Salam,
All the bloggers reading this, spread the word inshallah asap!
Mashallah this is official, ICNA will be launching ” the subway project”. A unique and appealing dawah ad campaign on the New York City Subways. The concept revolves around “You deserve to know”. So throughout different trains you will see banners, one black asking a question, for example, Hijab?. Then another banner which will be white, right next to it, guiding the interested viewer to the website and information about Islam which will be www.whyislam.org. This project will be launched in Ramadan inshallah.
The best part about it is that this is marketing at its best to promote the universality of Islam.
Below is information from the official Youdeservetoknow.org website, check it out.
On any given average weekday in New York City, approximately 4.9 million people ride the subway system. That’s over 140 million people per month.
These people come from all walks of life, almost every country in the world is represented in the subway through its passengers at any given time of the day. Rich and poor, artists and scientists, students and teachers all make use of the New York City subway system. It is the common denominator (the melting pot) for New York City. Many global and large companies take advantage of this fact and sometimes buy out every ad on a subway car. The effectiveness of ad placement in the New York City subway system is unquestionable.
Instead of asking ‘Why Not?’ We should ask ‘Why did we not think of this before?’
Think: $2.1 million is spent on a 30 second advertising spot during the Super Bowl. Now that is the power of media.
Similarly, The Subway Project has been designed strategically to promote Islam in the NYC Subway system via advertisements in subway cars. We aim to have advertisements run for an four weeks, set for this Ramadan, September 2008. Insha Allah.
We ask you to participate by signing up.
As taken from www.youdeservetoknow.org
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Q: |
What do we mean by ‘You Deserve to Know’? Is this an engaging, unique, website name? Is it a publicizing technique? What does ‘You Deserve to Know’ refer to? What do I deserve to know? |
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A: |
‘You Deserve to Know’ refers to the right of every person to know about Islam. It also refers to the idea that everyone should be aware about the 877-Why-Islam Subway project, and that is precisely why we have created this website, because you deserve to know the latest trends in Da’wah in New York City, the city that never sleeps. |
So what are you waiting for, get involved now and spread the word! Alhumduillah this is the biggest dawah project ever, but most of all, I wanted to mention that we are all walking dawah. The better we present Islam positively, the better the result inshallah, make moves.
Donate here.
Get involved here
Read about it here.
Related posts:
There are very few details given about this project. All it tells us is that 140 million people ride the subway. What is the budget for it? How long will it go on for? Is there an annual report of some kind? It’s very hard to fork over a donation when there is no apparent plan or accountability.
It says’s it on the project page..
We aim to have advertisements run for four weeks, set for this Ramadan, September 2008.
It’s only for Ramadan, this year, inshallah if it works then I’m assuming they will continue to try it next year also, and the donations will go towards the cost, they don’t necessarily have to announce that, but it’s good you donate because it’s for a great cause. Why not? it’s such a simple idea with much benefit inshallah.
Keep in mind, the site is still being updated, but the project has already started because in Ramadan the ad campaign will be in practice,that’s about a little more than a month. This idea is so good, http://www.whyislam.org is a huge success around the country so just make dua and donate inshallah.
It may be for a good cause, but there are lots of good causes and donors like to know how effectively their money is being used.
Also, it would be helpful to know which scholars support this efforts and what kind of Islam is being promoted.
Insh’Allah this project will mature and be very successful…
Inshallah, the project is on definitely for Ramadan, donations are optional, and they go towards the organization, ICNA ( and Why Islam Projects), Why Islam.org has done much throughout the US for Dawah, from billboards to nationwide radio ads, on major radio stations to events in New York, New Jersey, Chicago.
These events have included Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, Imam Siraj Wahaj, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. Mashallah.
I’m sure all those questions will be slowly updated on the site, remember they just had to get the word out before Ramadan, the project is confirmed. May Allah swt make it a success and bring people to Islam because of it. Ameen.
That’s a great thing they’re doing. The Muslim community seems more mature than here in Australia.
This is a very well thought out campaign. This is how it works. 1,000 ads are placed in 1,000 of MTA’s 6,200 cars for one entire month (coinciding with Ramadan).
The ads promote the 1-877-WHY-ISLAM hotline and http://www.whyislam.org website.
Those who are interested will call in or visit the website to have their questions about Islam answered. The Why Islam Team has a Call center in which volunteers field calls and fulfill literature requests i.e. free Qurans. For those who want to maintain a relationship they can keep calling and can even schedule a visit to a mosque in their area to meet real live Muslims.
Alhumdulilah this is our approach to Dawah which has serious accountability (followup with those who request it).
WhyIslam also sends welcome packages to new muslims.
Why Islam and local ICNA chapters also hold classes for New Muslims and assign them ansar (helpers) from the community who can help them learn how to pray and adjust to their newly adopted faith.
So there is a high level of success as well as accountability. The days of Random Street Dawah, where you wham bham take the pamphlet thank you Imam days are over. This is Dawah 2.0
Salaams Azeem,
I’d love a followup. In particular, I’d love to know how many people typically visit the site on a monthly basis, how many have visited it since the site was mentioned in the CNN and NY Post stories, and how many visits it gets this Ramadan.
The CNN page mentioned that the ads cost $48,000. Are there figures for the costs of the other activities (call center/1-877 line, literature distribution, site development, etc.)
I’m researching this topic for some of our scholars, trying to get an idea of what sort of resources are being deployed for ventures like this, islamispeace.org.uk and so on.
thanks!
That figure are the MTAs charges to run the 1,000 ads for one month (30 days).