.com: 'Muslims Should Set Examples for Others to Follow'
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 26 April 2008 - Muslims should set an example for other communities by following the divine teachings of Islam in all walks of life, said G.K. Edathanattukara, an active dawa worker based in Kerala.
"Many Muslims are now ready to die for Islam. But most of them are not ready to live according to its teachings. We have to live for Islam and become a blessing for mankind," he said.
Addressing a large gathering of Keralites here yesterday, Edathanattukara said Muslims should change the view of many non-Muslims that they are their enemies, through constructive actions.
He narrated the story of an old lady who told the Prophet (peace be upon him) after he carried her load to her house that he should not follow Muhammad. "When the Prophet told her that he was Muhammad himself, she embraced Islam. This story tells us that Muslims should be ready to help others in order to win their hearts."
Edathanattukara, who embraced Islam in 1994 after studying its teachings for four years, said: "Islam is not a religion like Hinduism or Christianity. It's a complete way of life." He urged Muslims to provide all support and care to those who come into the fold of Islam after understanding its truthfulness. "Most of us try to find out whether new Muslims pray five times and follow the teachings of Islam and often don't care about their welfare. We should act like Ansars for the new Muslims providing them all sorts of help," he said referring to the Ansars who welcomed the Prophet and his companions in Madinah and extended them all help.
Edathanattukara called upon Muslims to portray Islam in its true essence in order to become its preachers. "When Prophet Muhammad first stood as a preacher on Mount Safa, he asked the people whether they would believe him if he said that there was an army on the other side of the mountain waiting to attack them and they replied 'Yes, we'll believe you because we know you are a truthful person.' People should have such a trust in Islamic preacher," he said.
He emphasized the importance of preaching Islam. "After the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it is the duty of Muslims to spread the message of Islam. The Prophet's companions had gone to different parts of the world for this purpose. "Dawa is one of the important duties of Muslims and they will be held responsible for any negligence in carrying out this duty," he said.
Many people have embraced Islam as a result of Edathanattukara's preaching, including his mother and brother. He narrated the story of a Christian policeman who became Muslim after Edathanattukara explained to him that Muslims are following the teachings of Christ in a better way than Christians. He said the main goal of Muslim organizations should be not to fight for their own rights, but for the rights of others.
He said many people, even after being convinced of Islam's truthfulness, were not coming into the fold of Islam because of the bad actions of some Muslims. "When a group of Muslim women volunteers were helping tsunami victims, some non-Muslim women were amazed saying they never thought Muslims could do this, because they knew one Muslim in their locality who was a liquor distributor.
"Muslims are the best of peoples evolved for mankind," Edathanattukara said quoting a verse from the Qur'an. "We have to prove that through our deeds. We have to convince non-Muslims that Islam is not a problem but a solution to their problems. Every Muslim should begin implementing Islamic teachings from own family. That will automatically change the society."
He stressed the need for inviting others to Islam. "What we are doing now is just propagating the message. We are not inviting our non-Muslim friends to Islam," he said. "Islam has now become the fastest growing religion in the world," he pointed out.
