By Farah
Zahidi-Moazzam
Famed
Muslim preacher and debater Sheikh Ahmed Deedat died on Monday, August 8, 2005,
at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of propagating Islam and defending it
against missionaries. Known particularly for his work on comparative religions,
Deedat was the founder of the Islamic Propagation Center International (IPCI),
the largest Islamic Dawah organization in the world.
He was
perceptive, fiery and daring, with an insight of the Bible that made many
Christians, whom he came into contact with, re-examine their faith.
From
working in a shop in a remote area of KwaZulu Natal, to debating the famous
American reverend Jimmy Swaggart in the USA, the story of Ahmed Deedat is
amazing.
Born in
Surat, India, in 1918, Ahmed Hoosen Deedat had no recollection of his father
until 1926. His father, a tailor, had immigrated to South Africa shortly after
the birth of Deedat. The son went to South Africa in 1927 to be with his
father. Back in India, his mother passed away a few months later.
In a
foreign land, not knowing the English language, his passion for reading helped
him gain promotions, until he completed standard six. Lack of finance
interrupted his schooling, and at the age of about sixteen, he took on the
first of many jobs in retailing. The most significant of these was in 1936,
when he worked at a Muslim-owned store near a Christian seminary on the Natal
South Coast. The incessant insults of the trainee missionaries hurled against
Islam during their brief visit to the store infused a stubborn flame of desire
within the young man to counteract their false propaganda.
Ahmed
Deedat, by Allah’s (swt) will, discovered a book entitled "Izharul-Haq",
meaning the truth revealed. This book recorded the techniques and the enormous
success of the effort of Muslims in India in turning the tables against
Christian missionary harassment during the British rule of India. In
particular, the idea of holding debates had a profound effect on Ahmed Deedat.
Armed
with this new found zeal, Deedat purchased his first Bible and began holding
debates and discussions with the trainee missionaries. He published over thirty
books and distributed millions of copies free of charge. He delivered thousands
of lectures all over the world and successfully engaged Christian evangelists
in public debates. Several thousand people have come into the fold of Islam as
a result of these efforts.
The
first opportunity to go abroad arose in 1976, when a good friend Ebrahim
Jadwat traveled to Riyadh for a conference.
"When
I asked the people from Saudi television to interview him, they laughed at me,
saying that they had 50 or 60 of the greatest scholars from all over the world,
so why should they interview him?" recalls Jadwat. "So I said, ‘Give
him two minutes of your time and I'm sure you'll find something interesting.'
So they humored me and gave him the opportunity to come on television."
The rest, as they say, is history...
With
his entertaining approach, dynamic personality, deep knowledge of Christianity
and unique ideas, Sheikh Deedat swept the Arab world off its feet. Going to
Riyadh opened many doors for him, and his dream of printing and distributing
the Quran and other literature soon become a reality. He was awarded the King
Faisal International Award in 1989.
On May
3, 1996, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat suffered a stroke known as "lock in
syndrome," which left him paralyzed from the neck down. He was no longer
able to speak or swallow. He delivered his last lecture in Sydney, Australia,
in 1996, just before his chronic illness.
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