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HEAD OF AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY URGES DEVELOPED WORLD TO BRING AN END TO GLOBAL POVERTY

AHMADIYYA MUSLIM JAMA’AT - SRI LANKA 619/4, Baseline Road, Colombo 9, Sri Lanka.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community hosts Annual Peace Conference in Britain.The third Annual Peace Conference was hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK at the Bait-ul-Futuh Mosque in Morden on 29th March 2008.

The event sought to promote the peaceful relations between peoples of all faiths and was attended by around 500 guests. The highlight of the evening was the keynote address delivered by the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad in which he responded to the false portrayal of Islam, perpetrated by the evil acts of extremists and tackling the problems faced by the Developing world.

The event was also addressed by a number of dignitaries including the President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, Rafiq Hayat, the Shadow Attorney-General, Dominic Grieve MP and Siobhain McDonagh the MP for Mitcham and Morden.

During his welcome address Mr Hayat spoke of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s service to humanity which was delivered irrespective of creed, color or religion. He spoke of how the Community had spent millions of pounds offering aid in remote parts of the world where need was paramount.

Siobhain McDonagh MP spoke of the media’s misrepresentation of Islam. She said:

“It is extraordinary that anyone who knows anything about Islam can associate your faith with the actions of violent Islamic extremists. It is a terrible injustice to Islam and to your religion, because it is a peaceful religion… Islam is a religion based on tolerance and respect and it is a religion that encourages all people to practice their own faiths without hindrance and without threats.”

The Shadow Attorney General Dominic Grieve MP spoke of the importance of the Peace Conference. He said:

“The exchanges of ideas enable us to understand better. I wish this Community, which has been making such an enormous contribution to our national life, both in terms of the meetings we have here, like the one this evening, but also in terms of the contributions of the individuals in our national life. I wish the Ahmadiyya Community all blessings and success.”

During the keynote address of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, His Holiness spoke of how such gatherings were extremely necessary in developing ties of kinship and brotherhood between peoples of different backgrounds. He mentioned with regret of how ‘walls of hatred’ had been erected by those opposed to a peaceful society and thus it must be the goal of all peace loving people to break down such barriers. He explained how there was no religion in this world, be it Islam, Christianity or any faith which advocated the destruction of peace.

His Holiness spoke of how the history of the Ahmadiyya Community bore witness to the fact that the Community has constantly strived for peace and love within all societies. The teachings of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community prove that this message has not been adopted apologetically to suit the current times but in fact this message of peace has been always been fundamental to the Ahmadiyya Community and is based upon the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

Commenting upon recent attacks on Islam, His Holiness mentioned the recent re-publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the Holy Prophet Muhammad, God forbid, as a terrorist and also the film recently released by Geert Wilders an MP from Holland, in which he wholly misrepresents the teachings of Islam. With regard the cartoons, His Holiness questioned how defaming and disrespecting the Prophet of Islam could help the development of peaceful relations within society. His Holiness explained that true Muslims cannot bear the mocking or disrespect of any Prophet be it Muhammad, Jesus, Moses or any other (peace be upon them all).

Speaking about Geert Wilders whose film ‘Fitna’ seeks to portray Islam as a religion of terror, hate and cruelty, His Holiness said that Mr Wilders ought to have investigated the true teachings of Islam which are the exact opposite to those that Mr Wilders would have others believe. The example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was always of compassion and love.

Another issue upon which His Holiness spoke was the controversial issue of punishment in Islam. He explained how the punitive system within Islam was based on a need to reform rather than to act out of revenge. Thus where forgiveness could lead to the reformation of a person this would always be preferable. However, in the case of a hardened criminal, suitable and proportionate punishment may be used but with the intended purpose of reformation of the individual. The accused must always be tried with absolute justice. Feelings of enmity, rancor or grudge can never be the basis for any punishment.

Turning towards the global issue of poverty, His Holiness called on a redistribution of wealth from the developed nations to the developing world.

He said:

“Today when we are so close to each other that we witness scenes of starvation and poverty in the poor countries of the world mere sympathy is not enough. Rather, we should also help them. Despite his deepest desire no single person can eradicate hunger from the world on his own. This requires a concerted effort to be made by all… If instead of supplying arms and ammunition, countries embroiled in conflict are helped with food, unrest will abate. Efforts should be made to extend educational and medical facilities to all remote areas. The rights of the needy and deprived are not limited to food but also include education and opportunities to progress, otherwise unrest will spread.”

His Holiness went on to discuss how love for one’s nation was an essential element of Islam and that loyalty to one’s country and respect for its laws was just as important as important as adherence to Shariah (Islamic Law). With regard the duties of the legislature, His Holiness said that Islam taught that no law should be brought which interfered with a person’s right to his own personal worship. Upon this, His Holiness extended his thanks to the British Government and to the people of Britain for their continued protection of basic human and civil rights. His Holiness praised the entrenched traditions of religious freedom in the United Kingdom and expressed his desire that this principle may never be compromised.

His Holiness concluded his address by speaking of the unity that binds the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. This unity is based upon the system of Khilafat which is the system of spiritual succession to the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (peace be upon him). His Holiness said it was the objective of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community under the directive of its spiritual leader to portray to the world the true message of Islam which is of peace, love and tolerance.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Jama’at) was founded in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him) in a small town called Qadian in the Punjab region of India. Under Divine guidance Hazrat Ahmad claimed to be the Promised Messiah as awaited by all major religions. Since Hazrat Ahmad’s passing in 1908, the Community has been led by virtue of the Institution of Khalifat – ‘Spiritual Succession’. The Community is currently led by the Fifth Khalifa of its Founder, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad who resides in South West London.

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