Prophet For All Campaign Launched To Reach Out To Non-Muslims As Part Of The Eid-E-Milad Celebrations

By A Correspondent

MUMBAI—As Eid-e-Milad or celebrations of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s birthday on September 28 nears, several Muslim organizations have joined hands to celebrate it in a different way. Under the guidance and leadership of Advocate Yusuf Abrahni, former MLA and the President of the iconic Islam Gymkhana at Marine Lines, they have launched Prophet For All, a unique campaign to spread the universal message of the Prophet (PBUH) and the humanist values he stood for.

“This is not to convert anyone or propagate Islam. The campaign is aimed at taking the message of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to non-Muslims and removing misconceptions about Islam,” explained Islam Gymkhana president and campaign head Advocate Yusuf Abrahni.

He added that a similar experiment done last year has encouraged the core group which has had several rounds of meetings so far. “We are engaging school and college principals, NGOs, students, activists and academics to take our message to different sections of society. Our target group is the members of the majority community and we have begun this campaign with a noble purpose in mind,” added Abrahni.

Amir Idrisi, president of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) a senior member of the Prophet For All core committee, said that each member in the campaign is a stakeholder and this campaign is not the responsibility of one individual or one organization. “We all are stakeholders and everyone’s contribution is needed. We aim to reach a maximum number of non-Muslim friends and tell them what our beloved Prophet (PBUH) stood for,” said Idrisi.

Activist and another member of the campaign Saeed Khan explained that the campaign is called Prophet For All because our holy Prophet (PBUH) was sent by Allah as mercy for all (rahmatul-lil-alameen) and not just mercy for Muslims (rahmatul-lil-muslimeen). It is our responsibility and moral duty to tell the world that Islam’s message is universal and we do not seek to convert anyone but we just want to tell the world what our Prophet (PBUH) stood for,” said Khan.

Different individuals have been asked to work among different sections of people. So, there are individuals made in-charge to hold essay competitions among school and college students, there are some individuals whose job will be to take the groups of non-Muslims for visits to mosques.

An interesting aspect of the campaign is to invite non-Muslims to Muslim homes, offer them food, ‘sherbet’, tea and coffee and explain the significance of Quran and Hadees (sayings of the Prophet). Efforts will also be made to invite a group of senior IAS and IPS officers and explain to them the significance of the Prophet’s message.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former minister Arif Naseem Khan has written a letter to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, requesting him to announce Eid-e-Milad holiday in the state on September 29, instead of September 28. In his letter, Khan has said that September 28 also see lakhs of Hindus on the streets as part of processions for Ganesh Chaturthi when idols are taken for visarjan or immersion in water bodies. “To avoid any trouble, it is advisable that the Eid-e-Milad processions are held on September 29, a day after Ganesh Chaturthi. Muslim groups have already decided to take out Eid-e-Milad processions on September 29,” said Khan.

Senior spiritual leader Maulana Moin Ashraf Qadri (Moin Mian) who headed a meeting of Muslim groups at the historic Khilafat House in Byculla said that the leaders collectively decided that Eid-e-Milad processions should be taken out on September 29.

Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Rais Shaikh who also attended the meeting suggested that a holiday on May 29 and processions on the same day suits Bhiwandi, the city of power looms, as it is Friday and looms are shut on Friday. Shaikh represents Bhiwandi assembly constituency and had promised the leaders that he too would request the CM to declare holiday on September 29.

 Managing trustee of Mahim Dargarh and trustee of Haji Ali Dargah Sohail Khandwani too had expressed his desire and appealed to the state government to declare May 29 a holiday so that Muslims could participate in the Eid-e-Milad processions.