Dr. Abd Al-Rahman bin Hamood Al-Sumait ( ar, عبد الرحمن السميط, ; 15 October 1947 – 15 August 2013) was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

, medical practitioner and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

from

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. He was known for his

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

works in more than 29

African countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes both fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign state ...

Education

Born and raised in

, Al-Sumait was a doctor specializing in internal medicine and

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

before becoming involved in charity work. He graduated from the University of Baghdad with a BS in Medicine and Surgery, a diploma in Tropical Diseases from the University of Liverpool in 1974. He completed his postgraduate from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, specializing in internal medicine and digestive systems.

Career as Physician

Al-Sumait practiced medicine at Montreal Public Hospital from 1974 to 1978.

Philanthropic efforts

Abdul Rahman Al Sumait was the founder of the Africa Muslims Agency (new name, Direct Aid), and worked as its secretary-general from 1987 until he died in 2013. He was also the founder of Kuwait Relief Agency and worked as its CEO from 1987 to 2013 and coordinator of Health Attaché for the Kuwait Embassy in Kenya. Following is a list of charity and welfare institutions founded by Al-Sumait: * Founding member of the Montreal branch of the Muslim Students Society, 1974-1976. * Founding member, Malawi Muslims Committee – Kuwait 1980 * Founding member, Kuwaiti Relief Committee * Founding member, International Islamic Charity Authority – Kuwait * Founding member, International Islamic council for Call and Relief – Kuwait * Member of Charity Rescue Society – Kuwait * General Secretary of the African Muslims Committee, 1981 – 1999 * Chairman of Direct Aid, 1999 – 2008 Member of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society – Kuwait * Editor-in-Chief of Al Kawther Magazine, 1984 until his death. * Member of the council of trustees of Islamic Call Organization – Sudan * Member of the council of trustees of Science and Technology University – Yemen * Chairman of the board of Faculty of Education – Zanzibar * Chairman of the board of Faculty of Shari’ah and Islamic Studies – Kenya * Chairman of Charity Work Studies Center – Kuwait

Direct Aid

In 1981, Al-Sumait founded the Africa Muslim Agency, later renamed as a "Direct Aid" society. The society provides extensive humanitarian assistance to impoverished people throughout

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It has built 124 hospitals and dispensaries, 840 schools, 204 Islamic centers, 214 women training centers, and 2,200 mosques. The society has also established two colleges in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, offered 200 scholarships to Muslim African students to pursue higher studies in medicine, engineering, and technology. Direct Aid has its offices in 29 African countries. In addition to that, it was considered a General Consultant in the Economical and Social Board of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 1998.

Detention and Imprisonment

AL-Sumait was imprisoned twice in his life. The first in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

in 1970 and the second time in 1990 when he was arrested by Iraqi intelligence forces during the

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

. He was shipped to Baghdad and subjected to severe

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

. Later in his life when looking back at this terrible ordeal he stated:

I had no doubt whatsoever that I would not die except at the moment Allah had ordained for me.

Final Months and Death

Al-Sumait struggled through the last few months of his life, traveling from Kuwait to numerous places, including Germany, in search of medical treatment for his ever-worsening medical state. On 15 August 2013, it was announced that Al-Sumait died from complications of a heart condition.

External links

Official: About al-Sumait

Official: About DirectAid's achievements

Humanity Voice piece on Al-Sumait

*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumait, Abdul Rahman 1947 births Kuwaiti philanthropists University of Baghdad alumni 2013 deaths Alumni of the University of Liverpool McGill University alumni Kuwaiti gastroenterologists Kuwaiti emigrants to the United Kingdom Kuwaiti humanitarians 20th-century philanthropists Kuwaiti emigrants to Kenya