Annual Projects
Theme: Spread the light / Qur'an drive
Venue: North Beach, Verulum, Welbedacht,workshop & Kwapata
Date: 5th to 11th August
Period: 5 Days
Time: 10:00 to 15:00 hours
Introduction
The Islamic Dawah Movement of Southern Africa (IDM), for the first time conducted spread the light program. The objective of this event was to make the Quran available to as many people as possible. For this reason, the event took place in 5 areas around Durban, namely: North Beach, Verulam, Welbedacht, Workshop, and Kwapata Islamic centre.
Qur`ans were handed out to individuals who showed an interest in the Qu'an. Books, and pamphlets in different languages it were distributed as follows:
Research
We conducted research on all the potential areas within KZN and the above areas were identified and earmarked.
Areas Covered
Date: 5th August, 2019. 10:00hrs
North Beach, Durban ( Jamaat Khana )
This area is one of the busiest area in Durban, with a lot of tourists as well as the locals, including the holiday makers who come from far and wide. People spend quality time here.
During our interactions with people, we discovered that the people we spoke to were very accommodating and warm hearted towards us. Some Muslim Brothers were impressed with the initiative and made a financial contribution towards the cause and committed to do debit orders on a monthly basis with immediate effect.
We met people of different races from across the World, such as; Europeans, Asians, and South Africans.
The people we spoke to were very relaxed and gave off their time. Some of them were not sure what the Qur'an was and we enlightened them. With the Qur'an, we also gave out books and leaflets in English and the local languages. Below is a breakdown:
Qur'ans:
Isi Zulu: 70 copies
Arabic: 10 copies
English: 62 copies
Chichewa: 8 copies
Total: 150 copies
Books:
My Role Model: 50 copies
Jesus and Christianity: 50
Muhammed in the Bible: 50
Total: 150 copies
Pamphlets:
Islam at a glance: 100
Emmanuel Adebayol 70
Total: 170 copies
There were 10 people involved on this day as follows; 1 volunteer and 9 IDM staff. The office staff consisted of 6 males and 3 females: Akram Yuda, Yusuf Yasin, Adam Macheso, Abdullah Milanzi, Salim Mpungose, Ismail Moffat, Khadija Ngcobo, Amina Lembethe, Sumeyya Dlamini, and Baba Ahmed Phewa (Volunteer).,
Date 6th August, 2019. 10.00hrs
Verulam Sunni Musjid:
Wicks Street,
Verulam.
Verulam is a small town situated on the North West of Durban, approximately 25km from the Durban CBD. It has a population of about 1.2 million people. The Sunni Musjid was built in 1910. There is also a Tableegh Jamaat Musjid about 400 meters down the road.
Our activity commenced timeously and started to engaging with the general public. Inspite of the fact that the event was being conducted during the week, the crowd was indeed encouraging and motivating, Al-hamdulillah.
Our experience during the programme demonstrated that many people had very little knowledge about Islam while others had erroneous information about Islam. Substantial time was spent with some of these people as they required clarity on certain misconceptions on had on Islam.
Below is a breakdown of literature that was distributed:
Qur'an:
Isi Zulu 56
Arabic 42
English 85
Chichewa 17
Total: 200
Books:
My Role Model 50
Islam at a glance 150
Jesus and Christianity 70
Total: 270
Pamphlets:
Muhammad in the Bible 140
Emmanuel Adebayol 70
Total: 210
Our team for the day comprised of 12 people. 4 of whom were volunteers, and 8 IDM staff. These were; A. Yuda, A. Macheso, Y. Yasin, I. Moffat, A. Milanzi, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini, A. Lembethe (IDM).
Thembelani Dlamini, A. Phewa, S. Paruk, Bro. Azhar ( Volunteers ).
At the end of the event, Hafiz Suleman Paruk sponsored our team with lunch, Al-hamdulillah.
Date: 7th August, 2019. 10.00hrs
Sheikh Saidi Nyenje Musjid
Welbedacht East
Durban
Sheikh Saidi Nyenje Musjid is situated in Welbedacht East, South of Durban. Welbedacht is an informal settlement with approximately 99% of RDP houses and the inhabitants of this area are predominantly Africans of different tribes, including the Malawi nationals, but mostly the Zulu speaking folks.
Sheikh Jafar Magombo, the Imam of this Musjid volunteered his time and services to ensure that the event becomes a success. He also organized 5 other volunteers for the same course.
This area was very quiet, and hence door to door visits was necessitated. Thus, 30 homes were visited and the people that were met were mainly ladies of different ages including the youth. This community has a high rate of unemployement.
Below is the breakdown of the literature that was given out:
Qur'ans:
Isi Zulu 64
Arabic 84
English 70
Chichewa 182
Total: 400
Books:
My Role Model 40
Islam at a glance 100
Jesus and Christianity 50
Muhammad in the Bible 50
Total: 240
Pamphlets:
Emmanuel Adebayol 50
Total: 50
The Qur'an Drive team that worked in this area consisted of 8 people. These are; Y. Yasin, A. Milanzi, A. Yuda, M. Zilika, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini, (IDM), A. Phewa, J. Magombo, (VLTRS).
Sheikh Jafar Magombo (Host), was very helpful, accommodative and cooperative, Al-hamdulillah. He led the team to various homes during the house visits.
Date: 9th August, 2019. 10.00hrs
Unit 30 Azalia Road
Kwapata
Pietermaritzburg
Spread the light team received a warm and cordial welcome by the daee responsible for the center, (Shk. Adam Malijani). He was looking forward to this event, and he was excited that spread the light event, was at last in his area.
Kwapata is an informal settlement located approximately 80 km West of Durban. This area has a population of between 8000 - 10,000 people, all of whom are African speaking. Kwapata has also seen an inflax of Malawi nationals coming into the area. Kwapata Islamic centre has been in existence for over 20 years. During this period, Kwapata centre has seen scores of men women and the youth coming into the fold of Islam by the hidayath of Allah. However, most of the reversions were that of women. Shk. Adam Malijani has played a pivotal role in encouraging this community.
We had a slow start, probably because it was on a Friday. Nonetheless, the situation improved tremendously after Juma prayers, and meals were served.
Below is the breakdown of the literature that was handed out to the general public of Kwapata area:
Qur'ans:
Isi Zulu 131 copies
Arabic 84 copies
English 125 copies
Chichewa 260 copies
Total: 600 copies
Books:
My Role Model 60 copies
Islam at a glance 200 copies
Jesus and Christianity 40 copies
Total: 300 copies
Pamphlets:
Muhammad in the Bible 350 copies
Emmanuel Adebayol 500 copies
Total: 850 copies
The team that were on duty on this day include: A. Yuda, A. Macheso, A. Phewa, A. Milanzi, I. Moffat, Y. Yasin, I. Mailosi, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini and A.
Malijani (Host). Bringing the total number of volunteers up to 10 members. Out of the 10, I was a volunteer (Baba Phewa), and the rest were IDM staff.
Baba Ahmed Phewa's dedication and commitment spoke for itself. His participation and his presence during the entire duration of the Quran Drive was evident and proved his unshaken passion for Dawah work, Alhamdulillah.
The grand total of literature distribution of the entire Quran Drive/ Spread The Light event is as follows:
b)Arabic Qurans - 220
Challenges
Recommendations
Conclusion
The Quran Drive initiative was a wonderful initiative which exposed us all to open Dawah. Talking to people of different race, tribes, and different backgrounds was a good experience as well as an eye opener.
An application for permission has to be done in advance from the EThekwini Municipal Offices. To avoid any harassment from the Municipal Officials that they may arise
Quran Drive Methodology is one of the best methods of Dawah simply because you go to the people as opposed to people coming to you. Thus, it enables you to reach out to as many people as possible, Alhamdulillah.