After 9/11 Muslims were tagged as terrorists in the media in the West and Islam as religion that supports terrorism. It became necessary to make efforts to correct all misconceptions against Islam and present it as religion of peace.
One organization that took the cudgels is Gain Peace, which was established in Chicago, USA in April 2008 and whose main aim is to undo the damage done to Muslims and Islam, said Dr. Sabeel Ahmad, director of the Gain Peace Organization, in an interview with the Saudi Gazette in a hotel in Jeddah.
He said Gain Peace is using creative strategies to convey the peace message through media, including setting up highway bill boards, newspaper ads, Islam Bus ads as well as radio and TV ads, to promote Islam and its peace message in different cities like Dallas, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New York, California and Washington DC.
He said Gain Peace is seeking to strengthen the bonds of humanity by serving the needs of people anywhere in the world, irrespective of class, color or creed.
Aside from providing humanitarian aid abroad. the relief department of Gain Peace is trying to provide services for the needy in the remote areas and even in cities across North America.
Dr. Sabeel said Islam seeks to safeguard humanity against the evil that corrodes the fiber of society with its education department training the youths to become vanguards of Islam.
It’s “Sister’s Wing,” another important part of the organization, is active in undertaking activities for Muslim women all over North America.
Dr. Sabeel told the Gazette that right after 9/11 only 25 percent of the people in the West thought that Islam is against terrorism. “But after our continuous efforts, 53 percent have formed an opinion that Islam has no connection with terrorism.
This statistics has been released by the PEW Forum, a non Muslim organization. This is the product of Gain Peace efforts during the last two years after its inception,” he said, adding that 984 Americans have embraced Islam.
He recalled that in the conflict between the Middle East and the West, the word Islam has become a byword in media.
“Those who are antagonistic toward Islam attempt to prove that it leads to fanaticism. It has become essential either to face the tirades against Islam or isolate ourselves in our homes and mosques,” he said. “That is the reason why Gain Peace undertook the task of being proactive and propagate the peaceful message of Islam,” he added.
“Gain Peace effectively transmits the message of Islam with the use of modern marketing tools like one-on-one interactions with our neighbors, friends and colleagues not only in America but also in other countries.”
Gain Peace has also launched modern outreach project after its success in various cities that has been replicated internationally, said Dr. Sabeel.
The methodology used by Gain Peace, he said, is similar to those used by the corporate world when marketing a product. “The major difference is that all our efforts to espouse the peace message of Islam are within the ethics advocated by the religion,” he said.
“This organization is determined to present Islam in apositive manner across the world at all times.”
The peace message of Islam is an obligation of all Muslims, he said, that’s why the group is working in cooperation with other groups,
on a common platform to effectively deliver the message and dispel the misconceptions held by people.
“We urge all Muslims to pool together our resources, talents and time to provide the much needed peace to this world. It is through Islam that the world will gain peace,” Dr. Sabeel said.
He said Gain Peace is coordinating with Saudi Arabia in this work of serving humanity. The group has also met Ighatha Islamiah, Muslim World League and other organizations “to learn from them what other things we can do to propagate the peace message of Islam.” (Saudi Gazette).*
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