From: exuhaak@exu.ericsson.se Haseeb Akhtar
Subject: AN IDEA IS BORN ...
Reply-To: exuhaak@exu.ericsson.se
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 17:30:29 GMT



I've received this brochure some days ago in my mail. Thought I'd post it for the concerned Muslim parents who may use this information. The content of the brochure is purely Islamic. Hopefully, our non-Muslim brethren will bear with it. Constructive criticisms are welcome. Please, no personal flames.

I believe in Al-Islam and that is my conscious choice.

ha 


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AN IDEAD IS BORN
... AND IT'S GROWING FAST!
                    Al-hamdu Lillah

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   Rushdie was a young Muslim in the West. He used to pray five times a day in England, as he says, and eat only halal. That was long ago. Now he says that there is a black hole in his heart where God used to be. What happened to him? How did he end up accepting everything which anti-Islamic scholars wrote? Why wasn't he able to analyze the information, critically? Why did he buy the stereo-typing of Muslims rejected even by enlightened non-Muslim scholars?

   While answers are still being offered and yet new questions are being raised, one fact remains unchallenged that Rushdie was one of the casualties of the cultural conflict and hostile pressures in a foreign land.

   Hundreds and thousands of young Muslims face the same cultural dilemmas and informational pressures today in North America. They might pray and eat halal, but if they are not nourished with Islamic knowledge to enable them for the critical study of the hostile information they involuntarily receive day and night, our next generation is at risk of becoming a "culturally lost tribr."

   This Islamic information, of course, has to be equally objective of the non-Islamic cultural baggage which many of us, immigrants, carry. It should be enriched from our experience in the west, but based on the Quran and Sunnah.

   Means of information, in this age of information revolution, are as important as the content of it. The peak time for children watching TV, 3:00-5:00 pm, is loaded with obnoxious adult programs along with the cartoons. It is a sad thing indeed when many of our children could give you the names of 10 wrestlers from the WWF but could not name 10 prophets mentioned in the Quran. Video attracts and influences young minds much more than written words.

   Our children spend more than 20 thousand hours watching television before graduating from high school - more time than they spend in academic classrooms which is 11 thousand hours. Children's attention-span to TV is also far higher than what it is in regards to books. Furhtermore, the current research in communication shows that visual aids increase audience retention of a message by 500% as compared to a lecture alone. They are also 43% more likely to agree with a video message than otherwise. Video me




dia thus plays a major role in shaping the minds of Muslim youth - our future in North America.

   The Islamic educational system in North America is limited to about 1% of the Muslim children, be it weekend schools or the 60 or so full time Muslim schools. These schools mainly rely on books for Islamic education. Children, already burdened by the load of regular school books, are found less attracted to reading more books. TV is fun, books are not.

   What about using some of the fun time for Islamic education? Not through books, but through computers, videos, and audio cassettes.

CURRENT USAGE OF AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA  BY MUSLIMS:
   After surveying about 400 offerings from 6 different Islamic organizations, we have found that the Islamic video programs are currently limited to crude recording of lectures and interviews. Our survey has also found that these videos are mainly watched by those who are used to Islamic speeches. A lot of Muslims, especially the second and third generation ones, may not find a crudely recorded lecture of any attraction.

   Sound Vision is established in response to the above facts. It is dedicated to produce quality programs on video, computer, and audio like:
              * Animated comics,
              * Interactive games,
              * Short plays,
              * Video magazines, and 
              * Documentaries.

SO FAR ...
We have been able to organize a team of 15 Muslim professionals in the field of audio-visual media along with a team of 8 computer programmers.

   We are already marketing 24 quality programs on these lines. For example for computer "QuranBase" and "HadithBase"; for video "Book of Signs", "Let's Pray", "Adam's World", "Happy to be Muslim" and "Finding Courage"; and for audio 64 stories by Yusuf Islam and Zia Muhyeddin.

   We intend to produce 9 more programs during 1992, which include an interactive Islamic quiz game on a computer; a pleasing video "Take me to the Kabah" which uses same boradcast level graphics like our previous products; two video documentaries - one on Quran and the other on Muslims in North America. Both are being optimized in concept and language for junior high level.

THIS IS OUR STORY, IF ...
You agree and decide to be a partner in this dream, welcome abroad! We are looking for volunteers who can promote our material, help develop programs, and raise funds for it.

   We are currently raising funds to purchase broadcast quality video equipment which will cost us about 160,000 dollars. We need your help. Please make your checks payable to SOUND VISION. Your donations are tax deductible in this world and will be returned 700 times more in the world to come.
IT WILL BE SADAQA JARIAH, INSHA ALLAH!

JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
The Christian broadcasting organization Crossroad Communication has set up their new production center at an estimated cost of 33 million dollars. These Christian broadcasters plan to produce evangelic programs for ethnic American audiences. Programs are being produced in a variety of languages including Arabic and Urdu. This is only one example of the increase in Christian missionary activities specially designed at Muslims living in the West.

SOUND VISION
helping tommorow's Muslims today!

843 W. Van Buren, suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
1-800-432-4262


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FOR TOO LONG WE HAVE BEEN ON THE RECEIVING END OF THE INFORMATION - IT
IS NOW TIME FOR US TO GIVE IN RETURN.
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