The South African preacher, Ahmed Deedat, has developed a specific discourse on the nature of relations between Muslims and Other religions through polemic and public debates. This paper describes the mechanisms of the circulation of his thought and activities and its political character.
The late Deedat was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in 1986 for his 50 years of missionary work. His son Yousuf is a famous community activist and Muslim scholar in Durban.
Ahmed Deedat is considered as one the great missionary scholars of Christology both from Islamic and Christian sides. As the studies about 'Deedatian Revolution' imply that it had far-reaching results, it could be analyzed as zealous effort of puritan Muslim to save whole human kind from absurd and superseded beliefs. Born in Surat (India) in 1918, he joined his father in South Africa in 1927. He was able to learn English in a short time and was a bright pupil. However, he had to leave school at the age of 16 to support his family. He vigorously pursued self-education, including extensive studies on comparative religion, while working in a furniture shop.