Nation building

What is different about the Islamic nation

Da'wah

The various Da’wah methods– Audio

– Print media

– Video

– TV/Satellite channels

– Electronic media

– Social media

– Islamic apps

Nation-building refers to the process of constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state (Wikipedia).– It aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it

remains politically stable and viable in the long run.

– It includes the creation of national paraphernalia such as flags, anthems, national days, national stadiums, nationalairlines, national languages, and national myths.

– Had been closely linked to De-Colonization

State-building refers to infrastructure and the institutionsof the state (Wikipedia).– More academic in origin and increasingly accepted by

international institutions.

– State-building and nation-building are sometimes used interchangeably.

1. Rabania (Law of Allah):

م دين أمر ألا تعبدوا إلا إيااه ذلك الإن الحكم إلا للا القي

2. Wahda (unity of Muslims):

ة واحدة وأناهذه إنا تكم أما ربكم فاعبدون أما

3. Wasatiyyah (balanced in thinking):

ة وسطاكذلك جعلناكم أما

4. Da’wah (invitation to Allah/Islam):

ة ولتكن منكم ون عن الخير ويأمرون بالم إلىيدعون أما وين المنكر عرو

The Islamic nation is unique, different from othernations and believes on existing based on four basicpillars (Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi “Building a RightfulNation”):

Da`wah (invitation to Allah) is an organized and a continuous effort to call people to:

the fold of their Creator,

towards accepting Islam as a way of life, and

to convince them of the need and urgency of establishing the Deen (religion) of Allah in its entirety, with the sole aim of getting the pleasure of Allah

“Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, "I am of those who bow in Islam"?”

(Surat Fussilat 41: 33)

ن د مما

ولحسن ق

وعم ومن أ

ى الل

ل عا إل ني من ال ال إن

ا وق صالحا من س

“Convey from me even if only one sentence.”

(Report by Bukhari, Tarmidzi

and Ahmad)

وا غ و ب

ث ، وحد

او آية

ي ول

عن

ا عن بني إسرائيل ولي متعم

ب عل

ذ مق حرج، ومن ك

أ بو

يتا ف عده دا

ار من الن

1. Da’wah was the duty of the last messenger, Mohammed (PBUH), and the duty of all messengers before him.

2. It is the responsibility of the entire Muslim nation.

3. It is the most notable job one ever undertakes, and its reward is great.

4. Prophet Mohammed has ordered to do it.

5. With Da’wah, believers are distinguished from hypocrites. People without Da’wah are in loss and Allah Almighty will punish those who neglect Da'wah

Da’wah is mandatory on Muslims and every body is required to give Da’wah.

Prophet Mohammed SAW said:

– “Convey from me, even if it is one ayah.” Imam Bukhari

– “Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent, for the one who is absent may understand it better than the one who is present.” Imam Bukhari

Knowledge: familiar with major topics

Sincerity: doing the thing for the sake of Allah

Patience: being prepared to go across rough people

Gentleness and kindness: gentle, mild, tolerant, kind to non-Muslims

Du’aa: Allah Almighty is the custodian of Islam. What we have to do is only to present and clarify Islam

Some people consider Da’wah as not their job (the job of imam or sheikh) and thus lag in doing Da’wah. They try to give many excuses such as:

– I am not a scholar, – Well, religion is a personal thing, – I feel embarrassed. Please, find someone else, – I don’t have enough time (must read for my exams), – I may lose my friends, position or job, – I am not a religious person (my religion is light), – I will do it when I am old but not now (I put a plan for

my entire life), – I might get hurt by other people, – Allah would have guided the unguided if he would

have wanted.

Based on the number of people involved:1. One-to-One: it reaches one person, has bigger effect

and increases membership2. One-to-Many: it reaches a large audience but has a

small effect3. Many-to-Many: such as the groups of people that

travels annually across particular countries

Based on the way Da’wah is conducted:1. Direct Dawah: face-to-face meeting style, such as in

street, elevator or store.2. Indirect Dawah: incorporates the use of a number of

tools such as: Books TV Radio Emails etc.

Da’w

ah

Audio

Print media

Video

TV/Satellite channels

Electronic media

Social media

Islamic apps

Audio media tools can be used at different levels to give Da’wah:1. Individual: A person can listen when travelling,

staying at home, or walking. For example, by giving a cassette as a gift or lend.

2. Group: for groups, it can be used to convey a message to a group of family members, social and cultural gatherings. It is based on the use of social connections and building trust.

3. Public: it can also be used to reach a multitude of people. For example, using radio to broadcast Quran, Prophet’s sayings or lessons on Halal and Haram.

• Such as newspapers, magazines, newsletters, etc.

Periodical material

• Such as book, pamphlets, booklets, etc.

Non-periodical material

Typically, the average can rememberapproximately 10% of what he/she has read

Print media can be divided into periodical and non-periodical material:

Books

- Leave a book in office/car/doorsteps/hotel rooms/bus stations… for someone to read.

- Use books as birthday/graduation gifts.

- Buy books for those who cannot afford the cost

Magazine subscriptions

Give a subscription to an Islamic magazine to someone as a

gift.

Islamic slogans

Important Islamic sayings (Quran or Hadith) or slogans can be printed on

car windows, calendars,

agendas, etc.

Stickers

Posting of stickers with

beneficial Islamic reminders in

locations such mosque, riding

vehicles in buses, airplanes, etc.

Postcards

Post cards with attractive local

scenes or landmarks with

brief Islamic message on the

back

Leaflets

and flyers

Selected articles from books or lectures to be

reprinted them as leaflets and

flyers for various occasions

Video cassettes: VHS is a consumer-level analogue recording videotape-based cassette standard

Video Compact Discs- VCD: Before the spread of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD was the first format for distributing films

Digital video Discs- DVD: DVD-Video is a product to store digital video on DVD discs

Blu-ray Disc (BD): a digital optical disc data storage mechanism designed to supersede the DVD method. It is able of storing high-definition video resolution.

Typically, an average person remembers about 50% of what he/she has seen and heard

Video media can be used to convey material to an individual or to a group of people

Satellite channels: e.g. Iqra, Al-Risala, Al-Majdbouquet, Al-Fajr, Al-Rahma, Al-Nas, etc.

Local Islamic channels

Cable TV (almost all Islamic channels need no special subscription)

Online Islamic satellite channels (many Islamic stations broadcast on Internet as well)

Electronic media (or computer-mediated material) are usually stored using portable peripherals such as hard discs, external hard disks, pen drives, CD ROMs, DVD, Blue-Ray

For Da’wah purposes, material can be:– Movies (like Mohammed Al-Fatih, The Message, the Dawn of Islam)

– Programs (like how to perform Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj)

– e-books/booklets/pamphlets

– e-magazines

– Islamic pictures of mosques, scholars, the Holy Quran, Miracles,

Makka, Madina, Ramadhan, Flowers, Du'aa, Congratulations, etc.

– Lessons in Fiqh, Hadith, Tajweed, Aqida, etc.

– Supplications

– Links to credited Islamic websites (e.g. Islamweb.net or futureislam.com).

In 60 seconds: “168” million emails are sent, “694, 445” Google searches are done, “695,000” Facebook status are updated, “98,000” tweets are sent, “370,000” Skype calls are made, “6,600” Flicker images are uploaded, “1,500” new blog entries are posted, and more than “600” new YouTube videos are uploaded.

Social media platforms are websites and applications where people can share their ideas and exchange information.

Social media tools include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flicker, personal pages, bulletin boards, discussion groups, Question Answering websites, etc.

For Da’wah, certain social media tools can be used: Facebook: constructing Islamic pages, report the pages that

abuses Islam or its figures, Islamic events, make friendships with non Muslims, posting Islamic updates, promoting external links, stand against non-Islamic thoughts, etc.

Twitter: using hashtags and tweets YouTube: uploading videos showing the greatness of Islamic

civilization or giving stories for those who converted to Islam Flicker: upload Islamic images Personal pages, Discussion groups: building discussion groups to show others

the existence of Allah, merits of Islam, and meaningless of some ideas people hold about Islam.

The availability of portable devices today, such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc. gave a chance to deploy Islamic applications on different venues such as Symbian, Android, iOS, mobile Windows, Palm OS, etc.

Applications can be developed to: Provide new mechanisms to teach children

their religion Learn how to pray Prayer times How to recite Quran Supplications