CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

MUSLIMS NEED TO UNDERSTAND TRUE MEANING OF JIHAD- Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

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

(Ahmadiyya Centenary celebrations at Queen Elizabeth Conference, Center London recently, attended by Ministers, Members of Parliament and many other dignitaries)

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community continues its celebrations of 100 years of Khilafat, the system of spiritual leadership that unites the tens of millions of Ahmadi Muslims throughout the world. The keynote address was delivered by the Khalifa himself, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad the World Head of the Community. The event at Queen Elizabeth Conference Center London recently (10th June, 2008) was also attended by a number of senior members of Government, Parliament and various other organizations.

The President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, Mr Rafiq Hayat used his opening remarks to inform the audience of the importance of Khilafat. He said it was the task ofthe Khalifa to continue the work of a prophet, bringing the whole of mankind closer to God and thus establishing true peace on earth.

Following the opening address dignitaries including, Lord Eric Avebury, Jonathon Shaw MP and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi took to the stage to congratulate the Ahmadiyya Community for its social contribution throughout the world. Baroness Warsi urged society to ‘stand up and be counted’ in responding to the continued persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and most recently Indonesia.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw MP spoke of his admiration for the Ahmadiyya Community. He said:

“I am delighted to be able to bring with me the best wishes of Her Majesty’s Government and the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. All of us hugely admire the work of the Ahmadiyya Community both in the UK and worldwide... I am very happy to be here to mark the great work you do in promoting peace and brotherhood throughout the world.”

A long standing supporter of the Ahmadiyya Community, Baroness Emma Nicholson MEP spoke of her continued efforts to end the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims. She said that she had personally spoken to the President of Pakistan in relation to this issue and that it was the duty of all free people to fight for the rights of those minorities who were the victims of prejudice and hatred.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad used his keynote address to rebut the allegation that Islam was spread by the sword. He spoke of how Jihad continued to be misunderstood because of the acts of extremist and so called Muslims who abused the teachings of Islam.

His Holiness begun by introducing the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community by stating it comprised people who believed that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the final law bearing prophet. He had prophesized that a Messiah and Reformer would come to salvage and rejuvenate the religion of Islam at a time when it had been greatly corrupted. His Holiness said that members of the Community believed that this person had come in the person of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who founded the Community in India in 1889.

His Holiness spoke about one of the greatest signs in favour of the truth of the Promised Messiah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had prophesized 1400 years previously that at the time of the Messiah and Reformer there would be an eclipse of the moon on 13th night of the Islamic month of Ramadan, whilst during the same month there would be a solar eclipse on 28th day of the very same month. In both 1894 and 1895 this prophecy was fulfilled in support of the claim of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

His Holiness said that the Ahmadiyya Community was founded on two principles which continued to be the basis of its teachings. They were love for God Almighty and love for mankind. These were the true Islamic teachings and thus those who claimed that Islam was a violent and barbaric religion were wholly mistaken.

His Holiness stated that in the time of the Holy Prophet, permission was granted to fight only as a last resort and only as a means of defense. Never in the history of Islam had the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) initiated a single battle. He in fact taught tolerance, respect and freedom of belief. This principle was being lost in light of the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings that had occurred over the last few years. The Ahmadiyya Community’s purpose was to bring to the fore these true teachings of peace and service to mankind. In light of these teachings the Ahmadiyya Community was committed to developing the under-developed, to helping the deprived and to educate the uneducated. He said that the Community was constantly engaged in humanitarian services and disaster relief. He said that on a recent tour of Africa a leading chief in Benin had told him that recently he had appealed for humanitarian aid to many agencies but it was only the Ahmadiyya Community who had stepped forward to fight disease and poverty in that region.

The event concluded following a message of goodwill sent by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in which he congratulated the Ahmadiyya Community on its continued effort to bring peace to the world and for its social contribution.

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