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Social Entrepreneur: Naif Al-Mutawa from Kuwait

March 31, 2010

Superheroes save the world every day. But could they also change the way the rest of the world sees Islam? Naif Al-Mutawa, a psychologist and writer from Kuwait, believes they can.

He has developed a successful comic book series that features 99 Islamic superheroes battling for a better world. The number 99 is no accident: each of the 99 superheroes embodies a virtue or name attributed to Allah. In a region where suicide-bombers are sometimes portrayed as role models, the comics offer a non-violent alternative for conflict resolution. That has angered some conservatives, but has not prevented the comic books from growing in popularity. In 2009, about one million of the comic books were sold world-wide. There's also an accompanying theme park in Kuwait and an animated cartoon series as well.

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