IERA Research on Perception of Muslims and Islam

The Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) has published research on non-Muslim perceptions of Islam and Muslims. Researched and written by Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, Dr. Iman Khalaf & Sadia Salam, the summary of the research highlights facts such as:

5% described Islamic dawah material as quite positive and very positive.
71% had never come into contact with any dawah material.
70% did not change their perceptions about Islam after coming into contact with dawah material. 14% slightly worsened or significantly worsened.
76% had never spoken to a Muslim about Islam.
63% had no change in their perception after interacting with a Muslim. 13% had perceptions that significantly worsened or slightly worsened.
62% preferred not to receive any information about religion.
27% had negative perceptions regarding Muslims
75% believed Islam and Muslims had provided a negative contribution to society
32% believed that Muslims are a major cause of community tension
2% responded positively concerning perceptions about Islamic law
76% did not agree to the statement that Muslims positively engage in society
36% did not know who the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) was
61% did not respond positively when asked about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
71% of all participants did not agree that the media is negatively biased towards Islam and Muslims
63% did not disagree to the statement that “Muslims are terrorists”
70% did not disagree with the statement “Muslims preach hatred”
94% did not disagree with the statement “Islam oppresses women”
86% did not disagree with the statement “Islam is outdated”
72% did not agree with the statement “Muslims are law abiding”
85% did not disagree with the statement “Islam is irrational”
71% did not agree with the statement “Muslims are peaceful”
73% did not disagree with the statement “Islam cannot positively contribute to modern society”

You can read the full research paper here

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The Misbah Institute and Dr Aminah Coxon

The Misbah Insitute aims to become an institution that caters for the complete needs of new Muslims. The institute has a YouTube channel for the talks it arranges here, including a talk by eminent Harley Street neurosurgeon Dr Aminah Coxon.


























There is an interview with Dr Coxon in emel magazine here.

Mayan Muslims

It's always inspiring to see people coming to Islam all over he world. This video from Aljazeeera is is about a community of converts from the Mayan monirity group in Mexico which has converted from Catholicism to Islam.






Mayans are perhaps not the first people who come to mind when we think of Islam, but this interesting article in German magazine Speigel Online (from 2005) by By Jens Glüsing discusses the conversions and speculates as to some reasons for them:

"About 300 Tzozil-Indians have converted to Islam in recent years and it's a development that is beginning to worry the Mexican government. Indeed, the government even suspects the new converts of subversive activity and has already set the secret service onto the track of the Mayan Muslims. Mexican President Vincente Fox has even gone so far as to say he fears the influence of the radical fundamentalists of al-Qaida.

But the Indians have no interest in political extremism. Rather, they belong to the Sunni, Murabitun sect that was founded by the Scotsman Ian Dallas and is seen as an offshoot of a Moroccan religious order. The Murabitun followers represent a sort of primal Islam: Earning interest profits through money lending is a no-no and they preach a literal interpretation of the Koran.

"The see themselves as restorers of Islam," says the anthropologist Gaspar Morquecho, author of a study of the Muslims of Chiapas. "Their defiance of capitalism is similar in many respects to the critique of globalization espoused by many left-wingers."

"In Islam, the Indians rediscover their original values," claims Esteban Lopez, the Spanish secretary general of the Muslim community. "The Christians destroyed their culture." He presents the use and abuse of alcohol as proof. Alcoholism is wide-spread under Tzotzil Indians and the strict ban on spirits in Islam helps many to break the vicious circle of addiction and poverty."

Finding Islam around the World

This video highlights how people from different countries have come to Islam and what has attracted to them to the faith.

Da’wah to Elderly Parents

There is a useful post on the award-winning Sadaf's Space blog entitled: "Da’wah to Elderly Parents: a Challenging, Tedious Task". I loved the way this post begins with the example of the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) trying to save his father from indulging in shirk. The post then discusses some of the difficulties in making dawah to your own parents (particularly Muslim parents) and offers some solutions:

"This post is about warning parents, because conveying the message of Islam, particularly one containing warning and admonishment, is a tricky, sensitive issue when it comes to them. Every man knows how to command his wife to do something or abstain from something for the sake of Allah. Similarly, every mother knows how to scold her children to make them offer prayers or speak the truth.

What many people are too ignorant, unequipped, unconfident and unprepared to do, though, is warn their parents when the latter do something, even if it is something that is explicitly forbidden in Islam. "

You can read the full post here.

Mission Possible: Teen Da'wah

Mission Islam has an article entitled "Mission Possible: Teen Da'wah" which presents some strategies that parents can use to present their faith to their children:

"Do you get the feeling that every Islamic oriented discussion with your teens is falling on deaf ears lately? If so, you're not alone, but it may not be as bad as you think. Many children feel an exaggerated sense of independence when they reach adolescence.

As a result, they may feel they no longer need their parent's intervention or advice; perhaps feeling their parents are old-fashioned or out to touch. Sound familiar? For us, as parents, to get our point across, it all comes down to simply this: technique. You may feel as if you are taking one step forward and two steps back, but it's possible that you just need to overhaul your method and revise your strategy.

Timing is Everything

It's true. Timing can really make all the difference. If you try talking to your teens in the midst of them running out the door to go to a friend's house, chances are they will absorb less than 5% of what you just said. Their focus at that point in time is getting where they want to go, as fast as humanly possible.

Smart Strategies

Keep it Short and Sweet - Children young and old have short attention spans and easily be distracted. The less time you spend talking, the more effective your point will be.

Fresh Ideas

Family Outings - Do some research before the next outing and have your kids look up the miracles in the Holy Qur'an that deal with nature (bees and plants etc.). Then on your outing, have a scavenger hunt to search for those miracles."

Read the full article, with each of these strategies outlined in more detail here.

Quran on Dawah: Surah Yusuf: 108

Say : "This is my way; I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me with sure knowledge" (Quran - 12:108)

There is a useful tafseer (exegesis or commentary) on this verses here