Mumbai: ‘Prophet for all campaign’ to remove misgivings about Islam by MOHAMMED WAJIHUDDIN

MUMBAI: Ahead of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebrated as Eid-e-Milad on October 9, for the first time in the city, a Muslim group will launch a ‘Prophet For All Campaign’ aimed at removing misgivings about Islam and taking the Prophet’s message of love, peace and brotherhood to non-Muslims.
Announcing it at a press conference on Thursday, the head of the campaign and Islam Gymkhana president Yusuf Abrahni said that the campaign will help remove the misgivings and misunderstandings about Islam.
“We are not into preaching Islam. We want to tell our non-Muslim brothers and sisters what the Prophet said about environment, saving of water, treatment of the poor, orphans, slaves, neighbours and women. There could not have been a better occasion than the Prophet’s birthday to begin such a campaign,” said Abrahni.

Abrahni has urged every Muslim in the city to invite at least four non-Muslims over breakfast, lunch or dinner to mark the Prophet’s birthday. “We will display sayings of the Prophet which have universal appeal outside railway stations, bus stands and other public places to ensure that common people know what the Prophet stood for. He said traditional processions like the one from the Khilafat House in Byculla would be taken out but the ‘Prophet For All Campaign’ does not endorse playing of DJs and creatiing nuisance on the roads in the name of celebrating Eid-e-Milad,” he said.

On October 9, a natiya mushaia featuring only non-Muslim poets will be held at Islam Gymkhana where devotional poems will be recited, Abrahni said.
Soical activist Saeed Khan said that schools, colleges and other Muslim institutions are holding essay writing and elocution competitions themed around the Prophet’s life and his message.

Aamir Idrisi of Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) said reaching out to trustees of temples and places of worship of other faiths is part of the campaign.