Among Deedat's close friends were Goolam Hoosein Vanker and Taahir Rasool, whom many refer to as 'the unsung heroes of Deedat's career'.
In 1957, these three men founded the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) with the aim of printing a variety of books on Islam and offering classes to new Muslims converts. The next year Deedat established an Islamic called As-Salaam Educational Institute on a donated 75-acre (300,000 m2) piece of land located in in the south of Natal province. The experiment was not a success, however, because of the IPC's lack of manpower and paucity of funds, and was taken over by the in 1973. Deedat then returned to Durban and expanded the IPC's activities.
