RIYADH, 5 August — Dr. Maneh Al-Johani, secretary-general of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), who died here yesterday, was a great Islamic scholar and committed preacher. He was instrumental in spreading the message of Islam among non-Muslims.
"One of his outstanding projects was the translation of the holy Qur’an in simple English so that the message could be easily absorbed by the common man," Dr. Saleh Al-Wohaibi, WAMY’s assistant secretary-general, told Arab News.
Johani had authored at least 10 books and written many research papers. His magnum opus, according to Wohaibi, was the "Encyclopedia of Muslim Minorities" brought out by Imam Mohammed ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. An English translation of this work will follow in due course.
In his tributes, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Quayid, former assistant secretary of WAMY for 15 years, said he had worked with Johani for 30 years. "He was a great Islamist who had no negative feelings toward anyone. During his 20-year tenure, first as assistant secretary- general and later as secretary-general, Johani transformed WAMY from a small office at Thalateen Street in Olaya with an annual budget of SR6 million into a global organization with an annual budget of SR100 million," he pointed out.
WAMY would be shifting to its own multi-story building in the north of Riyadh later this year.
Quayid said during Johani’s term, WAMY had organized three major international conferences and brought out a series of publications in Arabic, English and other languages to propagate the message of Islam. His death has created a void in the field of Islamic dawa, which would be difficult to fill.
According to Hussain Zulqarnain, director of the London-based International Council for Islamic Information (ICII), Johani had served as chairman of ICII’s board of trustees since 1996. He said ICII, the brainchild of Johani, was launched to introduce Islam to the West and remove misconceptions about the divine religion.
Hussain, who knew Johani for over 20 years, said that the late secretary-general was keen to make use of information technology for spreading the message of Islam. To this end, he had launched WAMY’s website on the Internet, both in Arabic and English.
WAMY also brought out "Islamic Future," a monthly bilingual publication (Arabic/English). Later, the magazine was re-launched as an English monthly for promoting WAMY’s message abroad. Johani was also keen on introducing an Islamic satellite channel, he added.
Johani did his BA in English from Riyadh University (presently King Saud University) in 1972 and MA in English literature from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1977. He obtained his Ph.D in English and general linguistics from Indiana University in 1982.
The subject of his thesis was the "Use of definite and indefinite articles in English and Arabic."
He was also fluent in French and had a good knowledge of other languages.Dr. Johani worked as assistant professor of English and later as associate professor at King Saud University. A workaholic, putting in 10 to 12 hours a day, he rose from a modest background to become the chief of WAMY which has its presence in 60 countries around the world.
Johani had also served two terms as Shoura member and had the honor of heading the Shoura sub-committee on Islamic affairs. He was forthright in championing the causes of Islam and Muslims, especially Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya.
During his education in the United States, Johani had held the post of chairman of Muslim Students Federation in Indiana University. He was chairman of the education committee and a member of the fiqh committee under the Islamic Society of North America.
He had served as the founder and first secretary-general of the Arab Muslim Youth League in the US. He used to present an Islamic program on Channel Two of Saudi Arabian Television. He was chairman of several Islamic organizations and societies in the Kingdom and abroad.
