JEDDAH, 12 August — Humanity is in need of a religion that encourages scientific inventions, according to a leading dawa worker.
“Unlike other religions, Islam encourages scientific discoveries and free thinking,” said M.M. Akbar, director of the Niche of Truth, a Kerala-based dawa organization. He was giving a lecture, titled “Science leads to God”, at a summer camp organized in Jeddah by the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice.
Akbar, who has written 40 books on comparative religion, referred to the Qur’anic verses that encourage people to think about the universe and other creations.
The latest scientific studies have once again emphasized that man would not be able to fully understand the secrets of the universe. “How can they deny the existence of God, if they are unable even to make a single cell?” he asked.
Highlighting God’s marvelous creations, the scholar said the human DNA stores 40 times more information than what the Encyclopedia Britannica contains. “There is a scientific theory which says nobody can comprehend the atom fully.”
The camp, which was jointly organized by the Islamic Education Foundation and the Indian Islahi Center in Jeddah, drew a huge number of expatriates from Kerala.
Later, speaking to Arab News, Akbar said Islam is the most discussed religion in the world. “Many non-Muslims including prominent personalities are now seriously studying Islam,” he said.
Muslims can regain their past glory only through returning to Qur’an and Sunnah. “Islam can guide its followers to progress and development and ensure their salvation in the Hereafter,” he added.
Referring to his debates in comparative religion, organized by the Niche of Truth in Kerala, Akbar said it enabled non-Muslims to learn more about Islam and remove their misconceptions.
Spelling out the impediments facing dawa work in his country, Akbar said non-practicing Muslims are one of the major obstacles that stand in the way of Islamic propagation. “We invite non-Muslims to Islam, not to join the Muslim community,” he said, noting the disappointing state of affairs in the present-day Muslim society.
Niche of Truth was successful in taking the message of Islam to thousands of people in Kerala. It conducted open dialogues attended by 5,000 to 15,000 people with 10 to 20 percent of them being non-Muslims.
Akbar, who is the chief editor of Snehasamwadam, a monthly magazine, called for intensive efforts to propagate the message of Islam. “We have to speak about Islam openly, without hiding anything. We should not be afraid of reactions,” he said.
The organization’s website www.nicheoftruth.org answers questions from non-Muslims and gives guidelines to new Muslims. The dawa group has a mobile unit that visits various villages on a daily basis.
Based in Ernankulam, the Niche of Truth has branch offices in various cities in the south Indian province. “The number of people coming to learn about Islam at our offices is increasing,” he said.
He said Professor P. Ramachandran, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishath in Kerala, told him after a recent debate that he had not received such a chance to learn about Islam before. “Ramachandran expressed his readiness to learn more about Islam and took from us a translation of the Holy Qur’an.”
Asked which aspects of Islam attracted non-Muslims most, Akbar said some of them were fascinated by the fundamentals such as monotheism and the life after death. “Islam is the only religion which gives us an assurance on the goal of life,” he quoted a new Muslim woman, a medical doctor, as saying.
A Christian embraced Islam, he said, after comparing the Holy Qur’an with the Bible. “He told me that there is no comparison between the two. When I read the Bible I felt like reading history. Its style is like a third party talking to me. On the other hand, when I read the Qur’an, I felt like God talking to me directly,” he quoted the new Muslim as saying.
