Dawa (the propagation of Islam) is a must at present. With Muslims being harassed all over the world we must reach out intelligently. Our Muslim journalists should write articles to fight back with the truth. Our media experts need to get busy writing, filming, and broadcasting simple truths about Islam. The people of the world are being bombarded with lies about Islam. It is time to educate the world with the truth in English.
Recently we attended the Dawa exhibition in Jeddah. We were excited at the thought of learning new things about Dawa. Entering the hall we headed to a large stand where all the signs were in Arabic.
This did not stop us. We walked right up and asked for any information that was in English. The exhibitors all looked at each other with a surprised look on their face. We were asked to wait until the director could be found. When he arrived, his English was good yet there was nothing he could do.
They did not have any information available in English. We accepted his apologies, and he happily escorted us to another stand. We were introduced to another man who was able to give us some pamphlets about Islam written in outdated English.
We took the pamphlets and explained to them that with almost as many English-speaking expatriates in this country as Saudis, to spread Islam here in Arabic only does not spread much brotherhood! Or much Islam. If you are French, you speak French and English, German you speak German and English. Also, the majority of people in the Philippines, India and Pakistan speak, write and read English. They heartily agreed and replied, “This is only the second year; give us a chance and things will get better.”
That set the trend for the rest of the evening. We must add that the police and armed services succeeded in giving exceptional service. We were taken warmly by hand and given all the information in English that was available. A beautiful set of Qur’an tapes was also put into our bag. By the end of the night we were sick of hearing “We’re sorry,” and “This was for Arabs.” “We are new at this; wait until next year.” We need to act now.
Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Sheikh urges Muslims to utilize modern Dawa resources, such as computer programs and Internet sites, to propagate the message of Islam.
Wouldn’t English qualify as a modern resources? Islam is being spread in other countries successfully in English. In modern times lies that are told about Islam are in English, not Arabic. The new converts to Islam are usually attracted through the English language. They speak English as well as their native language. When will we integrate the skills of the converts along with born Muslims to get the highest returns for the whole Muslim community?
If the purpose of the exhibition was to encourage Muslims to disseminate the message of Islam among non-Muslims, why was 85 percent of the information in Arabic? When we questioned this we were told that this exhibition was for Arabs.
But wait, aren’t most Arabs already Muslims? At the opening it was said, “It will also provide guidelines for non-Arabic speaking expatriates on how to carry out Dawa among their communities.” As a further note when we spoke to one young woman who was in business after having completed high school and college here in the Kingdom, she said, “The religious people here give talks for each other. They must reach out to other communities for us to participate in spreading Islam.”
Recommendations for persons seriously interested in Dawa for future expos and programs: Have Saudi women on women’s days and Saudi men on men’s days who speak English well and can speak about Islam fluently.
Include people from countries with large numbers of people you want to reach. Let them tell you how Arabs can reach non-Arabs. Each culture has its differences. Let natives from those countries shape programs and set up lines of communication.
Next time there is an exhibition, let it reflect the expatriate makeup of the Kingdom. Five Filipino stands, one Indian stand, the rest Saudi does not reflect the Kingdom’s population, expatriate or not. Use languages that reflect the languages Islam is being spread in. Everyone knows Islam is spreading like wildfire in English.
Use people that have left their countries to live with Muslims here to do Dawa. They are the first people who should be supported with Dawa programs.
To be effective at Dawa, you need provisions for people who accept Islam and are willing to change their lives, lifestyles or countries. People who convert need support to leave their past behind them. We need centers to help with basics if necessary.
Remember the people who hate Islam use English against us. They are always trying to turn people away from Muslims by lies told in English.
If you present the truth in English, the lies in English will not stand up. Muslims must master English and use the media in order to be successful with Dawa.
