Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef, former President of the Jeddah-based King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) and present President of the Karachi-based World Muslim Congress (WMC) visited Austria and the United Kingdom in the month of September, 2013. The visits were both informative and educational. I interviewed him to know in greater details about his experience in those visits. Of course, part of the visits was official.
Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef is also the Vice-President of the Presidential Commission of the King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue of Saudi Arabia. He went to Vienna, Austria in the first week of September and visited King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interfaith & Dialogue (KAICIID) which was opened at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on the 26th of November, 2012.
Speaking about his visit in Vienna, Dr. Nasseef said, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interfaith & Dialogue, in Vienna, has a very big historic building. It has various activities and there is regular meeting every month on humanitarian and international matters.
Mayr Medicine Viva
Dr. Nasseef then went to Mayr Medicine Centre in Viva, 350 kilometres from Vienna. The Centre is one of the most modern health hotels. It is a peaceful place with its ancient ritual floor, right on the shores of the turquoise lake Wörthersee. The beautiful beach and the romantic garden invite you to relax and let your mind wander within a wonderful oasis to discover yourself, to soak up the tranquillity and the energy of the nature’s beauty.
Speaking about the treatment at the Mayr Medicine Viva, Dr. Nasseef said, “The philosophy behind Mayr medicine Viva is to clean the body from the toxified materials coming from the air, water, wood and foods.
Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
From Vienna Dr. Nasseef came to the United Kingdom and went to Oxford to attend the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OXCIS) of which he is the Chairman. Speaking about the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies which was held on 10th and 11th of September, 2013 Dr. Nasseef said, “We have different committees, the finance committee, the strategy and planning committee, the education committee and so on and so forth. As usual, we run the business, approving the budget, the auditor’s report and the education policy. The Director’s report was very intensive and important; because it mentioned about the centre’s activities in the field of research and scholarships, training young Muslims in Britain and other things. Their programme is really very rich.”
“OXCIS’s Director spoke for one hour discussing those activities which has been completed. People thank Director for his activities with his people. The Centre’s publication, the Journal of Islamic Studies. It is covering its expenses and is in very big demand as because it is published by the Oxford University Press. All the publications are very important. There are other publications ready which are needed to be published,” said Dr. Nasseef.
The chairman of the Board of Trustees of OXCIS also mentioned about the new building of the Centre. Dr. Nasseef said, “We also talked about the new building. The new site is one of the wonders in this world of today. The building has been designed by Abdullah Waheed and his group and it is really very attractive, very practical and very beautiful. The centre receives donations from several countries. Malaysia gave woods. Some woods came from other countries Yemen gave marble. Turkey gave something. So the building is really collective wonders from the Muslim world. The dinning Hall has been donated by Sultan. The building is finished almost now; the final touches and the furniture which needs at least ten millions pounds. It’s on the way Insha Allah. It can be opened in the spring of 2015.”
The Islamic Academy’s Trustees meeting
Then Dr. Nasseef came to London to attend the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge-based The Islamic Academy of which he is again the chairman. Speaking about the Board of Trustees meeting of the Islamic Academy Cambridge, which was held at the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, on Wednesday, the 11th of September, 2013, Dr. Nasseef said, “We talked about its future and how can we affiliate it to some other organisation. Because here things are very low profile; no money and activities are very limited. So we discussed whether it can be affiliated to other bigger organisation to activate the Academy and absorb its activities.
Prince Turki al-Faisal’s lecture
Dr. Nasseef, the former Deputy Chairman of the Shoura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stayed overnight at the Hilton Hotel to attend the lecture of Prince Turki al-Faisal at the Committee Room of the British Parliament on 12th of September, 2013. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Transatlantic & International Security organised a Talk on “A Saudi Perspective on a Changing Middle East” by His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who served as the Director General of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) from 1977 to 2001 and served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland from 2002 and from July 2005 he was appointed as Ambassador to the United States.
Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester
Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef, is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester. He attended the Board of Trustees meeting at Leicester. I went to Holiday Inn Heathrow near the Heathrow Airport where Dr. Nasseef was staying overnight on his way back to Saudi Arabia. I interviewed him on Thursday, the 19th of September, 2013 about his visit to The Islamic Foundation, Leicester where he went on Friday, the 13th of September to attend the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Foundation. About the meeting, Dr. Nasseef said, “We had the meeting of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester and as usual we spoke about the progress and the problems and the lack of money. They have some debts; because they have borrowed money and they could not pay. So we promised that everybody will try their best to raise funds and also seek the possibility of find other solutions; because money is not coming and fund-raising is becoming difficult so they will seek some other sources.”
Dr. Nasseef said, “I gave them the proposal of taking over the Islamic Academy in Cambridge. In principle, they accepted but they will send somebody to go within this week for field-survey and to interview Dr. Shaikh Abdul Mabud Director General of the Islamic Academy Cambridge. So we will see what happens”.
East-West University in Chicago
Dr. Wasiullah Khan, the founder and chancellor of East-West University, a private, non-profit, non-denominational college based in Chicago, was also in London to have a meeting with Dr. Nasseef. About his meeting with Dr. Khan, Dr. Nasseef said, “Committee is coming to Jeddah.
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