That's the message that was delivered to hundreds of visitors at the fourth annual Canadian Dawah Association Convention, being held this weekend at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga.
"The betterment of everybody, that's why we are here today," convention organizer Yusuf Abdilla said today (Sunday).
The convention, dubbed "Dawah In The West," began as a quest to rejuvenate Muslims and make them more enthusiastic about giving dawah, he said. Dawah is the practice of inviting people to worship Allah and be good and faithful Muslims.
Speakers like Yvonne Seon from Ohio discussed how and why her family is returning to Islam after lapsing in their faith for 15 years.
Seon was the first African American woman ordained as a minister in the United Church. A native of Washington, D.C., she taught a ground-breaking course on “The African American Woman” at the University of Maryland.
Many of the presenters detailed how they have conquered problems in their own lives, and have gone on to educate others. They focused on presenting Islam as a solution for common youth problems including gang violence and drugs.
Sh. Neelain Muhammad converted to Islam 30 years ago. The former bodyguard of world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali has been a Da'ee, a caller to Islam, since embracing the religion. He was scheduled to share his story tonight.
The convention moved to the front lawn at the LAC for a short time this afternoon when a fire alarm prompted the evacuation of the building. Firefighters attended and reset the alarm, but found no blaze.
jslack@mississauga.net
