Islam Superheroes for Tolerance - Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa

Looks like some fun and worthwhile reading for the younger set...

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa receives Award at World Halal Forum

Dr.Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of THE 99 superheroes http://www.the99.org, was recognized by Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Amad Badawi for his outstanding personal achievement in the creation of THE 99 and setting up of Teshkeel Media Group.

Dr. Naif Al-­Mutawa received two prestigious awards in June 2010 from Intersections International in New York City and the World Halal Forum in Malaysia. The awards are in recognition of his being as the creator of THE 99, the first group of comic superheroes born of an Islamic archetype.

Created in 2003, “THE 99’s” characters embody Islamic principles without sectarian trappings while offering audiences young and old, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, positive role models that shatter stereotypes and point us all down the pathway of justice, reconciliation and peace.

NOORA - THE LIGHT

Real Name: Dana Ibrahim
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Location: UAE
Height: 167.5 cm
Weight: 66 kg
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown

The comic’s title refers to the 99 attributes of God (or Allah), which include such traits as generosity, strength, wisdom, foresight and mercy.

The series is loosely based on the invasion of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, who threw all the books from Badghad’s library into the Tigris River.

In the fictional world of the comic book, the curators save the books and transfer their contents onto 99 mystical gemstones that are then scattered around the world. The series chronicles the adventures of the young superheroes, who come from 99 countries all over the globe, and their search for the stones.

The unique quality of the tales allows children to identify with the characters, regardless of the reader’s country or religion.



WIDAD - THE LOVING

Real Name: Hope Mendoza
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Location: Philippines
Height: 157 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Brown

While an undergraduate student at Tufts University, Al-Mutawa cut his journalism chops writing for the university’s daily paper, a natural fit for the young man who had always loved to write. He later wrote “To Bounce or Not To Bounce” a children’s book released in 1996 that was a finalist for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for literature in the service of tolerance. The book grew from Al-Muwata’s experience working with former prisoners of war in Kuwait, and survivors of the political torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

BARI - THE HEALER

Real Name : Haroun Ahrens
Height : 183 cm
Weight : 79 kg
Eye Colour : Green
Hair Colour : Brown
Home Country : South Africa
Base of Operation : Razem Institute, Paris
Occupation : Adventurer

FATTAH - THE OPENER

Real Name: Toro Ridwan
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Location: Indonesia
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black

“Dr. Al-Mutawa has made a significant impact in the world toward building understanding, peace, justice and reconciliation through THE 99,” said the Rev. Robert Chase, founding director of Intersections.

 “He has created his own intersection, taking the attributes of God in the Qur'an and the western medium of comic book superheroes and combining them into a unique and positive cross-cultural resource that appeals to young people too often distracted by unhealthy messaging. His innovative and imaginative approach has created a space for productive engagement and learning in an area too often characterized by sectarian divisiveness. And he has navigated the project through the tricky waters of religious authority and media critique to the point where it is successful enough to be called by Forbes magazine one of the 20 most important trends sweeping the globe.”

Al-Mutawa currently is the clinical director of The Soor Center for Psychological Counseling and Assessment in Kuwait. He earned a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University. He also holds a master’s degree (organizational psychology) and an MBA from Columbia University.

Reposted from http://intersectionsinternational.org and http://www.the99.org

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