There is no better way to start the holy month of Ramadan than to be on good terms with your creator. A lot of young Muslims do that, even if the rest of the year does not witness this dedication and obedience to God's ordinances. But to see these thoughts illustrated openly and explicitly on the streets in Lebanon was definitely unprecedented. A full-fledged campaign was released at the beginning of last Ramadan encouraging people to establish a connection with their creator by performing prayers (Salat). The campaign covered billboards, unipole, posters, TV, and radio.
Since the ads were not signed by any client, ArabAd tracked the booking agent, which turned out to be Provision, 'The total communication agency'. The client behind this campaign was no other than Dar Al-fatwa, the main Islamic religious endowments reference in Lebanon, who initiated this campaign under a newly launched organisation called 'The Collegians'. This new initiative gathers Muslim university graduates under one roof and aims at organising activities, projects and various social, academic, media, and other contributions.
Kamal Mirza, Salat project manager on behalf of 'The Collegians', shared his views on this campaign's birth. "The question arose: why do we always do our best to make a business profitable through all means, while the best of all businesses is the one that we establish with Allah. By committing to his path we win both worlds: life and hereafter. He owns everything and everything is in his hands. There is no better guarentee than him, Just as it is described in the following verse of Koran:
'Those who recite the Book of God, and establish the prayer, and expend of that, We have provided them, secretly and openly, look for a commerce that will never perish' (Chapter Fatir, Verse 29).
This is the commerce that we need to seek and accomplish". This is where the whole idea started. "We promoted Salat as the best call that can make a difference in a muslim's life. As we need food and water for our body to survive, our soul needs Salat to revive and to renew its loyalty to its great creator".
A group of young people contributed to this work for "the sake of Allah" as most of them said. Among these people was Nahla Kotob, the art director of this campaign, through her creative team called Unit. "We started by putting ourselves in the shoes of our target audience, whom I believe, I was one of them at some point in my life.
I personally wanted to share with them the happiness I was able to reach by establishing a bond with Allah through Salat. We took off from what most people think about Ramadan and what this month symbolises to them, then we bridged that to what Ramadan actually is. Most people think Ramadan is about food, gathering around the table and spending the night out in a coffee shop.
While the real meaning of Ramadan is that it is a chance to get closer to God, to achieve spiritual elevation, and reach a state of serenity and true lasting happiness. Those who perform Salat with presence know what I am talking about. Hence our concept 'Assalat Sila', which means Salat is a bond. The bond established with Allah, with yourself and with the ones around you."
The consistency in the different applications of this concept is worth noting. The campaign looked consistant and very-well maintained across different media. Mazen Barazi, a board member of Hadeer organisation, shared his opinion of this campaign since his organisation is interested in media projects that help project a better image of Islam. "The campaign is remarkable. It is very unusual to see such images on the streets of Beirut. But this is what Lebanon is about, blending diversities in an open-minded envirenment. The concept is simple and effective. The campaign has a unique style. The colours are nice and attractive". Hadeer published an article covering the campaign and its effect on its website.
"The campaign is very expressive and it touches those who perform prayers and those who don't. It was a very nice reminder on the streets especially during the month of Ramadan. It makes one proud of this lifestyle especially that the cast used were young and attractive. The billboards intreague you to check the website and there you can find the most intricate details about Salat", said Tarek Issa, an IT specialist. When Rana Chehabeddine, the Salat web designer, was asked about the incentive to volunteer to this work she said, " I had my experience with Salat and its effect on my soul. I deeply believe in the concept of this campaign, Salat is a bond. My life constantly changes as I improve my Salat.
I wanted to share this peace with people and complement the standard of work on electronic application. I used simplified shapes with white backgrounds to project the clarity of the communication and purity of the soul in Salat. The warmth of the orange color soothed the site just as Salat soothes the soul. The site is user-friendly guiding the visitor to every step of Salat and answering all questions. Therefore, complementing the campaign's quest". The website can be accessed by logging on to www.assalatsila.com.
As noted by Chehabeddine, one of the most noticeable features about this campaign is the friendly tone in which it addresses the audience. Islamic media messages rarely witnesses this sort of speech. With the emergence of friendly preachers like Amr Khaled, Khaled el-Joundi, Moez Massoud, and many more, religious scholars are starting to be convinced that more moderate tones should be used in calling people to Islam.
"We didn't want to sound as if were preaching", said Kotob, "we wanted to talk to people the way we wanted to be addressed. I believe there is a way in communicating to people. We chose to be friendly, sincere, and caring. Just as Islam preaches us to be."By Hanadi Shehabeddine
ArabAd 2005
