Dawah, Cultural Warfare, and Intellectual Reform — The Best Time Is Now
The
present time is the most opportune moment for the propagation and expansion of
Islam. Because now there are no obstacles. The ordinary people of Muslim Bengal
have been freed from the chains of servitude to Islamophobic fascist forces.
People are now free and independent. They can now practice their religion
freely. No one will be persecuted for wearing a beard or cap. No one will mock
anyone for wearing a burqa or hijab. No one will insult someone praying by
calling out “Gangi.” Now people can practice their deen (faith) freely.
Those
who are engaged in dawah should prepare a work plan. They should set missions,
visions, and goals and work accordingly in their respective fields. No moment
should be wasted now, and no opportunity should be missed.
Special
attention should be given to the youth in particular, but the elders should not
be left out either. The main obstacle in establishing Islam has been the older
generation shaped by Soviet-era half-secularism. They pray, yet also present
outdated 1960s secularist arguments. They must also be brought into the line
through dawah.
The
biggest struggle will be intellectual and cultural. We need to build a counternarrative
to the intellectual narrative imported from Kolkata, created during the era of
idol worshippers of the Awami League. Against their so-called “Bengali culture”
imported from Kolkata, we must establish the ‘Bengali Muslim culture’ of Muslim
Bengal as a counterculture.
This
is the best time to bury the 15-year-old secularist cultural hegemony.