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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Ahmed Deedat

South Africa is known not only for Nelson Mandela, but also for Muslim scholar Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, who is known for his passionate and humorous inter-religious public debates. 

He debated Jimmy Swaggart in 1986 and challenged the late Pope John Paul II to a debate in the Vatican Square.

His son, Yousuf Deedat, refers to him as a “stage lion.”

1. Ahmed Deedat was one of the influential South African Muslim figures

 Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, a man who completely redefined Islam for the West and founded a dangerous enemy to the Christian missionary ideology, is profiled below.

2. He made the world rethink about Islam and Christianity

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“He motivated and inspired millions of people from various religions and backgrounds all over the world.”

According to former IPCI director and personal friend Fuad Hendricks, Deedat aimed to alleviate “myths and lies about Islam and Christianity” through books such as Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction? and What the Bible says about Muhammed.

“Shaikh Deedat caused people to question their religious beliefs and seek answers.” “He even forced Muslims to reconsider their religious beliefs,” Hendricks said.

“He became an expert on the Bible.” “His mission was to restate that Jesus (peace be upon him) needed to be acknowledged and applauded as a prophet of Allah in the same way that Adam, Moses, and Muhammad (peace be upon them) were,” Hendricks continued.

3. Deedat’s early childhood

Deedat was born in the Indian province of Surat in 1918. Soon after, his father, a tailor, immigrated to South Africa. Deedat joined him in the city of Durban, on South Africa’s east coast, in 1927.

Deedat studied hard in school, but poverty pushed him to leave and begin working when he was 16. Deedat first became interested in religious studies while working as a furniture salesman and encountering missionaries sent to convert non-Christians.

Many deem Deedat to be a Bible scholar rather than a Quran scholar.

4. Ahmed’s heroic gestures to the world

Among Deedat’s close friends were Goolam Hoosein Vanker and Taahir Rasool, whom many regard as Deedat’s “unsung heroes.”

They founded a study circle to examine the teachings of the Quran, and Deedat and Vanker established the IPCI in Durban in 1956.

Deedat gave his first public lecture in 1942, at the Avalon Cinema in Durban. Muhammad: Messenger of Peace was his topic.

Deedat spent the next four decades studying and memorizing the Bible and Quran, giving lectures and participating in public debates all over the world. He wrote over 20 books, which are now available in a variety of languages.

5. Nelson Mandela awarded him for his good work

Deedat was commended by Mandela and received the Saudi Arabian King Faisal Award in 1986 for outstanding services to Islam.

“Shaikh Deedat is a motivation to us and managed to help Muslims reinstate their integrity, particularly after defeating the likes of Christian evangelist preacher Jimmy Swaggart,”  Ebrahim Jadwat, a close family friend and secretary-general of the IPCI, told Aljazeera.net.

Another of Deedat’s famous debates was with Bishop Josh McDowell on Was Christ Crucified? in Durban in 1981.

“He beat the missionaries by questioning them rationally,”  Jadwat says.

6. Ahmed’s suffered a stroke 

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Deedat’s stroke rendered him unable to speak, swallow, or express himself.

“But his mind was as sharp as it had always been,”  says Yusuf Deedat, his son. “He could see, hear, laugh, and cry, and he could blink. And, more notably, he was able to reason.”

Deedat’s wife cared for him at their home during this time.

“All through his life, she was my father’s backbone, a pillar of strength and support.” “Hawa Deedat inspired my father and believed in his mission more than the shaikh,” Yusuf explained.

Deedat was able to address politics and debate with members of the Christian clergy who visited him amidst his condition. Using an alphabet grid, Deedat signaled ‘yes’ with a blink and ‘no’ with a widening of the eyes, guiding his son to spell out words letter by letter.

The grid had rows numbered one through five. Row one contained letters A through E, row two contained letters F through J, and so on.

Deedat told Aljazeera.net shortly before his death, “Since my illness, I have learned to laugh and cry easily.”

7. Early missionary activity (1942-1956)

Deedat’s first lecture, “Muhammad: Messenger of Peace,” was given to a fifteen-person audience at the Avalon Cinema in Durban in 1942.

The ‘Guided Tours’ of the Jumma Mosque in Durban were a major vehicle of Deedat’s early missionary activity. The massive ornamental Jumma Mosque was a landmark in Durban, a tourist-friendly city.

A program of luncheons, speeches, and free handouts was devised to provide an increasing number of international tourists with their first glimpse of Islam. Deedat was one of the guides, hosting tourists and explaining Islam and its relationship with Christianity. 

Deedat moved to Pakistan with his family in 1949 and spent three years in Karachi near Pakistan Chowk.  As per a Pakistan Television interview, he was a strong supporter of the concept of an Islamic state.

8. What did Deedat do on his death bed?

Deedat was studying right up until the moment he died. He influenced passages and maintained contact with people all over the world.

“The shaikh’s professional life in the latter part was incredibly focused,”  Hendricks said.

Deedat had two framed quotations by his bedside in his room.

One was a Quranic verse from Chapter 21, The Prophets: “And (remember) Job when He cried to his Lord, ‘Truly distress has seized me, but Thou art the Most Merciful of those who are merciful.”

The second said, “There is no limit to what a man can accomplish if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.”

9. Deedat’s style on religion

“Deedat’s da’wa is of a specific kind,”  says one scholar, Brian Larkin. He says little about the errors of Sufism or Shi’ism, for example, and makes no specific requirement for the establishment of an Islamic state (though he was supportive of these efforts in Nigeria).

Instead, he devotes his entire agenda to undermining and refuting Christian evangelism, as well as arming Muslims against Christian attacks. Thereby, his fame stems from his extensive knowledge of the Bible rather than his mastery of Islamic sciences.

According to one Nigerian, Deedat “opened the eyes of millions of Muslims to the fine art of inter-religious dialogue.” 

His command of the English language, debating skills, and knowledge of other scriptures:

“endeared him to millions of people who have seen his videos or read his tracts, millions of which are sent out free of charge all over the world… Deedat’s authority comes from his mastery of Christian texts rather than Muslim texts, as well as his proficiency in English rather than Arabic.”

10. Deedat’s death 

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He received hundreds of letters of support from people all over the world, and local and international visitors continued to pay him visits and express their gratitude for his efforts.

Ahmed Deedat died on August 8, 2005, at his home on Trevennen Road in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal. He was laid to rest in the Verulam cemetery.

Hawa Deedat died at their home on Monday, August 28, 2006, at the age of 85. Ismail ibn Musa Menk led his funeral prayer.