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（www.dawahinamericas.com/bookspdf/MethodologyofDawah.pdf）
"Methodology of Dawah Elallah In American Perspective"
by Shamim A Siddiqi
Ramadan 23, 1409 H /April 2, 1989
New York
Copyright 1989 The Forum For Islamic Work
141pp
pp.61-62
The United States of America is a democratic country. There is freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of movement for every individual. It is guaranteed by its constitution and democratic traditions. There is an independent judiciary to protect these freedoms and individual liberties. The laws and the constitution of the country may be man-made, but they carry a great sense of sanctity in the eyes of the government and the people.
Religion, although it has been rendered into a personal relationship between individuals and their God, still commands a wide range of publicity through churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques. Religious programs are rampant.
They are presented on a global level and raise huge funds from the public for their missionary activities inside and outside America.
To this extent, the Muslims of America will also be free to mobilize themselves and carry out the program of Dawah Ilallah to every nook and corner of America. There will be nothing to hold them back. The call of Muslims to the fold of the Creator, Allah, is a common legacy of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Accountability in Akhirah is also not foreign to these religions.
This provides an almost congenial environment for Muslims to work on the first three stages of Dawah, i.e., calling the people to the fold of God; structuring a broad based political organization (Jama'ah) and building the required team of workers (Da'ee). It will generate inter-community dialogue between Muslims and Judeo-Christian communities. It will provide the opportunity to deliver the message of Al-Qur'an to the people of the land on a large scale.
p.63
How long this stage of Peaceful Resistance will continue depends on the vigor and zeal through which the Dawah campaign is carried out and the extent of response which it receives from the people of the land. In a country where democracy is deeply rooted, where fundamental human rights are sacredly guarded by its independent judiciary, where the people's will is free to choose the way of life (Deen) they like, where the need of an ideology is felt all around and where the socio-moral-economic problems press for immediate solutions, a strong and well built Islamic Movement will be able to address the alarming situations successfully. If Islam offers the solution for all that we see around us in this country and if the Movement can present it skillfully in a pleasant form to the people, the success will not be far.
p.64
The secular press cum media, the agents of capitalism, the champions of atheism (Godless creeds), the missionary zealots and extremely influential Jewish lobby of America will constitute the bulk of the opposition to Islam in this country.
The Movement and its workers will present only Peaceful Resistance with patience and steadfastness. But they will not stop their Dawah efforts even for a single moment.
p.66
The workers of the Islamic Movement of America, when hard pressed due to persecution in this country, will have the option to migrate to that Islamic state, provided the conditions in America are totally unbearable, and the persecution is ruthless as it was in the time of Prophet Muhammad (S).
It may, however, be clarified that if an Islamic Movement anywhere in this world succeeds in establishing Allah's Deen within its sovereign rights, it would be the homeland for all the Muslims of the world. Muslims, anywhere in this world, would have the right to migrate to that Islamic State and obtain its citizenship. The Islamic State may, however, direct the Muslims of the world to stay where they are and struggle for the establishment of Allah's Deen with her moral and ideological support.
The Muslims of America would have, therefore, no alternative but to intensify their struggle to the last on the lines stated in this book.
p.67
The Muslims of America may concentrate their numerical strength, through migration to that state, and try to make it a model Islamic society within the power available under the constitution of the U.S.A. and what it does not prohibit. It will serve as a model to other states.
Thus, without disturbing or violating the constitution of the U.S.A., they can prepare the ground for the
emergence of Islam as a way of life acceptable to the electorate of this country. This will also prepare the way, in due course of time, to send their representatives to Congress and the Senate. There they will be able to create a strong lobby in Washington for the promotion of Islam and its cause in this country as well as elsewhere in the world.
So for this process remains open and the peaceful means are not closed, contrary to the situation that exists in the Muslim world, we must strictly resort to change by the constitutional means.
p.68
When they will come to know that this is the only way to get their past sins pardoned by God and it is the only surest way to enter into paradise after death, they will rush to Islam as something very precious.
It is we the Muslims who are here by Allah's will to provide that opportunity to this great nation which is humiliated everywhere due to lack of a superb ideology of its own. It matters little for the Islamic Movement as to whether it takes one or many decades to make the ideology of Islam prevail over the mental horizon of the American people.
p.69
The world at present needs some drastic ideological change to get its social, economic and political system in order.
p.70
There are hundreds of mosques and community centers in America. Some of them are very small, based on help and support of 20 to 25 Muslim families. Some are quite large, having a membership varying from fifty to hundreds of families.
p.71
A non-Muslim thus becomes a Muslim, obedient to Allah (SWT) alone. The revolutionary aspect of Islam is rarely brought before the new converts, as in most of the cases the Da'ee himself is not conversant with it.
p.71
However, these newly converted Muslim brothers and sisters are in a way different from the traditional Muslims. They are more spirited and very enthusiastic about their Islam. Many of them strictly follow whatever they learn. They, zealously remain attached to their community and its Imam.
p.72
Dawah activities, at present, are being carried out by the Islamic Society of North America through I.T.C. (Islamic Teaching Center), the Muslim Community Center of Chicago, the Islamic Circle of North America, Nation of Islam, the Islamic Center of Washington and other organizations like these.
If the priorities are changed and the goal is set towards the establishment of Allah's Deen as their prime objective, they will produce Dawah literature addressing the common people of the land.
pp.72-73
They will have to make strategies and develop a Dawah program so as to create interaction with the White population of the country. They should create dialogues with Christians to come to the point where they accept the Oneness of God, the accountability in the life Hereafter, and feel the urgency of guidance to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. It needs new vocabulary, fresh literature, most modern techniques and effective strategies to present Islam to the population of the land in a palatable manner.
p.73
For them the methodology of Dawah will be different than what is adopted for Dawah work among Muslims, Afro-Africans and among some ethnic minorities.
p.84
1. KNOWLEDGE OF ISLAM
The Qur’anic verses may be memorized to the maximum possible extent.
p.85
i. It is essential to undertake a comprehensive study of the Prophet's (S) life as the only model and guide now available to mankind to follow.
iv. A comparative study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is a must for a Da'ee in the American perspective.
p.86
2. KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE
A Da'ee must know the country, the people and the land where he has to carry out his Dawah activities.
Gradually, America is growing into a colony of vested interests and international Zionists caprices and intrigues. The people of the land are simple, naive and are being exploited by the vested interests through a perpetual campaign from TV, radio and the so-called "freepress”. Individual liberties and personal freedom have been distorted to serve only as a means to create lust for sex in the society, promote pornography and adopt perverted attitudes and violence in human relations.
p.87
America, no doubt materially, militarily and politically, is a great country but ideologically and morally very poor.
3. KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD AND
MOVEMENTS
i. Global Strategies
The United States of America is a global power. The world itself has shrunk into a multi-storied house in which some stories are well furnished and well equipped with modern facilities like the seventeen developed countries of Europe, America, Australia and Japan, whereas the rest of the stories are in a very dilapidated condition like the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa and Central/Latin America.
p.88
ii. Third World And Debt
There is no more political slavery but the economic slavery is rampant everywhere.
iii. European Common Market (ECM)
The underdeveloped countries of the world, in the very near future, will have only three economic powers outside the Communist block to deal with the American block, the European block, and Japan, which in turn will substantially reduce their bargaining power.
p.89
iv. The Communist World
Russia disintegrated and has become the “sick man” of Europe but still it has the potentials to play a third-party role in world politics in collaboration with China, North Korea and Cuba.
p.90
v. The Middle East
In the Middle East, the state of Israel is another bone of contention and a constant cause of flare ups. It is a smoldering bomb and can burst open at any time. It has been established in the heart of the Muslim world as a conspiracy hatched jointly by the British, French, Russians, Americans and the International Zionist movement to subjugate a portion of the Muslim world permanently.
Israel is now acting as the "police state" of America in the Middle East to supervise her interests. Israel, on the other hand, nurtures its own dream of dominating the Midle East and America stands as a committed partner to this dirty game.
America appears to be a colony of Israel and cuts a ridiculous position in the eyes of the world. The state of Israel and its forcefully occupied areas of Ghaza and West Bank are profusely bleeding but the entire free world, including the U.S. of America, is only expressing lip sympathy for the oppressed Palestinians. Israel has developed a very strong and influential lobby in U.S. Senate, Congress and in the administration. The pro-Israel TV, radio and press are busy day and night in pleading cause of Israel and distorting the hard facts of heinous crimes that it is committing against Muslims and humanity.
The developments in the Middle East vis -a-vis the political hegemony of USA, Israel must be studied carefully.
vi. Central And Latin America
p.91
vii. Importance Of World Events
p.93
viii. Contemporary Islamic Movements
The Ikhwan Al-Muslimun of Egypt, Jamaat-e- Islami of Indo-Pak Subcontinent, Hizb-Al-Tahreer of Jordan/Palestine, Tanzeem-e-Islami of Pakistan and many others in different countries under different names have been struggling against the Batil of their respective countries/regions in order to get the Deen of Allah dominant in its place.
p.94
Simultaneously, criticism from the public must be taken care of in a pleasant and positive manner. It will help a lot in the purification of the character.
p.96
A Da'ee Ilallah is known by his character and selfless services to humanity. It is service to the neighbor, the poor, the needy, the elders, the homeless wanderers, the runaway youths, the orphans and the starving people of the society in and around his neighborhood that introduces the Da'ee as a useful person, a trustworthy neighbor, a benevolent citizen and a person of integrity to be reckoned with at times of distress.
(To be continued)
