In a vast country like Brazil, the internet is emerging as the most effective tool to spread the message of Islam, says Al-Sadiq Al-Othmani, head of the Islamic Affairs Department at the Centre of Islamic Da’wah in Latin America, in the South American nation. Othmani, a Moroccan who has lived in Brazil for the past seven years, believes the internet can be particularly helpful for Muslim preachers in Brazil. Othmani, a renowned imam in Sao Paulo, cites his own personal experience. “In 2007, I delivered a sermon themed ‘Islam and slaves freeing’ in a Sao Paulo mosque, and it was appealing to the few attending worshippers,” he recalled. “After I finished, some of the attendants asked me to translate the sermon and post it on the internet, and I did.” The sermon was posted on the website of a young Muslim who established a website to introduce Islam to Brazilians. “To our surprise, the sermon got 800,000 hit in just one week,” said Othmani. “We also received a flood of letters and e-mail from many people asking for more information about Islam, and many of them later converted to Islam.” Othmani later embraced the idea of online Da’wah and established an online magazine that introduces Islam to Latin Americans.
INTERNET AS A DA`WAH TOOL
In a vast country like Brazil, the internet is emerging as the most effective tool to spread the message of Islam, says Al-Sadiq Al-Othmani, head of the Islamic Affairs Department at the Centre of Islamic Da’wah in Latin America, in the South American nation.
