KOZHIKODE: The Street Dawa (Islamic propagation), conducted by Unmasking Anomalies (UA), a group of youngsters, at the beach here has ignited a discussion on the modalities of religious propagation in a pluralist society and whether such a practice has any prior model in Islam.
The activists of the UA assembled at the beach and spoke to different segments of people after seeking their permission to engage in a dialogue on religion. Issues such as the existence of God and the fruitfulness of prayers were some of the topics that came up for discussion.
“We don’t know why it has become a controversy. These types of public reaction programmes have been going on social media, and atheists, who criticise us, also conducted similar interactions in connection with their programmes,” said C P Abdulla Basil, a member of the UA team. “We videographed only those who gave us permission,” he said.
Basil discounted the criticism that such programmes will adversely affect the fabric of secular society. “Secularism includes religions too. Such interactions will help in clearing misunderstandings about religions,” he added. “We can discuss the ideological differences in the interactions but the position that such dialogues should not be allowed is unacceptable,” Basil said.