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The Mission Of III&E Introduction Misinformation about Islam is widespread in Western countries. This misinformation also finds its way into the text books and media published in Asian and African countries including Muslim countries themselves with all its impact on growing young generations all over the world. Such a state of affairs is having an adverse effect on Muslims in North America and Muslim countries in a multitude of ways. Misinformation is prevalent in text books, fiction and non-fiction material, reference books, encyclopedias, magazines, journals, newspapers, television and radio shows. Let us look at a few examples: – A medical encyclopedia published in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., mentions Prophet Muhammad’s name (may Allah’s blessings be upon him) among those famous people who were EPILEPTIC. – A church publication in 1981 mentions the rise of Islam in its early period in the following words:
– A fourth grade history text book published in U.S.A. has an article about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with the title, "A CAMEL DRIVER". The same article tells children 9 to 10 years of age about the status of women in Islam in the following words:
The author tells children about the spread of Islam,
Obviously adults and children who read this kind of material would not want to know anything more about Islam. Our responsibility is to open the minds of people so that they read and learn the truth about Islam before they even think about accepting it. The responsibility of Muslims is to make efforts to remove such fabricated material from circulation so that the minds of people are not poisoned about Islam but rather opened to Islam and the atmosphere becomes more amenable to Muslims. This is a Fard Kifaayah, if no one does it the entire Muslim Ummah, particularly those living in the West, will be accountable to Allah for their collusion with anti-Islamic forces through their inaction (i.e. losing by default) . Allah (S) tells us,
Objectives of III&E One of the main objectives of the Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) is to strive to elevate the image of Islam and Muslims in North America through providing the correct information about Islamic beliefs, history and civilization to Muslims and non-Muslims in this continent. A complementary objective is to strive to integrate the new Muslims into the Muslim community and train them Islamically so that they become workers in their own communities. How You Can Help Please read through the relevant text books used in your school district from KG to high school, college books and reference material and see what the author has to say about Islam and Muslims. If you come across anything erroneous or even doubtful make a photocopy of the page, write down the names of books, author, publisher, year of publication or edition, and school district where the book is used and send the information to the Institute (III&E). The Institute will take it from there and will try to keep you informed of the action taken. Please ask your friends in your locality and outside of it to cooperate with Institute in a similar manner as outlined above. The Institute is in the process of acquiring and publishing the relevant literature (brochures and booklets) to answer questions frequently asked by non-Muslims in North America. So far the III&E has published over 80 brochures, tracts, articles and flyers – there is something that will be helpful for you. The Institute is providing literature for a donation for distribution among your non-Muslim colleagues, friends and neighbors. Please send your inquiries to the Institute for the literature. Send your suggestions to the Institute to improve its work and methodology. We all learn from experience. Give us the names and addresses of individuals and organizations that could be helpful to the Institute. The Institute (III&E) is a non-profit, religious and tax exempt corporation registered in the State of Illinois, U.S.A. and it runs on contributions and donations from those who share the concerns of Muslims in North America. Please send your generous donation in the name of "III&E Chicago." Regarding tableegh and da’wat It is our (Muslims) responsibility to disseminate the message of Islam to other human beings who may have never known the Truth of Islam. The Institute (III&E) is producing written materials (tracts, brochures, handouts, etc.) as well as audio and video material to help you fulfill your duty of the dissemination of the message of Islam (tableegh) and invitation towards Allah (da’wat). In the language of Qur’an, such an effort is called Shahadat ‘alan-Naas for which we, all the Muslims will be accountable on the Day of Judgment (Al-Qur’an 2:143, 4:41, 22: 78). Please contact the Institute (III&E) to find how we (you and the Institute) can work together to fulfill our duties in North America, in general, and our localities, in particular. We, the Muslims, have the promise of help of Allah (S) in our work if only we become sincere and willing to sacrifice our time and money for the cause we believe in. Allah says:
Message of Al-Qur’an…
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