by Etim Imisim, THISDAY

Abuja — Special envoy of US President to Organization of Islamic Countries, Mr. Rashad Hussain, explained yesterday why he visited an Islamic primary school in Abuja. He said the visit was not only to emphasize the importance America attached to education. It was also to put into practice Obama administration's new policy of engagement with Muslim communities around the world.

Hussain who is an American Muslim said the essence of Islam is balance both in learning and conduct. In this context, he said that the Sunshine International School, located in Asokoro District of the Federal Capital Territory, was a model in inter-faith cooperation which could be sold to other parts of the world.

The envoy admitted that terror acts in the world today are mostly carried out by Moslems. But according to him, President Barrack Obama maintains constantly that perpetuators are only a handful of people. The majority of adherents of Islamic faith are peace-loving people.

Usually, certain Koranic verses are used by Islamic extremists to preach hatred and justify terrorism. The Sunshine International School has identified has identified such verses, as is being done by many moderate Islamic establishments around the world, and put them into their proper contexts. The school is equally paying attention to Islam studies and secular subjects, including mathematics and the sciences.

The head teacher, Mrs. Rakiya Zubairu, said there are 287 pupils in the school and all of them are Moslems. However, of the 38 teachers on the staff, almost half are Christians. "We employ Christian teachers as long as they deliver," the head teacher told THISDAY.

Zubairu escorted Hussain and his team round classes. The first class they visited was Primary 6 where the pupils were reciting Islamic verses, which they read from open books on their desks. The American visitor enthusiastically joined in the recitation. Sixteen children were enrolled into the class at equal ratio of eight to eight. although eight girls and five boys were present at the time the team was in the class. All the girls sat on one side of the class and all the boys on the other side.

Among books US embassy officials donated to the school were "The American Journey of Barrack Obama" and "Children's Encyclopedia of American History".

Earlier, the envoy, fielded questions from reporters on various issues in the Middle East in particular and Islamic world in general. According to Hussain, one of the first acts of Obama, on assumption of office, was to appoint and dispatch Mr. George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East. This started the new US relation with the Moslem world which culminated in Obama's trip to Cairo a year ago. The essence of Obama's speech, Hussain said, was international peace and cooperation.

Reporters asked the envoy the position of the Obama on Israel and Palestine. Hussain replied that the US favoured "two secure states, Israel and Palestine living side by side."

"In the last two months, the Vice President (Joe Biden) and Secretary of State (Hilary Clinton) have made very strong statements on the issue," he said. "Obama will face this issue and will not back away like past administrations."

He was also asked the extent of contact America has with Iran, with whom the US has been having a running battle over the Middle Eastern Nation's nuclear ambition. Hussain said America had not been engaging Iran for about 30 years and that isolation had not worked.

In sharp contrast to the approach of the past, he said the US has been making efforts to dialogue with Iran in the last one year, including during the recent nuclear summit hosted by Obama, but that Iran has not given a strong response except to say that it has "the right" to own nuclear technology. According the envoy, the US acknowledges this right and has even offered to assist countries in their pursuit.

It was Mrs. Zubairu who asked Hussain the position of the US on Nigeria on the account of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who attempted to bomb a US plane on Christmas Day last year. The American said that the lesson of the unfortunate event was that Islam is the same everywhere in the world.

Source: THISDAY (Nigeria) via allAfrica.com (GO partner)