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Dawa through the school newspaper
The school newspaper is another effective way of doing Dawa in public school. Muslim students are highly encouraged to become writers and editors of these publications. Muslim students can advise the writing staff to consult them before publishing articles on Islam and Muslims. Being a writer will give a student ample opportunity to publish Islamically-oriented articles which will insha Allah, open the hearts and minds of readers.

As a group, Muslim students should try to contribute an article on Islam in each issue of the school paper. The school may not allow you to preach in the newspaper, but there are way to circumvent this problem. When your Islamic group holds any Islamic event like lectures, religious/ cultural events etc, submit an article about this event as a news article. Thus you are still exposing an aspect of Islam without coming forth as a preacher.

Another way to get around this problem is to write articles about Islamic holidays (i.e. the two Eids) and again submit them as news articles. It also helps to have a good rapport with the editor and the writing staff of the paper. Invite them to your Iftar parties, gatherings, lectures etc. Your group can also issue statements that are related to current events (i.e. the Muslim perspective on terrorism in light of events like the September 11, 2001 attacks).

Relief booths to help disaster victims
When a disaster like a flood or a humanitarian crisis hits, Muslim students should be the first ones to respond by setting up a disaster relief assistance booth which collects money, canned food, clothes etc. for those in need. This gives a very positive picture of Islam and Muslims as servers of humanity, compared to the negative images of Islam portrayed by most of the media.

Include Islamic holidays in the school calendar
Many school events and exams are scheduled around the Jewish and Christian holidays. Muslims students should approach the school authorities as a group and ask that Islamic dates be included in school diaries and be considered during the scheduling of important school events. Many diaries for students and adults today include Ramadan and the two Eids. Muslim students can use these as examples to show your school's administration.

Islamic books in school libraries
Muslim students should encourage the school libraries to include on their shelves books and magazines on Islam written by Muslims. They should also provide the librarian a list of recommended books on Islam. If the library is unwilling to purchase this material themselves, the students should raise funds in the Muslim community to cover the costs of providing these books and magazines.

Scanning textbooks for misinformation on Islam
Students of all grades and their parents should constantly scan school textbooks to check for any biased material on Islam. If any is found, it should be brought to the attention of teachers and school authorities, who should be given the correct information about Islam with evidence. In addition, teachers should correct the misinformation in the textbooks while discussing the material in class.

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