On Saturday, April 15, the Dutch chapter of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) - Federatie voor Universele Vrede - recognized Sheikh Khaled Bentounes as being eminently worthy of being recognized as an Ambassador for Peace and presented him with a Certificate of Appointment after his speech at the University of Utrecht.

Born in Algeria in 1949, Sheikh Bentounes is a Sufi master who traces his spiritual lineage back to the prophet Mohammed. On the death of his father, he was chosen to succeed him as the leader of the Alawiya Moslem community. He was surprised with this choice and initially rejected it, but, since changing his mind and accepting, he has proved totally worthy of his calling. He has fairly recently formally constituted the "Association Internationale Soufie Alawiya (AISA)", which is based in France and has tens of thousands of members in many countries, principally in North Africa and Europe. He is active in many fields and has been recognized by numerous peoples and organizations outside of his culture of origin, including being consulted by the government of France, where he now makes his home, on how achieve inter-religious and intercultural harmony. He is a sponsor of the Swiss Diagonale Foundation, which "seeks to contribute to the dynamic for the re-enchantment of the world" - www.fondationdiagonale.org - English homepage: http://www.fondationdiagonale.org/sommaire2.php3?id_rubrique=8 - and asserts that the Sheikh "transmits the universal message of another Islam to that presented by the media, an Islam of peace, dialogue and a brotherhood of heart." - http://www.fondationdiagonale.org/article.php3?id_article=37.

In his speech, entitled "Soefisme als middel voor integratie" (Sufism as agent for integration), delivered in French, with Dutch translation, Sheikh Bentounes explained how throughout history, government (not merely political, but any societal organization) has tended to be hierarchical, which he represented by a tall triangle, and to have led to rulers dominating the ruled - and thus to conflict. The paradigm he preferred was that we were all on the edge of a circle, where each could equally relate to the center and each be the beginning and the end.

He explained, though, that today’s society was increasingly encouraging people to be "subjective" (not relating to the center), to be driven by emotion, without time for reflection and to being "objective".

On the other hand, much of today’s religion was not open to spirituality, at its core were laws and principles: Moslems, for example, only looking to the Koran for guidance. But true religion is a way of looking at the world, living not by dogma but with the reality of the world around us, its structure, personality and culture -- and aspires to creating a civilization. He asserted that differences offer potential, interactivity makes the world much more rich, affecting cuisine, architecture, everything. He said that a major question was whether Islam could offer something positive to Europe -- or not. It was obvious that he believes it can and that he is devoting himself to that end.

He stressed the importance of inter -- and intra -- religious dialogue, that our society needs to be inclusive, to shun the use of force and to seek justice for all. He asserted that in seeking solutions to problems, we needed to be inner and outer, to use our intellect and intuition. He stressed the need for internal as well as external reform, discoursing at length on the history of Islam, apologizing in slang French - "casser la tete" - if it was too much, but explaining it was necessary "to understand why we are where we are today".

He stressed that while a Moslem still seeks to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, it was not enough to "apply the theology of the Middle Ages to the world today. We need to find the living message of Islam, that can live in the world, the society, of today". He asserted that while "in materialistic cultures of today, religions are marginalized, Islam can help bring a return to spiritual values."

Answering questions after his lecture, he reiterated that Islam has developed over the centuries and that Moslems needed to understand and respect that development: "we have a responsibility to our heritage, the world has evolved, we don’t live in the same world as the Prophet, discussions about whether one should eat on the ground with one’s fingers or at a table with implements are futile, the Prophet was teaching about character, not about how to brush your teeth."

The Universal Peace Federation-NL had been originally contacted by the Dutch branch of Association Internationale Soufie Alawiya (AISA) through UPF Ambassador for Peace Imam Hanza Kailani and, on receiving the invitation to Saturday's meeting, it was suggested that UPF also recognize Sheikh Bentounes as an Ambassador for Peace. The offer was accepted and after the talk and discussion the MC, Ms. Karima Yousfi, introduced UPF-NL Secretary General Mr Willem Koetsier to take the stage.

Mr Koetsier gave a brief but substantial introduction to the Universal Peace Federation and read in full the Ambassador for Peace citation, in French for the recipient. As Sheikh Bentounes rose to accept the certificate, the whole hall also, spontaneously, rose to its feet and applauded, AISA members delighted that their leader be honoured in this way, UPF members delighted that such a worthy spiritual leader associate himself with the Peace Federation.

The afternoon ended with a sublime musical performance by a choir of young Sufis.

Prior to his lecture, Sheikh Bentounes was interviewed by UPF’s Voices of Peace - TV and will be featured in a later programme.

Sheikh Bentounes' book 'Sufism; The heart of Islam', is available via the Net (see below). It will be published in Dutch in the autumn Karima Yousfi - karima_yousfi@hotmail.com - may be contacted - karima_yousfi@hotmail.com - for more information about this and activities of Association Internationale Soufie Alawiya (AISA) in the Netherlands. Publicity for the meeting: http://www.lombox.nl/agenda/0604.html - scroll down to April 15.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism

This book explains the truth about the heart of Islam - and does so with authority. Sheikh Bentounes is the leader of the Sufi sect Al' Alaweeya and has tens of thousands of followers around the world. In this book which touches the mystical heart of the faith, he also calls Muslims back to the path of practice. - http://www.hohmpress.com/Newfiles/subjectbrowse/subjectislam.html

For Muslims and non-Muslims alike, hearing the truth about what Islam is and is not may come as a revelation. Westerners who may know of Islam mostly from what they see on the news will emerge from Bentounes' account with a feeling for something familiar yet wholly distinct.

Find out the truth: what does Islam really say about the veil? What does jihad mean, and not mean? How can Islam live peacefully with other religions? Muslims, too can give credence to this account of their faith: Bentounes is a Muslim leader with tens of thousands of followers around the world. With a Foreword by Christian leader Father Christian DeLorme, this is a book to unify faith and return religion to the path of peace. - http://www.hohmpress.com/Newfiles/books/sufism-heart-islam.html -

Algerian-born Bentounes is the 46th spiritual master of Sufism in an uninterrupted chain of initiation from the Prophet and his son-in-law Ali. Rather than an academic account, he offers a testimony and sharing of his spiritual experience in the mystical tradition. - http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-1890772267-1

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