Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, December 2, 2007; Page A01
CAIRO -- Muna el-Leboudy, a 22-year-old medical student, had a terrible secret: She wanted to be a filmmaker. The way she understood her Muslim faith, it was haram -- forbidden -- to dabble in movies, music or any art that might pique sexual desires.
Then one day in September, she flipped on her satellite TV and saw Moez Masoud. A Muslim televangelist not much older than herself in A stylish goatee and Western clothes, Masoud, 29, was preaching about Islam in youthful Arabic slang.
He said imams who outlawed art and music were misinterpreting their faith. He talked about love and relationships, the need to be compassionate toward homosexuals and tolerant of non-Muslims. Leboudy had never heard a Muslim preacher speak that way.
"Moez helps us understand everything about our religion -- not from 1,400 years ago, but the way we live now," said Leboudy, wearing a scarlet hijab over her hair.
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She said she still plans a career in medicine, but she's also starting classes in film directing. "After I heard Moez," she said, "I decided to be the one who tries to change things."
Masoud is one of a growing number of young Muslim preachers who are using satellite television to promote an upbeat and tolerant brand of Islam.
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Here is another Video of Moez Masoud
Click here for Moez Mosoud's Web Site - Arabic
Click Here for Moez Masoud's Offical Web Site - Translated into english
Here is a Link to Available online Videos of Moez Mosoud
I have heard many arguements that there was no "Nelson Mandella" in Iraq and things along that line of the lack of leaders who are the right men for the future of Iraq and a good strong path. Well I call BS on them and suggest the young Muslim men and women today do not get the enough air time. These are the future leaders and mentors of Islam. This conflict and the News Media Organizations have focused on old radical clerics who issue fatahs. But they are missing the mark and creating tensions between people. - Ian Bach
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