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Dawah

Filed with 60.11.1 Islam · Related: 60.11 Religion · 60.3.1 - Foreign Policy

Dawah [ˈdæʕwæh] literally means “issuing a summons” or “making an invitation”. Grammatically, the word represents a gerund of a verb with the triconsonantal root d-ʕ-w (د-ع-و) meaning variously “to summon” or “to invite”. A Muslim who practices daʿwah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dāʿī (داعي, plural duʿāh دعاة [dʊˈʕæː]).

Purpose

In Islamic theology, the purpose of daʿwah is to invite people, Muslims and non-Muslims, to understand the worship of God as expressed in the Qur’an and the sunnah of Muhammad and to inform them about Muhammad.

Daʿwah as the “Call towards God” is the means by which Muhammad began spreading the message of the Qur’an to mankind. After Muhammad, his followers and the Ummah (Muslim community) assumed responsibility for it. They convey the message of the Qur’an by providing information on why and how the Qur’an preaches monotheism. Muhammad saw Islam as the true religion and mission of all earlier prophets. He believed that their call had been limited to their own people but that his was universal. His mission as the final prophet was to repeat to the whole world this call and invitation (daʿwah) to Islam. Muhammad wrote to various non-Muslim rulers, inviting them to convert.

Movements

Modern daʿwah movements are varied in their objectives and activities. Examples include:

  • The Muslim Brotherhood has focused on a methodology of building grassroots institutions and funding welfare projects, which has helped it survive decades of repression under hostile governments in many Middle Eastern countries, with the group and its many offshoots still enjoying popular support and power.34(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-34)[[35]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-35)
  • Jamaat-e-Islami has focused on presenting Islam as a complete way of life and on the methodology of building grassroots institutions and funding welfare projects.
  • Tablighi Jamaat works on trying to bring the Muslims back to the fundamental practices of Islam such as worship; they do this by encouraging members to speak and to teach them the virtues of good actions. The movement has a following of between 20 and 80 million people and, though it originated in India, now has a global following.36(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-36)
  • Ahmed Deedat was a notable debater who was a revolutionary figure among Muslims for his effort in debating Christian polemics. Many Muslim debaters from popular debaters to grassroots daʿwah campaigners use his books and videos as reference material.37(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-37)[[38]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-38)
  • Zakir Naik was a student of Ahmed Deedat and followed in his teacher’s footsteps by debating Christian polemics and by holding Q&A sessions with Christians. Zakir Naik is particularly notable for taking the effort of debating Christian polemics to the Muslim mainstream with his popular channel Peace TV.39(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-39)
  • iERA is a research institute based in London which seeks to debate Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals, help new Muslims, train speakers and produce academic research papers on daʿwah issues.40(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-40) iERA was founded by Abdurraheem Green (Anthony Green) and Yusuf Chambers, British converts to Islam. It developed the GORAP method for daʿwah: God’s Oneness, Revelation and Prophethood. GORAP is a framework for holding daʿwah conversations and conveying the message of Islam in stages.
  • Hikmah Times of Singapore there is a significant impact of the Islamic daʿwah movement. There are many local/international organisations (e.g. Hikmah Times).
  • The Murabitun World Movement is a movement in Spain that advocates pledging allegiance to an emir and the revival of the Islamic gold dinar as currency for zakat.
  • Discover Islam Centre41(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-41) established in Cape Town, South Africa, 2005 by Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick from Canada. Conveying the message of Islam to people of all walks of life. Building bridges in communities through knowledge, breaking down misconceptions about Islam. Offering classes to Non Muslims and New Muslims to learn more about the fundamentals of Islam.
  • Uplift Dawah42(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-42) is a Dawah non-profit based in Seattle, Washington with chapters in Seattle and Africa.
  • Northwest Dawah Foundation43(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-43) is a daʿwah non-profit based in Portland, Oregon with activities in Southwest Washington and Oregon.
  • Al Furqaaan Foundation44(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-44) is a daʿwah non-profit based in Chicago which focuses on distributing Qur’an through partner daʿwah organizations across the United States.
  • Youth Club45(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-45) a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political organization, which provides a unique platform for the youth and provides them avenues to channel their potential in accordance with Islamic values. Since its inception in 2011, Youth Club is working to create well-balanced individuals, who are not only skilled in their respective fields but also recognize and fulfil their religious obligations and participate actively in their communities.
  • The Latino American Dawah Organization is a grassroots organization founded in 1997 to propagate Islam within the Hispanic American community. LADO frequently makes references to the history of Islamic Spain in their works.

Methods may also depend upon specific creeds. For instance, among Ismailis, al-Naysaburi’s Code of Conduct depicts the values in which dais should spread the word of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims.46(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-46) Idris Imad al-Din’s work presents us with an indigenous account of the traditions of the daʿwa in Yaman. His account of the Nizari–Musta’li succession dispute reflects the official view of the Tayyibis.47(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-47) Similarly, modern-day platforms designated for open-air public speaking in the western world also provide platforms for debate between different denominations in Islam, with documented instances of dialogue being reported between demographics such as Quranists and Mahdi’ist based creeds such as Mahdavia.48(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawah#cite_note-48)