt is a new kind of cultural ambassador, says Rosemary Bechler
Heba Raouf Ezzat and her husband Ahmed Mohammed Abdalla were in 1999 amongst the founders of IslamOnline, whose aim – articulated by the Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi – was to give Muslims worldwide access to “the Islamic renaissance in all fields” without deviating from “the fixed principles of Islamic law”.
The website, with its rapidly proliferating services – most in Arabic, some in English – quickly and successfully targeted people far beyond the borders of Egypt. Within a year, the Cairo-based, Qatar-financed website boasted 18 million visits.
Heba teaches political science at Cairo University, writes on issues of Islam, modernity and human rights, and is the mother of three children. Her animated opinion is increasingly sought outside the world of Islam. She is a member of the C-100 initiative for Islamic-Western understanding set up by the World Economic Forum and works with Mary Kaldor on the Arabic version of the Global Civil Society Yearbook.
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