Audio Tapes by Ahmed Deedat

In 1986, the King Faisal Foundation awarded the King Faisal International Prize for SERVICE TO ISLAM, to a South African who is more or better known than many dignitaries in their own countries. This was the first time that this prestigious award has been awarded to a South African.

The recipient of this award was a man totally dedicated to his faith and its propagation and who was not afraid to challenge any one to a debate to settle once and for all the matter, who has the good news right?

He was none other than Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, reverently known and called UNCLE by those who hold him in high esteem and admiration.

The award came after a lifetime of struggle to propagate Islam and to defend Islam against the onslaught of the missionaries.

Finally, he was given recognition by the international Muslim community that he deserved and focussed more sharply the attention of the Muslim world on the most important aspect of his work, the challenge to propagate Islam. This was his life long ambition to focus the Muslim world's attention and resources on the propagation of Islam, and at last he succeeded. What a moment of jubilation, achievement and personal gratification for Sheikh Deedat the award was, a turning point in his life.

When he was told that the award will be jointly conferred on him and the French philosopher Dr Roger Gharoudi he was overjoyed, and felt a sense of achievement that he was in the company of an internationally distinguished scholar and activist.

Sheikh Deedat did not have much formal schooling, but he was self-taught through experience and a penchant for reading, debating, discussion, and a profound sense of commitment to a mission and goal. He was driven and goal oriented. He was focussed and never let up until the job was done. He was sharp, perceptive, forthright, fiery, and daring in his challenge of those whom he debated, particularly against those who equal his missionary zeal and sense of audacity. Formal schooling did not destroy his creative prowess, his tenacity, ambition, drive, and sheer daring to swim upstream.

Sheikh Deedat was more a scholar of the Bible than the Qur'an, and was more familiar and adroit with its teachings. He had an insight and perspective of the Bible which made many Christians he came into contact with rethink and re-examine their faith, particularly those aspects of the Bible and the Qur'an that deal with the divine mission and life of Prophet Jesus.

It was a sad day for us, particularly at the IPCI, when Sheikh Ahmed Deedat suffered a stroke, and lost his speech, his most potent gift that he used so effectively in his debates to propagate Islam.

Sheikh Deedat fell ill in 1996, shortly after his trip to Australia, which was a momentous tour. He gave one of his most passionate talks in front of a capacity crowd in Sydney, on the theme Easter: A Muslim viewpoint.

This was his last lecture before he suffered a stroke, and he has been bedridden since then. He is still as alert as ever and his sharp memory to identify faces and events has not left him. When people come to see him that he has not seen for many years, they are amazed to see him recollecting spontaneously who they are and where he has met them.

Please pray for Sheikh Deedat and his family, and keep in touch with The Islamic Propagation Centre International, the organisation that he established to continue the work that he started for the benefit of posterity and generations to come, Insha' Allah.

We at the IPCI will continue to further the legacy of Sheikh Ahmed Deedat and with the training programmes that we started more Deedats will emerge, Insha'Allah.

Sheikh Deedat has urged us to continue his work and he is comforted by the prospect that we at the IPCI Centre are doing our utmost to create what he himself called "more better DEEDATS." This is how he would like to be remembered and honoured.