Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Calls for Peace in Words and Deeds

One of Britain’s oldest established and peaceful Muslim communities is launching a national doorstep and publicity campaign to reassert true Islamic principles of peace and to counter the extremists who hijack the faith for political ends.

The Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has expressed support for the campaign and Minister Shahid Malik MP, commended the Ahmadiyya Muslim community for “promoting an understanding and exploration of Islam within wider British society.”

The campaign will be launched with a message of loyalty, freedom and peace on 100 buses in Central London on Monday 18 January followed by further coverage in newspapers across the UK. Ahmadi Muslims will be personally calling on nearly three million households and presenting people with a leaflet that highlights Islam’s commitment to fundamental values of loyalty, freedom, equality, respect and peace.

The nationwide grassroots campaign, supported by a new website http://www.LoveForAllHatredForNone.org seeks to change the perception of Islam by clarifying its true teachings and emphasising the need for these to be put in practice by all Muslims.

This drive to promote peace has been repeatedly emphasised by the worldwide leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who has said:

“A true Muslim can never raise his voice in hatred against his fellow citizens, nor for that matter against the ruling authority or government of the time…he should remain loyal and fully abide by the laws of the land of which he is a subject.”

The campaign comes at a time when Islamophobia is at a height – a recent survey by an independent agency had found that a quarter of respondents had described Islam as the ‘worst religion’ on earth.

Rafiq Hayat, the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK said:

“The true peaceful Islam is poles apart from the hatred that is preached by a minority. Such extremists do not represent Islam yet, through the media, their words and deeds have a damaging impact on Muslims and non-Muslims every day.

“By emphasising the values highlighted in this campaign we hope to facilitate a better understanding of Islam so that people are able judge for themselves the actions of those who claim to speak and act in its good name. Islam stresses the promotion of peace in words and deeds.”

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s track record of promoting peace was further acknowledged by Minister Shahid Malik MP, who said that the Community “…can be proud of their commitment in championing the themes of ‘loyalty, freedom, equality, respect’ and ‘peace’ – themes which help build stronger, more cohesive communities.”

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, established in 195 countries with 160 million followers, is renowned for its interfaith activities and humanitarian efforts that reflect its motto of: Love for All, Hatred for None.

Basharat Nazir
Press Secretary
Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK
Baitul Futuh Mosque
181 London Road
Morden, Surrey SM4 5PT
Phone: +44(0)7703483384

A number of extremist organisations banned by the Government of Pakistan have continued to preach their hate filled messages by virtue of simply altering the names of their organisations. All available evidence strongly suggests that they are being supported, financially and otherwise, by a number of local politicians.

The situation has become extremely dangerous for the local Ahmadi population as the local clerics are issuing regular Fatwas pronouncing that all Ahmadis are ‘Wajibul-Qatl’ which means they can and should be lawfully killed due to their beliefs. Furthermore hateful and provocative literature is being published and disseminated amongst the masses in opposition to the Jamaat.

Ahmadis in the region are living in constant fear for their safety; their businesses and places of worship are becoming regular targets. The local authorities are urged to take action to bring an immediate end to all forms of persecution against the Ahmadi minority in the region.

The Press Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Abid Khan said:

“It is a great tragedy that in Pakistan both the government and clerics continue to violate the rights of their fellow citizens. Ahmadi Muslims are now facing heightened persecution in Azad-Kashmir due to the acts of terrorists and extremists who are spreading the teaching that Islam, God forbid, allows arbitrary murder in the name of Allah. They realise not that they themselves are the root cause of the misery that currently pervades Pakistan and continues to escalate.

May God always protect all peace loving people, be they Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh or adherents of any other belief.”

The translated Maori Koran will be launched in April. There is a Fijian version and a Samoan translation is on the way.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama New Zealand president Dr Mohammed Shorab said the leader of his Islamic movement had requested the translation while living in London 20 years ago.

He had felt the Maori language would be around until judgment day and people needed the opportunity to hear the Islamic message, said Shorab.

A Pakistani man took on the project and completed it with help from the Maori Language Commission and local kaumatua.

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad meeting with Press & Media – Video Part 2

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad meeting with Press & Media – Video Part 3

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad meeting with Press & Media – Video Part 4

From World Wide Majlis Tahfuze Khatme Nabuwat Conference held in Badshahi Mosque Lahore on Saturday 11th April 2009. They asked for the restoration of the 1973 Constitution with the 1974 Amendment related to Khatme Nabuwat and said that the only way to stop Qadianiat (Ahmadiyyat) is to establish the Death Penalty for the non believers (Ahmadis) of Khatme Nabuwat.They also asked for the boycott of Products made by Ahmadis or Qadianis and also asked for the removal of Ahmadis from top posts in Government.The next Khatme Nabuwat Conference is said to be held in Islamabad on 30th April 2009.

Source of News

Tuhafzai Khatmai Nubawat (TKN) claims to be a worldwide religious organization to protect the finality of the Prophet hood of Muhammad (SAW). However, this organization has done little to protect the name of Islam’s beloved Prophet. Instead, TKN engages in activities that are diametrically opposed to his teachings of peace and tolerance.  The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community(AMC),  a peaceful global religious community, has been the chief target of TKN’s unwarranted, inhumane and violent terrorist activities.

Since the enactment of Anti-Ahmadiyya laws in 1984, successive Pakistani regimes have implicitly supported TKN’s extremist and harmful activities. Now Pakistan, as leader of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), is doing their bidding through UNHRC to curtail “freedom of expression”. All of the terrorist groups within Pakistan have brought this country to the forefront of the global arena. Pakistan has been deemed the “most dangerous country of the world.” The world community needs to wake up and see the atrocities committed in the tumultuous land of Pakistan. If not, how much more extremism can the innocents of Pakistan endure? The gallant stand of Civil society in Pakistan against such brutal and repressive cluster must be appreciated and acknowledged.  Our best hope of freeing Pakistan from the clutches of extremists lies with civil society – the silent majority—in that country. 

TKN’s recent activities in Pakistan are shocking.  Recent assemblage in Multan and Faisalabad, jointly with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group) parliamentarians,  have provoked and incited hatred and rage against Ahmadis. With these current trends, the Punjab Government is shaping up to create a law and order situation similar to the anti-Ahmadiyya disturbances of 1953 when TKN and its predecessors fanned hatred against Ahmadis resulting in wide scale riots in the country.  Many Ahmadis lost their lives. 

A leading Pakistan Urdu language newspaper published in its issue of February18, 2009 that there was an impending danger of an extremist attack on hundreds of Ahmadi religious centers all over Punjab, as well as business enterprises.  The violence against Ahmadis has been escalating.  Even governmental intelligence agencies have been warning of a spike in anti-Ahmadiyya violence in Punjab.

Under these circumstances, the decision of the Punjab Government to sponsor a TKN public meeting to be held on April 11^th , 2009 at the biggest mosque in Lahore is appalling. Provocative and hateful public billboards publicizing this gathering of hate mongers are being displayed all over Lahore.  Its announcement is inexorably detestable and exceedingly inflammable (see attached). The sole purpose of this meeting is to incite hatred against Ahmadis.  The Punjab Government, instead of preventing these extremists, is actively encouraging them.

Unless TKN and the PML (N) are stopped now, they will succeed in stirring up further unrest in Pakistan and at a time when a stable Pakistan is the need of the hour, these elements will destabilize it further.

Mullah’s Teach Hatred against Ahmadis openly in a Khatme Nabuwat Conference in Faisalabad, Pakistan here is an article from Express Newspaper that was published about the Conference. Mullah’s also blamed and associated Ahmadis with Terrorist activities in Pakistan .

Source

AHMADIYYA PEACE CONFERENCE ATTENDED BY OVER 425 GUESTS

The Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad last night delivered a severe warning regarding the current global financial crisis whilst delivering the keynote address at the sixth Annual Peace Conference hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat at the Bait-ul-Futuh Mosque in Morden. The event was attended by over 425 non-Ahmadi guests from all sections of society, some of whom were also invited to address the gathering.

“The United Nations is failing due to the influence of superpowers and because of this the circle of unrest is escalating.”

“Furthermore conflicts at a smaller scale were erupting in Europe and Asia. All of these factors led ultimately to the Second World War”

Mr Rafiq Hayat, the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the UK, opened the event by welcoming the guests. He said there was an urgent need throughout society for people to understand each other’s faiths and beliefs, as it was only through mutual understanding that peace could be achieved.

Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, spoke of how Islam was not just a religion but a ‘way of life’. Its core values, she said, were ‘truth and justice’ and these were qualities epitomised by the Ahmadiyya Jamaat through its commitment towards the betterment of society.

The Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, Justine Greeting MP, remarked that for peace to develop ‘understanding, tolerance and respect’ were the key factors. She said different groups ought to focus upon their many similarities rather than their few differences. She concluded by stating that she was proud that the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was based in her constituency and that it had been a privilege for her to invite Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad to the Houses of Parliament last October.

The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling MP for Epsom and Ewell, brought with him the best wishes of the Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron MP. Mr Grayling spoke of his appreciation that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat ‘looked outwards, not inwards’. He commended its long standing commitment to humanity through its work with charities such as ‘Save the Children’ and ‘Great Ormond Street Hospital’. He finished by expressing a desire that Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and people of all other faiths be able to live together in peace and tolerance.

Baroness Emma Nicholson MEP spoke of her continued despair at the persecution faced by Ahmadis in countries such as Pakistan. She said that she regularly received news of Ahmadis who had been killed or arrested for their faith and that at such times she too shared in the Community’s grief. A long term human rights campaigner, Baroness Nicholson concluded by again referring to the persecution of Ahmadis. She said, ‘It is an absolute abomination. We will try to root it out.’

The keynote address by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat began at 7.45pm. During his thirty-five minute speech His Holiness commented upon obstacles impeding long lasting peace; the current global financial crisis; the failure of the United Nations and the increased conflict in various parts of the world.

His Holiness opened his address by stating that though there was a strong ‘desire´ for peace, even politicians were limited in their ability to bring about sustained and widespread change. He said:

“Though we have a desire for peace we do not have the ability to take practical measures. Though we wish for the world to be a peaceful abode, our limitations constrain us from making the world such a place.”

He said that some people were restricted due to over-arching governmental policies or party politics. Others were constrained not by policy but due to their selfish natures that meant they only intervened where they had a personal stake or interest. This he said was an issue both in the East and in the West; and in the North and the South. Selfishness existed amongst Muslims, Christians and people belonging to other religions or those who did not profess any particular faith.

His Holiness went on to describe the means through which peace could be achieved according to Islam. He quoted Qur’anic references relating to patience being a foremost virtue. He said that an estimated 70million people died during the Second World War the majority of who were civilians. If only people had exercised patience much of the devastation could have been avoided. The same mistakes were being made in today’s world. He said:

“Mankind should have learned its lesson but unfortunately today’s people are failing to learn from past mistakes. Even those who call themselves Muslims are shedding blood and so are those people who are working on the pretext of establishing peace… Despite our attempts to bury our heads in the sand we are compelled to view horrific scenes that shake a person to the core.”

The United Nations, he commented, was a vast organization whose founding principle was to establish and maintain peace and security throughout the world. It had largely failed to achieve these noble ideals due to a lack of justice and fair dealing between member states. Referring to Japan as an example of a seemingly well developed and prosperous nation, His Holiness said that despite the overt sense of freedom, at an individual level people in that country had narrated a sense of frustration and restriction. Regarding the UN, he continued:

“The United Nations was formed for the establishment of peace but its attempts at bringing about peace in any country where disorder exists, have never achieved the level of success that such a large institution ought to… The United Nations is failing due to the influence of superpowers and because of this the circle of unrest is escalating. We cannot simply close our eyes to this. The cause of the Second World War was such unrest and mini wars.”

His Holiness concluded by analysing the ongoing global financial crisis and comparing it with the Great Depression of 1929. Many similarities between the 1929 crash and the current crisis were apparent. Both crises originated in the United States and their effects spread throughout the world. Industries were forced to cut production in 1929 and the same was true today. Such cuts had knock-on effects. At an international level trade was down; at a domestic level companies were going out of business or facing a marked reduction in profit; and at an individual level people were being made redundant and facing repossession of their homes.

The Great Depression of 1929 was followed almost immediately by the onset of the Second World War in which millions of innocent people lost their lives. His Holiness said that following the Depression whatever wealth was available was channeled into very few hands leading to division and dissent. Furthermore conflicts at a smaller scale were erupting in Europe and Asia. All of these factors led ultimately to the Second World War. His Holiness warned that today the world was following a similar path. Though banks were being bailed out, hundreds of millions of dollars were being utilized to fulfill the bonus culture of the elite. Conflicts were emerging throughout the world, in particular in the Middle East, South Asia and in Eastern Europe.

His Holiness expressed a desire that the world learns from its past mistakes and thus avoid a future world war whose advent could only be horrific and devastating. He said:

“Governments, providers of capital and the UN should understand their responsibilities. These are to fulfil the requirements of justice and to give due regard to the rights of each other. They should think, deliberate and find a solution based on justice. They should selflessly endeavour to establish peace. And most importantly they should fulfil the rights owed to their Creator and avoid His displeasure.”

Following the main address the guests enjoyed dinner and then had an opportunity to meet with His Holiness. Many of the guests commented upon the high quality of his address and others sought his prayers. Another guest said that she was a practicing Christian and commented that if the teachings of His Holiness were followed then the world would change for the better.

The event concluded as His Holiness met with assembled members of the Press and Media. Discussions took place regarding various matters, particularly the political and social instability currently engulfing Pakistan.