DOHA - The propagators of Islam whose job it is to introduce the religion to non-Muslims are facing new challenges in carrying out their duty in the aftermath of September 11 attacks on US by terrorists.
Islam lays much emphasis on its propagation (Dawa) and there is a specific group of Muslims who specialise in propagating the religion. They are called 'Daaiya'.
In Doha, one of the main functions of the Qatar Centre for Presentation of Islam (QCPI) is to propagate Islam and introduce it to non-Muslims. The centre has a number of volunteers who are from different nationalities.
The volunteers contact non-Muslims based here and try to familiarise them with the local culture which is based on Islam. Tours of mosques are arranged for them and later, presentations are held at the QCPI premises followed by question and answer sessions.
According to one of the volunteers, Mirza Ghazanfar, a commonly asked question in the aftermath of 9/11 is about terrorism and Islam. "Non-Muslims are increasingly asking: 'Why Muslims are so fanatical about their religion and what are Islam's links to terrorism'," he said in remarks to The Peninsula on Sunday.
Ghazanfar, an Indian who works with a government department in Doha, says it takes him a lot of effort to convince a non-Muslim that much of what is being projected about Islam and terrorism is the handiwork of the media.
Hitler, a Christian, killed so many Jews, but he was not referred to as a Christian terrorist. But if a few Muslims who are not in their right mind and turn criminal and carry out an act of terrorism, they are called Islamic or Muslim terrorists, he said.
Another frequently asked question is about polygamy. "We have a simple answer to this question: Islam allows its male followers to marry more than once to help maintain gender balance in society," he said.
There are, for instance, 7.8 million more women than men in the US today. "This means that if every male US citizen picks a wife, 7.8 million women will be left without marriage.
These women will either have the option of getting married to an already married person or become promiscuous," said Ghazanfar.
Veiling of women (hijab) is yet another question frequently asked by non-Muslims, he said. There are times when there are heated discussions at the QCPI theatre over these issues, he said.
"We are quite used to all this. Nothing deters us from carrying out our work of propagation," said Ghazanfar.
© The Peninsula 2006
