The Ministry of Islamic Affairs should be commended for attempting to introduce significant changes in the way dawa (religious education and proselytization) is carried out. Until very recently dawa was confined to mosques and was normally less-than-fascinating lectures attended mostly by certain individuals. Using unconventional means and targeting people wherever they are, the ministry has embarked on something new that has succeeded in taking dawa to a variety of locations and changing the way people view it and the individuals feel involved in it. Recent statements by the minister amount to a coup in this area of Islamic activity that had remained unchanged for a long time. The minister spoke of ambitious plans that, in my view, will revolutionize the activity provided the institutions are properly overhauled and obsolete methods discarded.
For the first time, women will be heavily involved in dawa and according to the minister, this will require hiring full-time women preachers and encouraging them to do voluntary work and to write. This is important because women, like men, are required to engage in dawa, especially at this time when Muslim women — particularly those in this country — are experiencing a ferocious media campaign. Conferences are held year-round all over the world to debate women and the family with special focus on the Islamic position. Along the same lines, members of the US Congress have recently discussed what they allege are abuses of the rights of Saudi women.
The minister also spoke of an annual prize to be awarded to preachers who make outstanding contributions. This is a timely initiative that will reflect positively on dawa activity at a time when preachers are mostly consumed by their own individual concerns instead of focusing on the job.
The prize is intended for preachers who are either employed by the ministry or who cooperate with it. The scope of dawa is, however, much wider and can accommodate all those wishing to contribute. Within this context physicians, geologists, historians and many in other professions should be involved in explaining the scientific and other miracles of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah instead of having dawa confined to those who see it as a purely religious activity.
17 July 2002
