PIA stands for Pro-Islamic Alliance against Female Genital Mutilation.
PIA is a TARGET initiative: leading Islamic dignitaries and spiritual leaders have sided with TARGET’s fight against this crime basing their arguments on religion and the Qur’an itself.
PIA’s leitmotif is Sura 95 of the Qur’an, Verse 4: “We create man in the finest state”.
PIA was founded in 2001 when the then First President of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Dr Nadeem Elyas, drew up the following statement with us:
“Female genital mutilation is incompatible with the Qur’an and with the ethics of Islam. It represents a presumption of God’s will and discriminates against Islam”.
The spirit of the PIA provided the basis for the TARGET Desert Conferences held in Ethiopia, Mauritania and Djibouti. It opened the doors to leading Muftis and scholars in these countries and convinced them to use the power of their religion to fight to preserve the physical intactness of young girls. In addition, the Pro-Islamic Alliance opened the doors for Rüdiger Nehberg and Annette Weber to the spiritual heart of Sunni Islam: the Azhar in Cairo under Grand Sheikh Prof. Dr. Tantawi and the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Prof. Dr. Ali Gom’a. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Prof. Dr. Zakzouk, acted as mediator.
Since then, TARGET has found many other allies in the Islamic world. By way of thanks for their commitment and for the trust they place in TARGET, Rüdiger Nehberg and Annette Weber awarded them the TARGET Honorary Medal.
The TARGET Honorary Medal depicts:
- on the obverse: the Azhar Mosque in Cairo, the heart of Sunni Islam, circumscribed by PIA’s leitmotif Sura 95 of the Qur’an, Verse 4: “We create man in the finest state”.
- on the reverse: an artistic representation of giving praise to Allah.
The medal is presented together with a certificate. |
