ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS

Seizure of power at different levels—by fair means or foul— would sooner or later, be the undoing of an organization. In present times it is this disunity, brought about by selfish interests, which is the greatest weakness of Muslims. Recognizing the Need of the Hour In Dakar, I met two American Muslims, Saleem ibn Ghanim and Hasan Ajram. Originally from Lebanon, their fathers had settled in America, with the result that they can now speak and understand only English, having retained only a nominal grasp of their mother tongue, Arabic. I gave them copies of the English version of Al-Risala (now published in English as Spirit of Islam), and they were quite overjoyed to be able to read about Islam in English. As they went through its articles, they kept exclaiming, “Good! Good!” and were full of praise for the style in which it was written. They pointed out that there was an urgent need for Islamic literature written in English if Islam were to be effectively introduced to America. At present, whatever books are available in English are for the greater part written by those who wish to present Islam in a political light. This is a method of presentation which cannot have much appeal for the modern mind. As these two young American Muslims put it, “We need books in which Islam is presented in its natural and unadulterated form”. I mentioned Introduction to Islam series produced by our institution, and they expressed a great deal of interest in it. A set has since been sent to them. God Perpetuates His Religion A number of large projects are being undertaken in Mali with the aid of various Arab countries. In Bamako, for instance, a mosque —the largest in Mali—has been built with Saudi Arabian help. On December 6, along with other delegates, I offered Friday prayers in it. The mosque is in the form of a large hall whose interior is supported by 80 lofty pillars and is constructed in an ultra-modern style. Generally, in mosques, a separate pulpit for the Friday Sermon occupies a prominent position in the front section of the hall. Here, the pulpit has been placed in an alcove in the upper portion of the wall itself. It has the appearance of a broad ledge recessed within the wall, with a protruding balcony and balustrade, on which a man may stand with ease. Numerous works of this nature are being executed all over the world with the aid of Arab countries. This demonstrates God’s instrumentality in keeping Islam alive in the present age.