Dawah : converting Islamophobia into an invitation to Islam
In today’s climate, fighting Islamophobia can be tricky. We are surrounded by negative portrayals of not just contemporary Muslims but all prominent figures of Islam history, including the Prophet Muhammad(saw) himself.
A decade ago average “modern” western individual considered Islam as an “mysterious Middle eastern or Asian belief system” depending on their world-map reading capacity. Today many see it as a threat to their life-style and democracy due to an immense and intricately designed media and informational bogus campaigns.
A usual Muslim cognitive reflex would be to regard such an worldly issue as a “test of faith” directly from Allah(j.j). Throughout centuries all prophets and all of their companions and followers have been subject to social criticism if not public mayhem. Before a hijabi woman in a western society was reckoned as somebody wearing “traditional clothes”. Today, funnily enough, she might be considered as instrument of some sort of secret cultist constantly conspiring against “ modern” values attained by the “liberated” women of the 20th century.
What is dawah and what is got to do with Islamophobia?
Dawah means call, propagation. It comes from the root “deave” which has several different meanings including invitation, call and addressing. In Islamic terminology it means “inviting all of mankind to Islam, in other words, the final message that arrived on earth firstly to Prophet Muhammad(saw) and then distributed to rest of humanity.
The logic and comparison is simple. When a Muslim follows the call of the Rasulullah(saw) he gains the benefit of being guided to the right path of Allah(j.j). If that person becomes an intermediary inducement for another person’s choice of Islam, he will reap the extra “bonus” benefits of that person for the afterlife. Therefore, every Muslim considers “dawah” as an important responsibility, as well as a source of “extra reward” from Allah(j.j)
Muslims today can have an disadvantage due this Islamophobic climate if they wish to embark on a journey of “dawah” in their society even in the most peaceful, politest and cutest manner.
However, there is one “tiny” cause that has been formed because of contemporary Islamophobia, which can convert this disadvantage into an advantage for “dawah”. People are more aware of Islam today, ever than before. Yes, many western minds are veiled from the truth mostly due to brainwashing efforts of media, but at least they know “something” about Islam.
If it is mostly negative connotations, so be it.
By fighting Islamophobia, every Muslim has a perfect chance to tell the world about the true essence of their belief system, Islamic aqeedah.
For their dawah, today’s Muslims have a chance of turning tides. Before there was hardly any tide, they had to form their own tide. Besides, it is very well known fact that behind the thick layers of Islamophobia, there lies the very source of this mindless hatred: Racist Bigotry. It is also very essential to get rid of such evils in any society; since roots of racism are even deeper than Islamophobia.
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