Dubai: 76 Christians embrace Islam at Ramadan Forum

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12 August, 2011

76 Filipinos and Filipinas converted to Islam on Thursday night under a massive tent in Al Twar as part of the Ramadan Forum organized by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

The new Muslim converts repeated the ‘kalima shahada" (the Muslim declaration of faith) as Omar Penalber, the Filipino Islamic preacher shouted ‘Takbir" (Allah-u-Akbar (God is Great) into the microphone. The audience responded in unison with the chant of Allah-u-Akbar.

70 of these new Muslim converts were women. Lewis Phillip Bullock, senior executive of the Shaikh Obaid House, said last year 125 Filipinos had converted to Islam after a talk by Penalber. "There are usually more women converts," he said.

Gulf News, 13 August 2011