In an interview with Al-Rahma TV, on January 8, 2010, prominent Egyptian geologist and cleric Dr. Zaghloul Al-Naggar stated that over 20,000 U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia converted to Islam during the first Gulf War, and that "our only means [to confront the non-Muslims' war against Islam] is to preach the call to Allah, with good words, clear evidence, and proper logic."
Dr. Al-Naggar, who holds a Ph.D. in geology from Wales University, U.K., is a member of the Geological Society of London, the Geological Society of Egypt, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has lectured at universities in the West, including the University of Wales, as well as at universities in Arab countries. In 1977-78, he was a visiting lecturer at the University of California.
He is a member of the board of trustees of the Bridges Foundation, which states on its website, http://www.bridges-foundation.org, that its vision is to "...train Muslims on becoming public speakers and presenters of how to present Islam as a culture and way of life to their fellow non-Muslims." He is also chairman of the Committee on Scientific Notions in the Glorious Koran and Purity Sunnah Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Cairo and a fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences.
According to the English section of Dr. Al-Naggar's website (www.elnaggarzr.com), the website's aim is, inter alia, to "invite non-Muslims to think of the Scientific Facts which came in The Glorious Koran and the Pure Prophetic Sunnah [one] thousand and four hundred years [ago that] science is still discovering," "to respond to the directed suspicions [of] Islam & Muslims," and "to [make] know[n] Dr. Zaghloul Al-Naggar [to] the West and informing them [of] his science & neutralism."
To view this clip, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/2479
"Within Three Months, More Than 20,000 [U.S. Troops In Saudi Arabia]... Converted To Islam"
Zaghloul Al-Naggar: "In 1990, when I was teaching at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran [Saudi Arabia], the American forces came with all their soldiers and weapons. I heard their commanders saying: 'This country bans the building of churches, restricts Christian activity, and prevents unveiled women from leaving their homes. We will force all these things upon it.'
"The university students were upset by this, and said that they wanted to fight these people. I said: With what will you fight them? They have half a million soldiers and an unparalleled war machine. With what will you fight them? Besides, your government allowed them into the country. If you harm them in any way, you will be held accountable by law.
[...]
"The students said: Are we supposed to just watch them from the sidelines? I said: No, call them to join Islam. The students laughed at me. They said: Call who? These arrogant people?! I said: Tell one of the Saudi liaison officers to ask them if they wanted to hear about the culture of this country, but don’t say anything specifically about Islam, because that would deter them.
"The [Americans] welcomed this, because they were psychologically unbalanced, due to the lack of their usual entertainment. So I approached them, with some colleagues from the university, from Aramco, and from SECO, who could talk about Islam in English. Within three months, more than 20,000 of their men and women converted to Islam."
Interviewer: "More than..."
Zaghloul Al-Naggar: "More than 20,000."
Interviewer: "Twenty thousand?!"
"When They Converted To Islam, They All Said The Same Thing... 'My Parents Will Die As Infidels Only Because You Are Lazy... We Had To Invade Your Country In Order To Hear About Islam"
Zaghloul Al-Naggar: "Yes. We have lists with their names, addresses, and phone numbers. They were generals and privates, men and women, black and white. When they converted to Islam, they all said the same thing – as if Allah were speaking from their mouths. They said: 'My parents will die as infidels only because you are lazy. You did not come [to the U.S.] to call us to join Islam. We had to invade your country in order to hear about Islam.'
"I traveled to the U.S. after they had returned, in order to help them contact Islamic centers close to their homes. They all brought along more people who had converted, after hearing the story of how these soldiers had converted to Islam."
At Dar Al-Hijra Mosque in Washington DC, A Navy General Said: "My Son [Who Was In the Gulf] Passed Islam On to Us"
"I was invited to a mosque in Washington, DC, called Dar Al-Hijra, to deliver a Friday sermon. I noticed that one of the congregants was a Navy general. I was sure that he had been in the Gulf. After the prayer, he came to say hello. I asked him if he had been in the Gulf War, and he said: 'No, my son was there, and he passed Islam on to us.'"
"Our Only Means [To Confront the Non-Muslims' War Against Islam] Is To Preach The Call To Allah, With Good Words, Clear Evidence, And Proper Logic"
"Therefore, I say to the officials in the Arab and Islamic world, that they must understand that we face the most difficult circumstances. Due to their material superiority, the non-Muslims have overcome us, and they are waging a fierce war, both overtly and covertly, against Islam. Our means to confront this cannot be financial, because our material capabilities will never be a match to theirs. Our only means is to preach the call to Allah, with good words, clear evidence, and proper logic. We can resolve all our political, economic, and scientific problems, and overcome our backwardness in some areas, by calling these people to join Islam, using the only language they understand – the language of science."
