Posted by: Morshed Abul Ala on: February 25, 2008
Written after a personal encounter with the RCMP soon after Bill C-36 was put in place.
Dawa Opportunity to Law Enforcement Agents
Since the Terrorist attack on America Law Enforcement Agents have been ‘visiting’ Muslim homes and asking ‘simple questions’. Due to the power given to them by Bill C-36 it is quite difficult to avoid such ‘visits’. Some of the Agents are nice and some are rude. Some know about Islam & Muslims and some are ignorant.
Most of the Agents had their lesson on Islam and Muslims from biased media news and articles. The magnitude of the ignorance can be understood when the Agents show surprise at knowing that one is a Muslim and not an Arab.
The ‘simple questions’ of the Agents revolve around the following:
This shows how important it is to use the ‘visits’ as Dawa opportunities. The questions are all about two major misconceptions people have about Islam. Namely, Tolerance and Jihad.
We can tell the Agents about the beautiful way of life of Islam. How it tolerates people of other faiths, more than what the ‘developed nations’ of the world offer now. We can tell them the exemplary stories of Muslim rule in Spain, India and other places of the world. We can tell them how Muslims in Canada are involved in the welfare of their communities. The concept of Jihad can be clarified to them also. Most of them think of Jihad as a reaction to Crusade or licence to mass murder. We can tell them how it means more than fighting. Jihad means struggle in any form to please Allah, the Creator. We can tell them that Muslims fight only in self-defence and on request of oppressed nations.
We need to increase our knowledge of Islam in the area of tolerance, Jihad, and extremism. We need to learn how to articulate our words so that they touch the hearts. Dawa through behaviour is the best and most effective. Show them how clean, honest and patient Muslims are.
However, we should not be naive to think all of the Agents will ‘visit’ us with good intention and professional attitude. Some do violate the Fundamental Freedoms and Legal Rights. It is our duty as good citizens or immigrants to inform the authority of such violations. This will help the Agencies and in turn help make Canada a secure yet free country.
