"Tuba lil guraba." In other words, the conditions of the stranger are blessed conditions, and it also means, "lahum al-jannah: they have para- dise" for bearing the burden of alienation. An Arab proverb said: oh stranger in a strange land, be a man of courtesy and cultivation." There is also a hadith, "Islam began alienated and will return as it began, alienated. So, blessed are the alienated ones." This alienation should not mean that you distance yourselves from the rest of the people. That is not the meaning of this state of estrangement. It does not mean you should not work with others or that you should avoid the dominant society and distance yourselves completely from it even though your state is one of estrangement.

Since we know that Islam has legal injunctions and Muslims have a code of law. So what are rules in our deen that apply to one land and do not apply to another land. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said that Allah subhana wa ta'aala (SWT) has made incumbent upon you to fulfill certain obligations, and Allah has also set boundaries for you, so do not transgress those boundaries. These rules in Islam relate to every Muslim. In terms of human beings, every one is equal in relation to these rules. You cannot say that one Muslim does not have to pray and another one does. All Muslims who are respon- sible adults have to pray. So, these rules of prayer and fasting, what are known as the pillars of Islam that are binding upon all Mus- lims. In addition, in Islam, there is another type of set of rules related to governmental authority to the state. These rules involve certain things, such as the penal code of the Muslims. There is a code related to criminal law: if you do this, then this is the punishment. The implementa- tion of those laws is related to the legitimate authority of the state.These rules include the issues related to jihad activity in which men fight in war and battles, to zakaah collecting, gather- ing of wealth, establishment of imams (khalifa), aaimma who will be the khutba on the jumu'a. All these types of things are traditionally related to the authority of the legitimate governing body of the Muslims. Muslims need judges; they need courts; they need police-all of these things relate to these rules. These types of rules are not the concern of those people who are living in a land in which there is not a legitimate state authority of Muslims.

If we want to look at an analogy, we will find it in the Macca stage of the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) was not making any claims to government authority. He was calling people to tauheed: the unity of Allah, to prayer, to the purification of their hearts. He was calling people to leave shirk. All this is known as the jihad of the tongue: jihad al-kalima; it is not the jihad of the sword (or now the gun or the atom bomb…). It was the jihad of the tongue. Allah (SWT) said "struggle against them with the Quran". Conversely, "speak the Quran to them, and struggle against them with the truth in word;" and this was the jihad of Macca.  When the Prophet (PBUH) went to Medina, a different stage began, and there was now a jihad of a physical type, a martial struggle where they went out. However, Allah (SWT) says to fight them until the war comes to an end. This type of jihad has an end in time, and yet jihad in its broader understanding in the sharia' never ends. The struggle for the sake of Allah never ends as long as some- body is in this abode. This is why jihad is the expenditure of one's efforts for the sake of good. It means to do good things. It means to exert one's effort in the society to help people, to expend one's wealth-to give charity-to change the conditions around you: Dawah should be one of our priorities. However the work of dawah requires some general guidelines for presenting Islam to people of other faiths.

I. Presenting Islam in Public

1. Be a good role-model! Put Islam first before personal motivations, problems, or emotions.  

2. Be nice! Muslims should be known for their kindness, politeness, and respectable. Con- trolling one's anger for personal reasons is part of Islam.

3. Smile! Muslims should reflect the light of Islam in their face as well as their actions.  

4. Follow common etiquette, decency, and civic laws i.e. driving laws, refraining from littering, honesty in business. Breaking such rules or laws is a bad presentation of Islam.  

5.  Be sure to show appreciation to others at all levels, i.e. to the cashier, shop clerk, gas station attendant.

6. One's place of residence should be well maintained and clean. It sets a good image of Muslim citizen.

7. Refrain from anger, fighting, arguing, or any negative behavior in public.

8. Deal with your children calmly and gently, especially in public. Try to prevent disruptive behavior in public places because all eyes will be upon you.  

10. Treat - and make sure that your children treat - other's property with respect and even better than they would their own.  This includes refraining from defacing property and picking other people's flowers or fruit.

II. Presenting Islam One-on-One

1. Understand the outlook of the person you're addressing and speak with that in mind.

2. Win the heart, not the argument. You can win a million arguments and not affect the heart, the true gateway to faith. Make your point without making the other person feel threatened or defensive.

3. Find common ground. Praise the moral and positive aspects of the other persons beliefs and/or practices.  

4. Present Islam without defaming other's beliefs. Merely point out differences.  

5. Keep things easy. You don't have to give all the details right away. The Prophet (PBUH) spent 13 years teaching the concept of tawheed (The Oneness of Allah). Emphasize broad concepts and focus on the basics, such as tawheed, submission to Allah, and the purpose of creation.

6. Present things to which they can relate. For instance, when discussing drinking or hijab, give reasons and examples from everyday life that they could understand.  

7. Don't be afraid to say you don't know something - it's better than giving the wrong answer.  

8. Don't preach! People hate it when you talk down to them, as Muslims dislike it when others proselytize.  

9. Choose the right occasion - sometimes the best presentation of Islam is to not talk about it directly but to merely demonstrate one's nor- malcy, humanity, and good character through their actions.

10. Don't get emotional. Use facts and logic, not anger, to make a point.

Part.1:

Code of law & Dawah