Abderrahmane the “African”: the man who spread light in the heart of darkness

He turned his back to luxury, friends and beloved and took refuge in the African jungles to give assistance to scores of desperate souls in the heart of the black continent. He is called the Africans’ servant and succeeded over 30 years of devotion to build 5700 mosques, drill 9800 wells, erect 860 schools, 158 clinics and took under his wings 15 thousand orphans. Most importantly, he and 4000 of his followers contributed to convert 8.5 million Africans to Islam.

• The president of the association “Direct Assistance” Abderrahmane Ben Hammoud Asamit gave a lengthy interview to “Echourouk” in which he talks about his charity works highlighting his achievements as well as the problems he had to face in some Arab countries and other issues.
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• Q: In which African country do you exactly live and what are the news concerning your charity works?
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• A: I don’t live in a given country in Africa; I devoted 30 years of my life for my brothers and didn’t dwell three days in a row in a country or city. For the time I’m concentrating on my charity works along with frequent visits to the black continent.
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• Q: Over 30 years you have contributed to the conversion of scores of Africans to Islam, can you tell us about it?
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• A: Thanks God, some 8.5 millions of Africans turned Muslims which makes me confirm the prophet’s Hadith (saying) that people were born Muslims. But I have to add that this achievement couldn’t have been possible without the devotion of some 4000 of preachers who, some of them gave their most precious belongings and others sacrificed their lives for the cause.
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• Q: how was your beginning in the charity works? And do you belong to a wealthy Kuwaiti family?
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• A: When my training in Canada and Britain was over, my wife looked at me saying” Why do we have to return to Kuwait? Especially that neither her nor me were interested in money. I replied” Where do you want us to go? She said “ You were not born to be a doctor, all over the years I spent with you I felt that preaching was the center of your life, so let’s move to south Eastern Asia and start preaching and healing people as you’re concerned and preaching and teaching as I’m concerned.
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• We have doe our utmost to find somebody to lead us starting our mission but with no avail, meanwhile, a woman has donated a sum of money and asked us to build a mosque why did she choose us I don’t know. Then we decided to move to Africa and build a mosque there, so was the beginning in Malawi. If I’m from a wealthy background? It depends on your definition of wealth, my father was a humble man whose monthly wage didn’t exceed USD 100 and didn’t leave us a penny… but he imparted in us priceless moral values.
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• Q: what were the real drives that pushed you to leave behind money and your friends to head for Africa?
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• A: When an individual has an ultimate goal to reach he will sacrifice everything to achieve it, mine is to gain heaven. For this I have to pay the price and Africa is, in my view, the region that requires the most assistance, especially the Sub- Saharan one.
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• Q: To what extent is Christianity spread there? and how the Africans dealt with you ?
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• A: Evangelization process started with the coming of the first wave of Portuguese explorers at the end of the 16^th century but they didn’t succeed, then reappeared with the European colonialism 150 years ago spreading Protestantism in the British colonies and Catholicism in the French, Spanish and Portuguese ones.
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• Q: How did you find Africans and its people?
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• A: Non Muslim Africans have their own traditions, some are excellent and others bad, for instance the “Massai” tribes do not marry the young man if this one fails to kill a lion with a knife, some Ugandan tribes do not marry him unless he’s circumcised in public and has to hide his pain. Many tribes celebrate the death of an old person with songs, dances and drinking parties their traditions are sometimes dissimilar to our Islamic ones.
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• Q: What kind of obstacles and difficulties you went through during your quest in Africa?
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• A: The one who needs to avoid difficulties has to stay home watching silly TV programs…as for the one who seeks heaven; he has to get ready to pay the price. I slept in forests 3 meters away from lions, was attacked three times by a Cobra snake, shot by bullets six times in civil war-torn regions, a land mine went off in front of us in Mozambique, repelled in some countries, investigated by police officers in others and spend more than a day without eating or drinking. I repeat who needs heaven has to pay.
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• Q: Last word for the Algerian young people and those who still bear arms to kill their brothers?
• A:  I’m addressing my young brothers, if violence, killing and death were to serve the religion, I would have the forerunner; We will find happiness the day feel that we have contributed a bit in changing the world to make better for everybody, the day we spread good everywhere for all mankind and turn to judge ourselves first instead of seeking evil in others.
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