Travelling in the Way of Allah
Last year I had the privilege of visiting Tanzania upon the invitation of Muslim University of Morogoro. Tanzania is a fifty fifty Muslim-Christian population with both the sides tug off pulling the claim of being in majority. The Missionaries from US and Germany swarm like bees to convert the poor Muslims and the Muslims have started their own Islamic centers to prevent the loss and gain inroads by welcoming many Christians into Islam.
They had fixed up a three day workshop for the enthusiastic representatives of various Islamic centers across Tanzania. There were thirty of them. It was my first touch of complete African food for continuous three days. The Muslim University of Morogoro is spread over sixty acres with large comfortable hostels, clean pantry, football grounds and a Masjid. It is a green place, with tall African tress shading you from both the sides, and cool breeze from Indian ocean reaching from the gaps of trees. Fresh colourful flowers falling from trees, spreading on the route as if a red carpet welcome for you.
It was my first experience in a non Indian audience . The crowd was full of educated black Africans of all age. After the talk was over people visited me and shook hands and embraced me showing me another dimension of the noble Islamic Brotherhood. Next day we went to tour the Great African Safari. We were in a huge Toyota that ran amidst the narrow roads of the jungle. It was a vast open space like table land and we could see as far as our eyes reached. We journeyed around 60 miles in the jungle of Africa among the herds of Giraffe, Zebra, wild ox, lions, foxes.... It was an amusing experience because normally I have seen these animals in the cages of Zoo, but this time I felt that we were in a cage and the animals gathered to see us.
The same year I reached Madrid, Spain to participate in the Interfaith Dialog hosted jointly by King Abdullah of Saudi and the King of Spain. We got a chance to visit the King's palace in Madrid. It was like an old mansion that required a lot of repair work, if I comapre it with the palace of King Abdulla opposite Haram i n Makkah, the Spanish palace looks like a messy cottage . It was a pleasure to be and interact with some prominent Jewish and Christian scholars of US and Europe. We rarely had a chance to move around Spain and see the common man. The Arab food was fabulous and the presence of many Muslim scholars from Jamal, Badawi, Bilal Philips to Salman Oudha on a single stage was a pleasant expereince.Next day it was Jumuah so we offered Jumuah prayers in one of the largest among the Islamic centers of Europe, constructed by Saudi Goverment in Madrid. I saw five thousands Muslims of Algeria, Morroco, Pakistan, Bangladesh and few hundred Spanish as well.
In Tanzania I was amidst the poor black Africans and in Madrid, the rich white, the black and the red dominating the action. That took me back to King Faisal's time when he floated the Afro Arab brotherhood which got a massive emotional support in the whole African continent. They say that when the news of King Faisal's assassination reached, the Africans did not cook food that day. So much love for the richest man of the world who chose to befriend the people of the poorest continent. I am of the opinion that the next Interfaith dialog shoudl be hosted in one of the African Nations, because there is where the next round of Da'wah will take place.
Author: Nisaar Nadiadwala speaks and writes on soio-educational topics from Islamic perspective. he can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com
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