INCLUSIVE ISLAMIC DA’WAH MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Islam is not a series of fossilized beliefs, nor is it a mere teaching of individual spiritual rites. It is a universal ideology that moves dynamically, extending beyond the boundaries of places and times, and continues to evolve according to the development of human civilization to answer the ever-changing humanitarian problems and provide harmony to civilization. Therefore, the main mission of Islamic da’wah or preaching is to bestow safety and mercy for all creatures in the macrocosmic universe (rahmatan lil alamin).
The highlight of Islamic da’wah surfacing recently is that in the empirical realm, its implementation has not had a lot of significant implications for the changes in behavior of its target community, whereas one of the main goals of Islamic da’wah is the occurrence of change, be it in the way of thinking, the way of feeling and sensitivity, and the way of life of the target community. As yet, the management of Islamic da’wah still tends to be dogmatic and does not develop critical and creative thinking, resulting in an exclusive understanding of religion and a weak understanding of cultural wisdom. Consequently, Islamic da’wah has not succeeded in building Islamic human beings with character.

Even in the midst of widespread encouragement of tolerance and mutual understanding among and between religious communities, religious violence still occurs. Religion, which should be eager to spread peace for fellow human beings, has often triggered unrest. Many factors trigger it, including: (1) the assumption that other groups are heretical and must be eliminated, (2) a priori attitudes and theological presumptions that flourish in society, strengthened by religious elites on their own basis, (3) failure of religious adherents to understand the basic principles of their religion in a comprehensive manner. The above-mentioned factors link to the neglect of religious mission to create a peaceful and reassuring harmony of civilization. On the contrary, they become the embryo for the seeds of hatred between God's creatures.
The various phenomena above are clear indicators of the ineffective management, strategies, models and functions of Islamic da’wah that have been carried out so far. Therefore, it is urgently needed to “ground” the inclusive Islamic da’wah as the new glue for the integration of ummah that has been torn for so long. The mission of Islamic da'wah activists today is to reincarnate the charm of marhamah in people’s lives that stands firmly on an attitude of affection for others, so that enmity turns into brotherhood and mutual criticism will change into mutual love. Inclusive Islamic da’wah can become the foundation and pillar of support for true diversity so that the harmony of civilization can be realized as desired.