The call of Islam: learning how to spread the message

The New Muslim Centre (NMC) will hold a workshop on Dawa - an invitation to embrace Islam - for managers and executives. The Dawa workshop will start tomorrow evening and run until Friday.

"We are expecting around 20 people working in senior positions to attend the workshop, which was specially designed to provide training for those who interact with people of many communities and religions," centre Director Tahir Khalid told Gulf News.

"Many people working in managerial posts or executive positions have contacted us to help them learn effective means for Dawa because they meet many people but do not know how to invite those people to Islam and how to explain true Islamic values to them."

Since these people travel a lot, they will be trained to use their abilities for Dawa during their business trips, he said. This will be a regular feature and more such workshops will be arranged. Riaz Ansari, an American who is Chief Educator at the centre, said scholars would address the Dawa workshop.

"These sessions were designed to prepare the participants on how to behave while offering Dawa, how to deal with various types of people such as atheists, how to respond to frequently asked questions about Islam and God, and how to respond to misconceptions or rumours about various aspects of Islam," he said.

A panel discussion at the end of the workshop will discuss the difficulties faced when offering Dawa. Ansari said that the centre was also trying to launch a new campaign through the Sharjah Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Department to invite tourists for Dawa. "With the help of local tour operators, we will arrange trips for tourists to religious places to help them understand Islam better."

The centre wants to put English translations of the Holy Quran in hotel rooms, but it lacks the funds to do so. The centre was established last year under the directives of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, to promote Islam among the non-Arabic speaking community, especially non-Muslims and new converts.

The centre conducts Arabic grammar classes. It offers Quran reading classes for Russian-speaking women and conducts lectures for them on Islamic issues. Every Friday it holds classes for the Filipino community, conducted by Filipinos in their own language.

The centre also conducts classes for English-speaking women, in addition to classes on Islamic jurisprudence. All instruction is free except the Arabic grammar class for which there is a nominal fee.

Khalid said that the new Jumma Khutbah (Friday sermon) in English at Al Qasbah Mosque had proved very successful and the number of people was increasing steadily. "More than 100 people attended the last Jumma Khutbah, standing outside the mosque because the hall was jam-packed. "We are also offering special lectures after the Jumma prayers at the mosque to answer any queries about Khutbah and any other issues relating to Islam."