A Washington-based Ghanaian Editor, Mr. Alhassan Y. Babalwaiz, has been decorated as Global Peace Ambassador, along with a New York-based Nigerian Publisher, Michael Ikotun by the International Centre for Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light (HWPL) at a brief ceremony in New York.
Mr. Alhassan, who is the North America Editor and United Nations Correspondent of the Berlin-based AfricaNewsAnalysis and Diplomatic Affairs Editor of the New York-based Applause Africa magazine, was penciled for this honor due to his commitment to peace—it’s reflected in his works. He is therefore, expected to use his writing as well as his engagements with the diplomatic community as platforms to promote global peace and advocate for end of war on earth.
The president of the HWPL International, Hon. Man Hee Lee, who was in New York for a meeting at the United Nations, decorated Alhassan with a symbolic pin and presented him with a certificate of duty urging the writer to operate within the core principles of the HWPL and its affiliates—as he works towards the goal of world peace in his own space.
Alhassan is also expected to liaise with Muslim and non-Muslim youth groups—particularly the African Diaspora in the United States and Europe and entice these constituencies to drum home (to Africa) the message of peace—through the social media by blogging and twittering the need to end wars for the good of humanity, as it’s often the case during electioneering campaigns for political office.
An affiliate of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), HWPL works to promote peace among all religions, cultures, political, and social groupings, while campaigning for cessation of wars on earth. So far, Hon. Man Hee Lee has toured sixty countries within two years—campaigning for a war-free world. At the leadership of the HWPL International are ex-presidents and former prime ministers who serve as advisory board by leveraging their years of leadership experiences to push for a world devoid of war.
Meantime, HWPL is organizing the World’s biggest peace summit in Seoul, South Korea. Dubbed “World Alliance of Religions Peace Summit 2014”—a sort of Olympics of the faithful, the gathering is expected to bring together about 120,000 participants from all parts of the world—to discuss the need to rid humanity of wars and all forms of conflicts in order to achieve ever lasting peace on earth. Beneath the calm and laid back nature of Alhassan lay a fully-capable pair of hands to carry these responsibility: He holds a certificate in interfaith dialogue from the International Islamic Information Center, Advanced proficiency in Classic Arabic and Sharia Sciences.
He is also a product of the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced Arts and Sciences—where he took corporate communications, University of Long & Foster, where he took Social Media Marketing, the International Institute of Journalism Berlin, the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the World Bank Institute—for a certificate on Climate Change Policy Options, and three certificates from the United Nations–on how decision-making process at the U.N General Assembly and the Security Council works. Alhassan also speaks Six international languages: Fluent and flawless Arabic, conversational German and Spanish, native Hausa, and conversational Asante.
Alhassan has been a consummate campaigner for peace for many years: He was a planning committee member of the first-ever peace rally to be held in Kumasi in the late 1990s—to find a solution to conflicts among Muslim groups. He was also a participant at an inter-religious dialogue session between the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, and the Department of Religions of the University of Ghana, Legon. While with the Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian Services (ICODEHS) as Public Relations Officer, Alhassan played a role in the draft of a policy on Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Makka)—by serving as a Rapporteur for a 30-member committee on “Hajj Operations and the Role of Agents”—during Ghana’s first national conference to find a solution to a smooth operation of the Hajj. Here in the US, Alhassan has, over the years, been active in the religious community—where he gave Khutbas, (Islamic Sermons) and led Friday prayers or daily prayers and Arabic classes at a number of Mosques such as Masjidul- Madina, The Allima Institute, and Masjidul-Hag.
He has also been active in the secular environment—where he participated and made remarks at several peace-related forums at the U.S. Institute of Peace, The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution, as well as the Institute for the Study of Islam and Democracy. Alhassan has also written a foreword for a book titled “Quran Science and the Secretes of the Un-seen World”, and has a Memoir in works (at the manuscript stage)—titled “Zombie De Ja Vou: De-constructing my Phobia of the Military”, while working on a translation project of some religious titles. Asked what his comments were about the award, the usually calm and laid back writer just smiled and said “To God be the glory, for making my humble efforts over the years, shine that bright as to deserve an honor as huge as an International Peace Ambassador, and words are just inadequate to express my thanks to Hon. Man Hee Lee, the President of HWPL International, and I look forward to networking with like-minded organizations in Seoul, as per the terms I duly signed—to push the agenda of peace and the need to end war—particularly in Africa and the rest of the developing world.”
Story: Kemi Fadojutimi