JEDDAH, 14 July 2005 — The ladies section of the International Association for New Muslims offers an ideal forum for Muslim as well as non-Muslim women in Jeddah to get together and exchange their culture and traditions.

“The main objective of the organization is to create a bridge of understanding between Saudis and expatriates,” said Lateefa Al-Turkistani, executive director of the section.

She said her office on Prince Sultan Street in Jeddah’s Al-Zahra district was ready to organize various programs for women after hearing their requirements.

“We have already planned a variety of social and educational programs for this summer, including pleasure trips and visits to historic places, museums and cultural centers in Jeddah,” she said.

Lateefa said any non-Saudi woman in Jeddah is welcome to these programs, which are offered free of charge. Visitors pay only the fees charged by museums and centers.

There is a special corner in the office for different nationals to get to know one another and learn more about Saudi culture and traditions.

“We look forward to your ideas and suggestions to improve our services and programs,” she told expatriate women.

She said her office was contacting foreign consulates and expatriate compounds in order to inform them about the association’s activities.

About 70 women of different nationalities including American, British, Romanian, South African, Korean and Indonesian have visited the office during the past four months.

Lateefa said the office conducts Arabic language and Qur’an recitation classes for Muslim women. “We are also holding special Qur’an recitation classes and other interesting programs for children aged between 5 and 12 this summer,” she said. The office charges nominal fees for the six-level Arabic course. It also conducts free Umrah trips for new Muslims and educational courses for Muslim women to learn more about their religion and the recitation of the Holy Qur’an in accordance with its rules and principles.

The association invites new Muslims from different countries to perform Haj and Umrah as its guests. Twenty-three women from Hungary, Romania, Holland, Britain and the United States performed Haj in January this year under this program.

The International Association for New Muslims is a nonprofit organization under the Muslim World League. It takes care of the affairs of newly reverted Muslims and coordinates with the various Islamic institutions and establishments working in the same area.

The association has set up a website (www.4newmuslims.org) to help new Muslims contact with others, talk about how they were attracted to Islam and give them more insight into the religion.

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(For more information about the association’s women section, contact 0505660050/6622522.)