Many Muslims consider it very important to spread Islam
around the globe. In Islamic terminology it is called Da’wah, which literally
means “invitation”. Unlike Jihad, this concept can’t be easily misinterpreted
to incorporate any kind of violence. It is simply to invite people to Islam by
preaching them the Islamic concepts. But nowadays Muslims don’t have something
which had been in the past very instrumental for Dawah.
Like any other Islamic concept, the standard methodology for
preaching and spreading Islam is to be taken from the life of The Holy Prophet.
The Prophet first preached Islam in Mecca where the nascent religion instantly
turned up all the idol worshippers against him and after they made it hard for
him to even live in his house, he left for Medina; a city with less violent and
more considerate people. After preaching Islam for some time, The Prophet established
the first Islamic state; the city state of Medina. It then became the base camp
for missionaries who converted all the Arabian Peninsula to Islam. After the
establishment of the Islamic state, Medina thrived as never before. It became
strong enough to defend Muslims from Meccans and eventually strong enough to
capture Mecca. People flourished under the Islamic system and soon there were
left few people who lived a life of poverty. People enjoyed more freedom,
justice was served equally to the rich and the poor and crime rates went down
to almost nil. For the people who were preached the new religion in the deserts
of Arabia, Medina used to be an inspiration. They were told about that city and
how it had changed after the advent of Islam. This exactly is what Muslims lack
nowadays; a successful example to show people how Islam works.
Islam is not a typical religion; it’s a whole ideology that
encompasses every aspect of human life. It has got certain part that is
associated with the individual life of people, but it also has system and
standards for the whole society. In this era, when people are told about the
Islamic systems of government, economy, society etc. people often ask what good
are these systems if they couldn’t improve the condition of even a single Muslim
country. There are six countries which claim to be Islamic states and fifteen
which have Islam as the national religion. None of them is capable of being an
inspiration for a non-Muslim.
Usually Muslims blame The Western nations of plundering
their resources and interfering in their politics and describe these to be the
reasons for the poor condition of the structure of their country and society.
But blaming someone else for one’s own shortcomings is not something very
noble. Though it is a fact that many Western governments have been involved in
supporting dictators and interfering in the politics and society of the Muslim
world, but that too is a fault of the Muslims who let it happen.
When a Muslim preacher says to a non-Muslim, “Let me tell
you something that is better for you”, the non-Muslim might well ask, “Why
hasn’t that thing been better for your own self?” Why those who claim their
religion to be a perfect system for humanity are living in the worst
conditions? The answer of course is that they’ve themselves betrayed their
religion. It’s only a name that is being spoken of now; Islam has long been
abandoned by its followers. Though it is very important to spread The Message
around the globe, but at least equal efforts should be made to preach and
revive Islam in the Muslim world. The Prophet did it by making himself an
example, and then by making an exemplary society and state. So should be done
by the Muslims of this era, if they care even a bit about their religion.
