[tickerinet]

I received a letter today. I was curious who it could be from. The envelope was a nice little Hallmark card envelope but it was the stamp that really caught my attention as it is something that interests me. Hmmm... who could this be from? The address: a PO box number in the States written in a hand unfamiliar to me. Oddly, my address was a white label... other than that, everything about this envelope looked 'personalized.'

I opened the letter to find an impersonal, unsigned, black-and-white typed pamphlet in Turkish explaining who Jesus is and calling me to Christianity. If I wanted to learn more, I was asked visit a certain site or watch some television program available via satellite in Turkey and Germany...

My first response was "oh geez... where are these people getting my info from?" Then I thought about all those times Jehova's Witnesses came knocking at my door. Then I remembered a story about one stopping my parents in the middle of Istanbul, Turkey, back in the 70s. Then I recalled a Turkish friend (who knew no English at the time) received Jehova's Witnesses at her home and figured out a way to communicate that she did not speak English and that she was Turkish; one week later, they were at her door with the same colourful pamphlets in Turkish!

I recall initially trying to have conversations with the JWs. Then, as years went by and different people would appear at the door, and I realized they were so focused on their mission that they didn't care about what I had to say nor would they stop... I went from having conversations to politely, with a smile, saying "I'm Muslim" and "I'm not interested." No violence or aggression... just polite disinterest.

Now, after a number of years I receive a letter and I am thinking to myself: what is my duty here? I can't throw this piece of paper with Allah (SWT) and the names of His messengers written on it. I want to know where these people get my information from. I have the urge to dissect the whole presentation (why that particular stamp? why that particular envelope?... why now?). Should I write back to the PO box with an 'I'm Muslim, I'm better than you' attitude and include some information regarding Hz. Isa (as)? Should I send a 'thank you but no thank you' note?... should I just ignore it?

Then I decided to dig a bit to see who may be involved (based solely on where the envelope was mailed from) and came across an organization that does missionary work in Turkey and other Turkic countries. Now, I don't know if this is the same group but that does not matter... what matters is that there is this persistent dawah work being done.

What to do? On a personal, individual, practical level... in keeping with the teachings of Islam... while keeping check on anger and ill feelings as well as arrogance... without getting into any debates... what can the average person do? What should a Muslim do and say? How should one respond?