Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse attended the ‘Peace and Harmony Conference’ held in Tonsberg, Norway, June 21-22, 2008, as a representative of Islam, Senegal, the Network of African Islamic Organizations for Population and Development and AAII.

The ‘Peace and Harmony Conference’ was organized by Norwegian Dr. Aril Edvarsen, along with a coalition of Muslim leaders in Norway, and was sponsored by the Norwegian government. They recognized that as a “Christian country” with a growing Muslim minority, there is an urgent need for significant progress toward integration, mutual respect and tolerance for all religions and ethnicities within Norwegian society. Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse’s work toward inter-religious harmony and peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria rendered his participation especially relevant and valuable.

Moving beyond the borders of Norway, the organizers and participants urged sending a strong message against weapons of mass destruction to their respective governments, as well as promoting peace, democracy and human rights around the world. Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse emphasized that the teachings of Islam as a religion of peace and compassion are in full support of these goals.

On June 18, 2008, Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse and Medina-Baye, Kaolack, Senegal were honored through the inauguration of Al Fayda Radio FM by Mr. Farba Senghor, the Republic of Senegal’s Minister of Air Transport and Crafts. Al Fayda Radio FM is the premier media project of the African American Islamic Institute (AAII), the international, humanitarian NGO founded by Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse in 1988. In addition to being Founder and Chairman of AAII, Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse is Chief Imam of the Central Mosque in Medina-Baye, the Senegalese Ambassador for the Promotion of Child Survival and Maternal Breastfeeding, President of the Network of African Islamic Organizations for Population and Development, President of Elhadji Ibrahim Niass University and the First Honorary Member of the Imams and Ulama Association of Mauritania. As a respected Islamic scholar and leader, Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse will enroll Al Fayda Radio FM airwaves to inform listeners around the world that Islam is a religion of peace that does not advocate terrorism, nor condone terrorists. [Read more →]

On May 14, 2008, Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse was appointed Ambassador of Good Will for the Promotion of Child Survival and Maternal Breastfeeding by the Senegalese Ministry of Health. Mrs. Safiyatou Thiam, Minister of Health and Medical Prevention, announced the prestigious appointment at the Meridien President Hotel in Dakar in the presence of Shaykh Hassan Cisse’s family members, friends and students from the United States, China, Great Britain, Nigeria, Mauritania, Ghana, Gambia, Namibia and South Africa. Mrs. Thiam identified the criteria for appointment to this position, and affirmed that the person upon whom this honor was being conferred exceeded them:

• To be actively committed to the promotion of breastfeeding.
• To be open and capable of mobilizing populations for the benefit of children.
• To have a strong personality.
• To be a respected and well-known person. [Read more →]

On May 14, 2008, Shaykh Hassan Ai Cisse addressed a huge, international audience that had gathered to witness his appointment as Ambassador of Good Will for the Promotion of Child Survival and Maternal Breastfeeding. Standing before the hundreds of people who filled the largest ballroom in the Meridien President Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, the Shaykh demonstrated a deep sense of humility and gratitude to Allah. Referring to the advice of his grandfather, Shaykh Ibrahim Niass (RA) to the respective presidents of Russia and Yugoslavia many years ago, he stated that he would gladly exchange all of the prestigious titles mentioned when he was introduced for the title of “farmer.”

When speaking about the privileged position that God has given to the children of Adam, both before and after their birth, Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse reminded the audience of God’s advice to human beings to choose their partners according to the best criteria of Islamic behavior, and underscored the importance of raising babies in an Islamic environment. Then, referring to both the physical and psychological benefits of breastfeeding mentioned by the scientists whose remarks preceded his, the Shaykh described the social benefits of breastfeeding by relating the history of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) freeing of a captive and all the members of his tribe because Prophet Muhammad(SAW) and the captive had both been breastfed by Halima Sadiya, who was their mutual foster mother. [Read more →]