JEDDAH, 10 April 2005 — Badr A-Olayan, director of the Islamic Education Foundation, has refuted allegations that Filipino workers have been converted to Islam in the Kingdom against their will. “There is no truth whatsoever in these reports,” he told Arab News.

Olayan was reacting to a news item distributed by the German news agency DPA which said the Philippine government was investigating reports that the Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia had been forcibly converted to Islam and recruited by terrorist organizations.

It said Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had instructed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Labor to check the veracity of the reports, received by the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia.

The IEF chief said he believed that certain interest groups could have circulated the reports to discourage Filipinos from embracing Islam. A large number of Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have reverted to Islam in recent years after studying the religion.

“After seeing this report I had contacted many people working in the field to find out whether any Filipino had been converted to Islam by force. They told me that they had not come across any such incident in the Kingdom,” Olayan said.

Filipinos who embraced Islam recently expressed their indignation saying the allegations were aimed at tarnishing the image of Islam and Filipino Muslims.

“It’s a ridiculous report, which has no basis at all. At least I can tell you that I embraced this great religion out of my own conviction and without any outside pressure,” one Filipino Muslim told Arab News.

Earlier addressing a ceremony held to honor 340 expatriates who successfully completed IEF’s Islamic courses, Olayan called upon non-Muslim expatriates to make use of their stay in the Kingdom to learn about Islam. As many as 540 expatriates embraced Islam last year.

“It’s a golden opportunity,” he told the gathering at the auditorium of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The ceremony was attended by a large number of businessmen who support IEF’s projects and activities. Certificates and prizes were distributed to outstanding students, who included many new converts.

Olayan urged Muslims to make use of every opportunity to convey the message of Islam to their non-Muslim friends in a wise and convincing manner. He spoke about the foundation’s efforts to take care of the new Muslims, enhance their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the religion by conducting special courses. Olayan urged the new Muslims to brush up their knowledge of Islam.

Hamdan, from Bataan in the Luson region of the Philippines, said he embraced Islam in 2001 after studying the religion for six years. “I was not forced by anyone to convert. Nobody can dictate what religion I should follow,” he said while reacting to the DPA report.

He said anybody with an open mind could easily understand the truthfulness of Islam.

Describing his journey to Islam, Abdul Kareem, who studied at a seminary in the Philippines to become a priest, said Sheikh Ahmed Deedat’s book “The Choice” helped him to fathom the beauty of the religion. He said the book by the South African scholar cleared many of his doubts.