Dr. Al-Wohaibi said the Moslem world needs more than the 15 international Islamic organizations now engaged in charitable activities. "We need thousands of these organizations all over the world. According to the Americans themselves, there are more than 1.5 million organizations in the US. When you look at the Moslem world, there are no more than 50,000. It is not fair that the West has so many organizations, while we are denied even the existence of a few organizations like WAMY, the Moslem World League, Al-Haramain Charitable Organization and others," he said.
Dr. Al-Wohaibi was speaking at a reception for Abdul Rahman Suwar El Dahab, the recipient of this year's King Faisal International Prize for services to Islam. Asked how the Islamic organizations would be able to withstand pressure from the US government to wind up their activities, Dr. Al-Wohaibi said, "If they have any evidence against us, they should go to court and not to the police stations. We believe that the court will be fair to both parties. There is no doubt that governments all over the world - Moslem or non-Moslem - are under pressure from the American government [to act against Islamic organizations]. But we should not yield to the American pressure. We should resist and ask for proof. And if they have any proof, we have courts and departments to take care of it."
Dr. Al-Wohaibi said that the US government had succumbed to the pressure of the neoconservatives within the administration to pursue the path it has now embarked upon.
El Dahab said that while he felt honored to be the recipient of the King Faisal International Prize for service to Islam in the midst of challenges facing the Islamic world. He concluded that it was time to switch from the US dollar to the euro in the conduct of monetary transactions.
