Londoners discover Qur'ān in iERA billboard campaign

A successful fortnight of directly engaging with Londoners, displaying verses of the Qur’ān at prominent Underground stations — including Waterloo and Bond Street — and inspiring at least two people to revert to Islam has concluded. [1]

Contents

Free copies of the Qur’ān distributed Calling to Islam during a tough period Analysis Also read

In partnership with the Quranly App, the campaign, which was called Discover the Qur’ān, saw a number of Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) du’āt (callers to the Islamic tradition) engaging with Londoners between 26 February and 11 March. [1]

Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of iERA, Saqib Sattar, said at the time of the initiative’s launch,

“In our conversations with many Muslim communities across the UK, we’ve observed that there is a huge increase of people visiting mosques and asking for copies of the Qur’ān.

“Through these discussions, we drew up the ‘Discover the Qur’ān’ campaign, and have committed ourselves to distributing the Qur’ān to all those interested in learning about the Islamic faith.” [1]

Du’āt engaging with a member of the public during the campaign. Editorial credit: iERA / Facebook

Free copies of the Qur’ān distributed

In addition to billboards displaying especially empowering and often cited verses from the Qur’ān at Notting Hill, White City, Waterloo, and Bond Street Underground stations, and du’āt engaging in conversation with passers-by, free copies of the Qur’ān were also distributed and continue to be available to anyone keen to learn more about the way of life. [2]

Utilising the easy-to-read and contextualised translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab, it has been clear from reviews left by members of the public that the response to the drive has been positive.

Yusuf Chambers speaking with a member of the public. Editorial credit: Discover the Qur’ān / iERA

Susan Everett, one of those who took the opportunity to claim a copy, said,

“I have started reading this translation…it’s brilliant!

“It’s in simple English, yet gives a contextual background of the time it was revealed.” [2]

Calling to Islam during a tough period

Beginning the campaign in the midst of the apartheid state’s barbaric actions against the native people of Palestine, it is truly to be congratulated as the atmosphere for Muslims across the world has been tense for the past five months. [3]

Indeed, with the astronomical levels of mis- and disinformation being churned out by the Zionist state and its allies in the international sphere — be they media outlets, friendly governments, influencers, or others — it has taken a considerable amount of time to sway the pendulum in favour of the truth.

And this is to say nothing of the British government’s continued drive to expand its definition of extremism, to include anyone or any entity that is even remotely in disagreement with government policy. [4]

Analysis

ANALYSIS

Zishan Khan

Managing Director

It is significantly challenging to maintain our duties here in the UK whilst the crisis in Gaza continues; our empathy, prayers, and actions must be aligned with the cause of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. And at the same time, it is imperative that we find a way to continue our important local work, and we can see that this is what iERA is doing.

The essence of da'wah, mirroring the endeavours of the prophets, truly transcends time. And the need to disseminate the message of Islam with clarity has not only been illustrated by this initiative, but underscored the importance of a professional entity such as iERA, which excels in this domain.

Of course, both of these causes are not completely detached: the Palestine cause and others require us to uphold truth and fight against falsehood. And the more we see the truth of Islam and Muslims — be that through sharing copies of the Qur'ān, engaging with those inquisitive about the faith, or any other appropriate means — the more it will certainly help.