'Dawah' or invitation to Islam by the 'tablighi' groups

[Zainab_M]

   to all


Here's something I've pondering about since long.

We all know dawah is great work by whch we bring our non-Muslim friends into the fold of Islam, who then become our brethrens in faith. 

There's one aspect to keep in mind though, that is, the type of Muslims we encourage our revert brothers and sisters to become after conversion.  This depends upon the mindset and approach of the dawah groups, their supervision and influence on the new reverts before and after conversion.  It's no secret that the imams and 'ulemas' have created numerous 'brands of Islam' to suit their personal likes and dislikes. 

For example, those who convert to Islam under the strong influence of the hardline Wahabi doctrine be of any help in improving and enlightening the falling Ummah?  Even if a hundred people convert to the hardline Wahabi ideology overnight, would it be as heartening and useful for the Ummah as those who submitted to the Prophet's (pbuh) message in Madinah during the lifetime of the Prophet?  The answer is definitely NO, and we've already seen that for ourselves. 

We need rational and enlightened reverts in our community .. ones like Yvonne Ridley, Yusuf Islam, Steve Rockwell, Hamza Yusuf and othes like them.  We do NOT need ones like bin Laden and Mulla Omer.  Even if some fanatical dawah organization converts a thousand people to their own brand of so-called Islam in a single day, we will only be having a thousand additonal ones like OBL and Mulla Omer cramped up into the Ummah.  Needless to say, far from being helpful, this will be a huge setback for the Muslim community. 

I am not gauging only from the political view point, but from the moral, social and legal perspectives.  We know very well that the teachings of such hardliners are far away from those of the Noble Quraan.

Therefore, when we learn of someone reverting into Islam, before feeling triumphant, it's necessary to know if they have embraced the original and real Islam as preached by the beloved Prophet (pbuh) based on the Message of the Noble Quraan, or the 'pirated' brand of Islam preached by the clergy of later times based on the writings of Bukhari etc. 

[Ruhi_Rose]

Yeah, good point.  Well, you'll find the best reverts to be those who've inspired themselves thru their own perception rather than the ones who revert after spending hours & hours in the company of their 'mentors.'  It's just too hard to find a good mentor any more.