[Hassan] We have had this question from someone
who is himself a research scholar studying this subject -
that the religious thinkers and scholars who hold different views and have been
exposed to social media in the present era.
How efficient is this medium in terms of
spreading their religious message?
There are a few questions that I will combine and ask.
He asks whether you use social media for
attaining religious knowledge?
To what extent do you see social media as
an effective tool to raise awareness about religion?
Has the use of social media for
invitation to Islam or teaching religious knowledge increased
the number of haters or followers of your thought?
Do you think it is better to do the work of dawat
directly (in person), or through social media?
[Ghamidi] I am not an appropriate respondent for these questions.
That is because I have not used social media for these purposes.
You know that the locus of my interests
is only my academic work.
And I keep my attention focused on the same.
However, this is true, that our institutions (under Al-Mawrid) have used it from day 1.
I do not recall clearly but I think this
inclination came about when some websites were created for our work.
And here the initiative was taken
by my dear student Moiz Amjad.
So the site was named Understanding-Islam.
Later Dr. Shehzad Saleem worked on it.
And then gradually, our institution which is in Lahore
took similar steps. But I have never used these tools.
These institutions have used them ever since
and they say that - naturally I too have been able to see the reports - that
the results of these sites is significant - it's not that these new media have been ineffective.
I also believe that every new means is able
to sustain its existence,
because it is successful in fulfilling its purpose.
There was a time when people would write ...
You might be remembering that
when Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi began his mission
of preaching, he would do it with pamphlets -
some eight or ten, which were used to spread his call.
Often, the volunteers would embark on their bicycles and
would distribute his pamphlets among the people.
Therefore, written material was a means for proliferation of the message.
The way that the prophets (pbuh) used to preach was through conversation in their vicinty.
But we also know that in the case of the Prophet (pbuh)
with respect to the Quran the companions
of Prophet would memorize the Quran
and would recite it to people at various places.
There is a lot of information available
in other places and when we discuss
the biographical literature or Hadiths of the Prophet.
However, the incident of migration to Abyssinia is
famous because when the Negus asked questions,
then the memorized Quran was presented before him.
So, the companions had memorized God's word, and they presented it before the King.
So In the last century,
newspapers and magazines were also published.
You know that there are many magazines in the
Indian subcontinent that achieved the status of classics.
Like Al Hilal and Al Balaagh by Abul Kalam Azad,
Similarly, Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi's Tarjuman al Quran,
Similarly, Al Jameet ulema e hind had 'Al-Jamii'at',
and Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi's 'As-Sidq'.
All these were means of spreading the message.
Once you have a publication house, now you can
publish daily papers, books, and magazines.
These were all means.
Then we saw the advent of
radio and then TV. There was also an era of cassettes.
They used to be in supply and people could listen to them.
And now there are websites and internet, and all these other means.
These are just means of communication which God has facilitated.
And I don't think that any of such means should be
avoided by the believers and the Islamic scholars.
I don't personally avoid them, however, my work
is such that I am not able to show any personal interest in them.
I don't have a personal facebook page or twitter account,
where I write things myself. The members of the institute keep doing that though.
So I do not have personal experience but these means are
proven to be more than effective and efficient.
[Hassan] Okay lets proceed
It is said that you also would study the religion in times
when there was no social media.
Now there is a lot of convenience due to social media.
How do you see the difference?
How do you see the younger generation's
religious inclination because of social media?
The common perception is that the religion should be understood
through scholars or madrassas but the younger generation
perceives social media to be a better medium since they have
direct access to major scholars because of it.
There, the can have access to their thoughts and ideas as well.
And lastly he is asking that there are
many controversial subjects that cannot be discussed on
the traditional media for various reasons - such as national laws, and commercial rights etc.
Such discussions often take place on social media.
How do you look at this change?
[Ghamidi] The change is insignificant.
I believe that initially there is a storm
and this storm appears to be a
result of the weakness in our
moral training and becomes a storm of misbehavior.
But eventually
as the dust settles down there will be benefit overall.
Because when something
reaches in a direct manner and
the access is easy then one can see that whereever
the barriers that earlier existed for people, are removed.
These means have the potential to spread knowledge and goodness, if done right,
just as the negativity has also been spread fast and wide.
So right now, it can have extraordinary benefits.
I couldn't take much advantage personally from that
perspective but I do use technology for its convenience.
Like now I do not carry all the books i may need
and everything can be contained in an IPad.
Accessing a lot of Information has become easy, and research has become easy.
Therefore, there is an opportunity to
learn and also to know people.
Here we can understand how people think
can see in real time how they react,
Earlier people would meet with a sense of formality.
Here everything is right there to gauge - you can observe human psychology at play.
There are unfavorable aspects also when
it comes to misbehavior, abuse, mockery and slander.
People often don't like to listen to others with politeness.
They don't know how to comment properly.
And that is a cause of general regret. But if we look in totality,
it has a significant role to play in knowing and
understanding people and gaining access to knowledge.