Prophet Muhammad the Founder of Muslim PR, says Int'l Muslim PR Body

Prophet Muhammad was recognized as the founder of Muslim public relations at the 1st Global Congress for Muslim Public Relations Practitioners held in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 05.

Jointly organized by the International Islamic University Malaysia and the Kargozer PR Institute, the inaugural Congress, under the theme ‘The Practice of Public Relations in Islamic Countries – Past, Present and Future Trends,’ affirmed the central role of the Prophet in the establishment of concepts underlying public relations practice by Muslims.

The peak Muslim PR body launched at the three-day event -- The International Association for Muslim Public Relations and Communication Practitioners (IAMPRC) -- distinguished Prophet Muhammad as “the founder of Islamic Public Relations.”

“Prophet Muhammad’s communicative values of liberty, justice, modesty, and politeness were matched with practical deeds. His skilful use of rhetoric demonstrated his commitment for meaningful competent communication for humankind in general. His speeches demonstrate that he sought to see all humankind from the lens of kindness, modesty, moderation, justice, liberty, gentility, generosity and love,” an IAMPRC statement read.

Addressing Congress delegates at the opening dinner and Global Muslim Public Relations Awards Ceremony, former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi referred to two prerequisites of public relations practice for Muslims: justice and accountability.

These key Islamic ideas incorporated in public relations have their source in the two primary sources of Islam: the Qur’an and the sunna -- every word, deed, and approval ascribed to the Prophet. These were indispensible for Muslim PR practitioners wanting to uphold the professional ethics and values established by the Prophet.

A recurrent theme throughout the three-day congress was also the notion of shura – collective and community consultation -- in Islamic thought and its seminal role in Muslim public relations.

Chair of the Global Alliance Daniel Tisch, also one of the speakers at the event, highlighted these as the most significant ideas presented at the congress.

In a statement following the event, Tisch referred to the concepts of justice and accountability -- long-established principles of the Islamic faith -- and their pertinence for the field of public relations in the modern world.

According to Tisch, while different terms were employed in public relations theory, these principles were reminiscent of some of the most important trends relevant in public relations today.

“Various speakers linked core Islamic principles to public relations, particularly the importance of justice, accountability and shura – the seeking of mutual agreement or consensus, without which no authority has legitimacy,” he said.

“While these are ancient ideas in Islamic thought, they could not be more relevant to modern PR: for example, consider the importance of ethics, transparency, authenticity, accountability and mutual understanding to successful corporate communication and stakeholder governance,” Tisch added.