Dubai: A football team from Cameroon, including the coach and female priest, has embraced Islam after attending a training camp in Dubai, officials said.
The team from the African country represents a football academy for the homeless, orphans and impoverished youth.
Its members embraced Islam at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) recently.
IACAD said the team embraced the Muslim faith “because of the peace and serenity they felt in Islam and the good treatment and kindness they have had from locals”.
IACAD Director-General Dr Hamad Al Shaibani added: “The department has witnessed a lot of cases of visitors and residents from different nationalities embracing Islam and most of them attribute this to the tolerance and humane values and principles of Islam and the kindness they have received from Muslims.”
The department organises several programmes and events for non-Muslims and new Muslims to introduce them to “the authentic moderate message of Islam as a religion for all humanity”
These programmes and events are held in different places to reach different groups of people, such as schools, shopping centres and cultural clubs.
IACAD also supervises 17 Islamic centres and 38 Quran memorisation centres.
