RIYADH: The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) said that its ambitious overseas expansion program had got stuck due to financial constraints.
"The World Assembly of Muslim Youth has failed to open offices in more than 10 countries that had invited the aid organization to serve the needy people in those countries," said Saleh S. Al-Wohaibi, WAMY's secretary-general.
Al-Wohaibi called on the Gulf countries to "donate more" to Islamic aid organizations such as WAMY. He pointed out that "the Saudi government contributes only one percent of WAMY's operating expenses."
The WAMY chief said the charity had failed to fund its flagship welfare programs in different countries, especially in the aftermath of the economic recession and the resulting cuts in donors' support. This left WAMY under heavy financial pressure, he added.
The WAMY chief was speaking on the occasion of WAMY's ninth annual dialogue and iftar party in Riyadh. Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Endo and Argentine Ambassador Jaime Sergio Cerda were the keynote speakers. Ibrahim Al-Ghofaili, a local businessman, addressed the audience on behalf of the businessmen. The WAMY dialogue was attended by about 600 guests this year, including 21 ambassadors and 73 other foreign diplomats besides 170 businessmen, donors and social workers.
Asked about the plan to expand WAMY's operations, Al-Wohaibi said the charity had decided to go slow on overseas expansion plans. He said WAMY currently had 36 offices in Saudi Arabia and about 40 chapters abroad. This Islamic organization, he said, had been solely dependent on donations given by individuals and philanthropic bodies of the Kingdom.
WAMY has emerged as a major social and educational aid agency with 39,000 orphans under its sponsorship program across the world. About 2,800 scholarships have been granted to poor students in several countries so far. This is in addition to the relief efforts carried out by WAMY in the Kingdom and abroad.
Al-Wohaibi singled out the example of its relief operation in the Horn of Africa. "The response of the international community to the drought in that region is far from satisfactory at the moment," he said.
In his keynote address, Endo recalled the message of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, which was underlined by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in his remarks on the very first day of Ramadan. The diplomat said Japan had taken a number of initiatives on dialogue among civilizations over the past 10 years. "What we aim to achieve through constructive dialogue is to find and identify commonalities between civilizations," said Endo, while appreciating the role of WAMY for organizing such an interactive dialogue.
Referring to the need to promote cultural exchange and interfaith dialogue, Cerda said, "The Saudi-funded King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center located in Buenos Aires has been playing a major role in promoting cultural and educational cooperation."
Another leading forum where Saudi Arabia and Argentina share common positions is the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA), a mechanism for bi-regional cooperation and a forum for political coordination. He pointed out that ASPA was composed of 34 countries -- 12 South American and 22 Arab League countries, including Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh and Buenos Aires are very "much active" in the G20, the main global platform to deal with critical issues of world economy, said Cerda.
© Arab News 2011
