JEDDAH, 28 January 2004 — Muslims must establish powerful media organizations and penetrate existing ones in order to confront the smear campaigns against them, according to Dawood Ngwane, president of the Islamic Propagation Center International (IPCI) in Durban, South Africa.
“The West is waging a war against us, using the media, which is a powerful weapon. We have to train our journalists and penetrate media organizations. It will make a big difference. We have to take up this challenge. We have to be united in order to win the battle,” the IPCI chief told Arab News.
Under the leadership of Ngwane, a former Christian leader and an attorney who embraced Islam about eight years ago, the IPCI has already opened a school of media and journalism which offers a three-month course in journalism. “We want to develop this program into a two-year diploma course,” he said.
The Muslim leader emphasized the need to train Muslim journalists. “We don’t have people in the media. We have to take this matter seriously. Muslims all over the world must unite to face the media onslaught. We will not be able to do anything without experienced media people who can mobilize world opinion in our favor,” he said.
There are 2.5 million Muslims in South Africa which is 3.5 percent of the country’s population. “The number of Muslims is increasing dramatically in South Africa,” Ngwane said. “Fifty to sixty people embrace Islam at the IPCI every month,” he pointed out. He said Muslims in the country enjoy full religious freedom.
Referring to the impact of Sept. 11 on Muslims, Ngwane said: “It was exaggerated out of proportion by the media which immediately identified Muslims as culprits without any proof. The media has brought us this problem and only the media can get us out of it.”
Ngwane was attracted to Islam after reading the book “Crucifixion or Crucifiction,” by Ahmad Deedat, an expert on comparative religion and former IPCI president. A practicing Catholic for 64 years, Ngwane was chairman of the Diocese of Marianhill Region, southeast of Durban and a board member of St. Mary’s Hospital. After thoroughly studying the book, Ngwane was at the IPCI the very next day, demanding to speak to Deedat. Ngwane embraced Islam in September 1995. In his book “Ubhaqa” — light in Zulu — the IPCI leader explains his journey to Islam.
Spelling out IPCI’s activities, Ngwane said his organization trains propagators, prints English translations of the Holy Qur’an, publishes Islamic literature, provides support to new Muslims and helps the community use existing resources. For over 40 years, the IPCI has been at the forefront of inviting people, irrespective of race, color or creed, to Islam.
