--Centuries ago, the message of Islam was spread far and wide at almost a snail’s pace.
Early Muslim scholars relied upon ‘word of mouth’ to spread the Final Message of Allah and many spent months traveling by horse or camel to share the glad tidings of Islam with others.
The endeavor was enormous, grueling, time-consuming and extremely difficult as extenuating circumstances often interfered with the cause.
Tribal wars, unfavorable weather, and poor equipment were just a few of the kinks that often hampered the effort of traveling for the sake of da’wah.
Now fast forward a thousand or so years to our current ‘Internet Age,’ which makes communicating and spreading the message of Islam as fast as the speed of light.
The Internet is the most successful modern-day da’wah tool in the history of Islam. Authentic Islamic information is available with just a few strokes of the keyboard. Translations of the Holy Quran are available for download on Islamic Web sites in just about every language known to man.
And every action, word, and deed that Prophet Muhammad lived can easily by accessed on the Internet with just a couple of clicks on the mouse.
Quest for knowledge
Prior to the Internet it was difficult for new Muslims, or even born Muslims seeking to refresh their Islamic knowledge base, to learn about their faith. They were wholly reliant upon finding Islamic knowledge from books in their native language. However, the pickings were quite scarce.
These days new Muslims, and even non-Muslims interested in learning more about Islam, need only to surf the World Wide Web to learn more about the world’s fastest growing religion. In fact, many new converts to Islam often reveal that the Internet was an integral part of their choice to embrace Islam, as they either met a Muslim online who helped answer their questions or found the information themselves on an Islamic Web site.
Equal Measure
As equally as the Internet is a powerful tool for promulgating the message of Islam, so too is it a powerful force for damaging it. The enemies of Islam have constructed their own fake Web sites that are made to look ‘Islamic’ so as to lead Muslims astray.
Some of these adversaries have created hate-monger Web sites that blatantly attack Islam and Muslims. Extreme caution and common sense must be exercised when relying on the Internet for Islamic knowledge.
Islamic webmasters face a great responsibility in ensuring that all the web content of their Web site adheres strictly to the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet [PBUH].
They must also pay close attention to web traffic and marketing to ensure that their Web site ranks higher in search engine results than the fake ones.
Availability of Islamic resources
The mass majority of online Islamic resources are legitimate and truly beneficial to the Ummah. There are countless Islamic Web sites that are making a difference in the lives of Muslims every day and helping to share Islam with a global audience.
- E-Mosques – Islam has been spread to every corner of the world. However, not everyone has access to a mosque in his or her community to pray or even listen to the Friday khutbah (sermon). In Brazil, for example, many Imams must travel several hours to reach Muslims in far-reaching cities. Recently, an Imam in Brazil decided to upload his Friday khutbah to the Internet where it got almost 1 million clicks in its first week online.
- "Muslim preachers, many of them volunteers, usually take two to three hours to reach a mosque within their own city to deliver a sermon. That’s why I encourage scholars to spread the word through broader masses through the Web," shares Imam Al-Sadiq Al-Othmani, who is the head of the Islamic Affairs Department in Latin America, in a recent interview.
By Sumayyah Meehan
