What is dawn foundation

The start of a new year brings with it the hopes and aspirations of a better future. 2020 was undoubtedly a testing year for many, and as such, we feel that now is a great moment to introduce the Dawn Foundation. 

With over 40 years of experience behind it, this new project is the next step in advancing both our understanding of Shia Islam whilst also working towards promoting its often misunderstood nature to the wider world. In an age of mass media and with the tools present at our fingertips now is the time to utilise them to their fullest potential.

It was in the early millennium that English content promoting Shia Islam took off, starting with lecturers and moving to translated books online. Before Social media the internet was a vast library of books and discussion platforms, through these mediums our understanding of Shia Islam was spread. 

The way in which we consume content has vastly changed. Reading translated books online or engaging in deep forum discussions is a thing of the past, and this is evident from the rise of Youtube stars. Users expect fast, sleek content, our attention is easily distracted with each platform fighting for our screen time. 

It is in this arena that Dawn Foundation will be competing against a world of short video animation, podcasts, articles and more uniquely online courses. The pandemic has made video conferencing tools the norm with “are you on mute” being the phrase of 2020. Whilst these tools have been around for years, it is only now that their potential is being seen.  Dawn Learn will deliver interactive online courses for both children and adults, focusing on our understanding of Shia islam to cultivate an identity that we are proud of. 

Identity has been at the heart of our daily struggles and has come to shape the way we promote ourselves both within our communities and in the workplace. Dawn aims to foster a position of strength in this area and it is through education followed by promotion of easy to digest content that this can be achieved. 

Dawn hopes to engage Muslims and the wider world through high quality content by addressing misunderstandings and producing digestible content. We hope that using this approach, our community will feel empowered to share their teachings through their individual social media platforms. 

It is equally important today, to promote both genders as well as race diversity and at Dawn we aim to incorporate this as part of our guiding principles.