Sheikh Deedat's philosophy was that everyone knows Islam, it’s the way you market it which makes all the difference.

DURBAN, October 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – As I entered the large room, I was overcome by awe. I could not believe that I was standing in the same place where hundreds of people received the message of Islam from the enigmatic icon who used to sit behind the very desk I was facing.

This was the office in which late Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, armed with little more than a plate of bhajias (Indian chilli-bites) and samoosas, smilingly piloted many an indignant visitor to a state of total submission to Islam.

Today the office, situated on the fourth floor of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI), in the heart of the South African city of Durban, has been transformed into something of a small time museum, paying tribute to the life’s work of Sheikh Deedat, who passed away in the early hours Monday, August 8.

Discoloured posters advertising his famous lectures and debates cover the walls, whilst the desk is overflowing with his publications, which have been translated into several languages and printed across the globe.

Sheikh Deedat had spent many hours within the confines of these walls, formulating intricate da`wah strategies and taking giant steps towards that which he hoped would serve as a means of guidance for the many people who had not yet been touched by Islam.

His aspirations included but didn’t end at publishing books and debating Christian evangelists.

His vision was much greater than that, and is perhaps well reflected in the sights which are distinctly visible from his office windows.

A building across the street carries an enormous sign, the making and placing of which he had commissioned. Strategically placed, it bears a simple but clear message – "Read Al-Qur’an – the Last Testament".

A few hundred metres away the Jumma Masjid, South Africa’s largest mosque, which was central to Sheikh Deedat’s mission, towers above the colourful hustle and bustle of traffic, trade and tourists, its glittering domes and magnificent minarets casting their reflections on the gold façade which covers the windows of the IPCI building, bringing one of his many dreams to life.

In an office close to Sheikh Deedat’s, Mahomed Khan, IPCI liaison officer, and Rafeek Hassen, its director, are actively trying to ensure that his other dreams too, are being realized on an ongoing basis.

They are awaiting the arrival of a group of school children from Swaziland, who has booked a ‘Mosque Tour’ – a concept introduced by Sheikh Deedat in the 1960’s and still going strong today.

"Sheikh Deedat’s philosophy was that everyone knows Islam, it’s the way you market it which makes all the difference," explains Khan, as he produces a statistics sheet which reveals that 660 people have been on the Mosque Tour in 2005 alone.

This includes people from Norway, Japan, Belgium and various other parts of the world, notes Hassen, and the concept is in high demand particularly amongst tourists, church and school groups.

"You’ll be surprised how many of these people have never entered a mosque before," says Khan, who has worked for the IPCI for the past sixteen years.

The tours take place at the Jumma Masjid, and, before entering the mosque, each individual is given a book entitled "The Muslim At Prayer," which shows the similarity between Muslim acts of worship and the prayer of Prophets mentioned in the Christian scriptures, he explains.

"The fact that these people come means that they are open-minded," says Hassen.

"We use this as a starting point to show them that Islam is not a new religion but merely a continuation of the teachings of previous prophets."

He said they quote verses from the Bible.

"When we make wudu’ (ablution) we say, ‘Aaron and Moses washed their hands and their feet as it was in the Bible,’ when we make sujood (prostration), we say, ‘In the Book of Matthew, Jesus prostrated and prayed, Abraham prostrated and prayed,’ and we show them that we are praying as they did," Hassen explains, saying that the tours are extremely effective.

"They go back completely astounded."

For school children the mosque tour ends with a movie about Islam and a question and answer session at the Abdul Aziz Auditorium, a state of the art 500-seat cinema, situated in a nearby building which a Saudi Arabian businessman had bought for Sheikh Deedat.

Hassen said they get mail from across the globe requesting free-of-charge literature.

Pointing to a thick pile of letters which Khan is opening, Hassen said the IPCI is flooded with requests from across the globe for free-of-charge literature.

"Mail comes from all over the world. You’ll find prisoners from different prisons in and around South Africa as well as around the world, many from the US, writing in and requesting literature. Some of them write saying they’ve read one of Sheikh Deedat’s booklets and have become Muslim."

Randomly selecting, Hassen opens a letter from a primary school student in Ghana who wants a free copy of the Noble Qur’an and any other literature which will help him increase his knowledge of Islam.

A second letter comes from a prisoner in Seattle in the USA for a copy of Sheikh Deedat’s Combat Kit book.

Then there’s a letter from a woman in Hong Kong who wants "any free literature which is available."

A fourth is mailed by an inmate from a local maximum security prison who has just embraced Islam, and requires basic necessities, like a prayer mat.

"Sometimes a person will just write ‘Islamic Centre’ on the envelope, but it will still get to us, even the post office knows us," Hassen noted.

"Obviously funds are a problem because most of these people want the literature free, and we have to pay the postage," he said, adding that the accompanying postage cost averages R100 000 a year.

Overseas funding has become problematic after the 9/11 attacks on the New York, he averred.

"America has put a clamp on funding to Islamic organisations."

Hassen said the IPCI presently relies largely on income from shop owners who rent part of its premises, to fund its activities which, he complains, isn’t enough.

He added that the Abdul Aziz Auditorium auditorium is also being used for weddings and other functions, thus serving as an important source of income for the center.

Sheikh Deedat’s dream was to flood the world with free literature, and this has to be honoured, Hassen contended.

Courses

Zohra Moola teaches revert Muslim women Islamic basics.

Literature isn’t the only service that is freely provided by the IPCI.

The center also offers a wide variety of educational courses to students, who are not asked to pay tuition fees in return.

There is a course for reverts, who are taught the basics of Islam – their bus fare and meals are provided on a daily basis.

People of all religious denominations can also enrol in a weekly literacy class.

The IPCI also offers a crash course in journalism, in return for which, students are asked to donate a small sum of money (R100, roughly 16 US dollars).

"The media is the greatest medium through which Islam is being maligned," explains Hassen.

"Therefore it’s da`wah to confront the media, and its our duty to defend the faith when it’s under attack – this course teaches people how to respond to the media, how to write letters to the editor, etc."

Training Da`is

One of the most popular courses on offer is Abdul Kader's comparative religion.

Perhaps one of the most popular courses on offer is the da`is (callers to Islam) training program, which sees teachers of comparative religion equipping students from all parts of the world with the skills and knowledge necessary to call people from other faiths to Islam.

Many students from as far a field as Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States have in the past enrolled in and completed this two-month program.

"Our course is a very comprehensive one," says Hassen.

"We study new trends in evangelism and we don’t just focus on religion, we also study democracy, which is the new religion of the 20th century, and all the ‘isms’ – nationalism, communism, socialism – because a da`i (caller to Islam) has to know how to enter into dialogue, not just with a Christian, but with a communist as well."

Abu Bakr Mosiea, a 30-year-old revert, says he enrolled in the course because he wanted to learn how to give people in his pre-dominantly non-Muslim community da`wah.

"We need to know their religions when talking to them," explains the soil scientist.

"When I go back I want to teach some of the brothers there comparative religion. This course is very good – it covers everything. I was not expecting it to be like this," he adds.

Jameel Muhammad, a civil engineer from Uganda who accepted Islam whilst working in South Africa, agrees.

"I really appreciate this course. It teaches us how to deal with Christians, and about the mistakes in the Bible."

When he returns to his home country, his da`wah mission will begin with the immediate members of his family, adds the 33-year-old, smiling.

The comparative religion students live in a hostel, about eight kilometres away from the IPCI.

The cost of their transport is covered by the IPCI, and they are only expected to pay for their accommodation, if they can afford to do so, otherwise the center tries to find them a sponsor.

"We presently have seven students who can’t afford to pay the two hundred US dollars per month required to cover their accommodation, and they haven’t been sponsored either," says Hassen.

He added that funding in the region of R60 000 (roughly 10 000 US dollars) is also needed in order to modify an existing building so that it can serve as accommodation for women who want to do the course.

"Statistics show that in Europe more females are accepting Islam than males – we need sister da`is who are competent and qualified to take up the challenge."

Though funding remains a problem, nobody goes home empty handed, maintains Mahomed Khan.

"If they are non-Muslims and they require literature, they get it free from the IPCI. If they are deserving and they want a Qur’an, we give it to them free at the IPCI, if someone has reverted to Islam, they can do Islamic classes at the IPCI for free and they get bus fare and a meal, if there are students who want to do comparative religion, they get tuition and accommodation free," he says.

"The bottom line is - anyone who comes to the IPCI regarding da`wah is never turned away, al-hamdu lillah."

The sun was setting outside. Students from the comparative religion class standing at the entrance of the IPCI building awaiting transport to their living quarters. A few metres away, Goolam Mahomed was getting ready to lock the doors of the IPCI Information Center. Today was no different from yesterday – once again he played a list of videos, and once again passers by wandered in, and occupied the chairs lined up in front of the television set. Curious, some of them requested copies of the free literature displayed behind the counter, and perhaps one or two headed upstairs to the fourth floor to sign up for the Mosque Tour. Who knows – maybe tomorrow, one of them – inspired by what he has seen and read – will enter Hassen’s office and announce his decision to revert to Islam. He will then be asked to sign a form, declaring his new religion, which will be filed away in a cabinet on the fourth floor of the IPCI building together with thousands of other similar precious documents dating as far back as the 1950’s, when Sheikh Ahmed Deedat would oversee many of the reversions himself. And his mission lives on.