Gary Fitleberg, January 5, 2003

A Pakistani-born, British-educated, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, speaks of building an international center to study the world’s great religions and foster dialogue among them. A truly noble and worthy goal to promote amongst followers of the three monotheistic faiths of only One G-D!!! Shah is Chairman and Chief Executive of the Universal Heritage Foundation.

Shah believes "Islam is perhaps the only religion that can bring the concept of universal brotherhood." From Shah’s mouth to G-D’s ears!!! Hopefully this dream shall become a reality.

Shah, a prominent Florida Imam, has a vision of transforming a dilapidated property east of Disney World, on U.S. Highway 192, which has housed a vocational school and a homeless shelter, into an "interfaith theme park" in the heart of central Florida, a region visited by millions each year for its tourist attractions.

Shah, who has a doctorate in comparative religion from the University of Wales, is one of Florida’s best known Islamic clerics and has traveled throughout the country.

Christian and Jewish leaders are calling speakers for the "Islam for Humanity" inaugural meeting extremists not mainstream unifiers as the organizers proclaim. Some local Christian and Jewish leaders are suspicious of the intentions of the Universal Heritage Foundation.

The organization opened its inaugural conference with a list of invited guests that some specialists in Islam say includes a number of anti-Western extremists.

"If we look at their website, they talk about peace and coexistence with all religions," stated Eric Geboff, Executive Director of the Jewish Foundation of Greater Orlando. Geboff added, "If we look at their speakers list, its at odds with those goals. And we’re concerned."

Pastor Lee Wasson also agrees and admonishes, "He [Shah] is a liar. I have dug at myself intellectually and spiritually not to judge these people. But he has not been forthcoming about what his agenda is and it is a political agenda." Wasson operates a small Christian school and worship center on the same sparsely wooded 31-acre tract. But far from toiling to bring about interfaith understanding, Wasson believes his new neighbors have been engineering problems with electricity and water designed to drive him out.

Shah and Universal Heritage Foundation’s President M. Ashraf Shaikh counter that a landlord-tenant dispute inherited from the property’s previous owner has driven the pastor to stir up bad publicity against them.

Shah said, "Without educating people, there is no way you can bridge the gap between religions" adding, "What we want to do is educate people, but not to compromise what is Christianity, what is Judaism, what is Islam."

This statement by Shah would be nice if it were only true.

Some fellow Muslims, however, have also deeply expressed concerns about the Universal Heritage Foundation’s intentions. Khalid Duran, a retired professor of Middle Eastern studies at various American universities, reviewed the names of the speakers invited to the "Islam for Humanity" conference and said, "They are known for their radical views -- almost all of them."

Many invitees, according to Duran, have well-established ties to Jamaat-e-Islami, an extremist religious party in Pakistan. Duran declared, "They believe in Jihad and the way they define is combating non-Muslims."

Among the fundamentalist invitees is Muzammil Siddiqi, Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove. Siddiqi’s defenders have said that in the past the Indian-born cleric’s words have been intentionally twisted. They also point out he was one of several imams invited to meet with President Bush at the White House. What they fail to mention is that the visit was a controversial one.

Shah also sent an invitation to Sheik Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais -- chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- and claims it was for "protocol reasons" and did not know the controversy surrounding some of his past remarks.

According to the Associated Press, in April 2002, Al-Sudais called on Arabs to "stop trying to make peace with Jews" whom he called "the scum of the human race, the rats of the world, the killers of the prophets and the grandsons of monkeys and pigs."

Shah confirmed that Al-Sudais would not be at the conference. But it is unlikely that he would attend an inaugural interfaith conference where Jews also attended based on his deep-seated feelings and anti-Jewish sentiments expressed publicly.

Confirmed speakers for the conference hail from Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Pakistan and the United States. Shah stated the speakers "are the mainstream Islamic leaders." He also has invited Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis as well to show balance, and according to Shah, he "has gone out of the way to ask a representative from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to be present at the conference.

ADL officials have also expressed feelings of concern and suspicion. According to ADL Regional Director Mark Medin of Florida, "We see this unfortunately as a gathering that may bring together some anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist and anti-American activists." Medin added, "And a gathering of this type is not good for America, not good for Islam, and not good for Florida.

There is enough reason and substantial proof to believe, however, Shah is a suspicious character and to question his intentions and motivation behind the interfaith group.

Shah’s past affiliations are justification of the skepticism of the Human Heritage Foundation. Shah was affiliated with the Islamic Circle of North America and served as President during 2001 and 2002. The organization itself is affiliated with the Pakistani fundamentalist group Jamaat-e-Islami, which practices an intolerant strain of Islam and promotes an anti-Western ideology.

Shah stated wisely "People of all creeds have to bond our efforts together to fight racism, discrimination and inequality and serve G-d -- not for the sake of our own vested interests, but for the sake of humanity."

Shah also spoke of his great respect for Judaism and Christianity and the benefits learning about his religion could bring to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

"We are all human beings. G-d has blessed us with diversity. But diversity does not mean we have to hate each other. It means to recognize each other and to supplement each other."

Let us hope that the true intentions of these words are manifested in all the actions of The Universal Heritage Foundation and its inaugural interfaith conference. In other words, from the Shah’s mouth to the ears of the extremist fanatical fundamentalist religious leaders who preach hatred, incitement, terrorism, and violence against G-d’s Children and faithful followers. We should encourage true "mainstream and moderate" teaching and thinking but not even consider those who are considering promoting blinking.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2004 Gary Fitleberg