CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

FIRST AHMADI MOSQUE OPENED IN BERLIN

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

Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community promises locals that there is ‘no need to fear Ahmadiyya Mosque’

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad – Supreme Head of he World-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community officially opened the Khadija Mosque in Berlin on 16th October, 2008. The opening took place with great success as hundreds of local officials and neighbours came to attend the function. The entire event was broadcast live via MTA (Muslim TV Ahmadiyya International) throughout the world.

The opening of the Khadija Mosque marked the fulfillment of a desire of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community stretching back to the early 1920s when it was first proposed that an Ahmadi Mosque be built in the city of Berlin. The advent of the First World War put paid to the plans and thereafter until now the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was unable to build a Mosque in the city.

The building of the Khadija Mosque was not without incident. Since plans to build it were announced a number of groups had voiced their dissent fearing that its building would be a precursor to acts of terror or violence. In his address to the gathered audience, His Holiness, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad reassured the German people of the loyalty of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Jamaat) and explained the true purposes for erecting the Khadija Mosque. He said:

“This Mosque we have built has not been made for any Jihadi organization or any terrorist activity but simply it has been built for the worship of Allah… From this Mosque of ours there will be no other call apart from love for humanity, affection, reconciliation, justice and peace. And you will observe that what I have said were not mere words but were acted upon. And time will, God willing, prove it to be so.”

His Holiness further used the occasion to thank the German Government for providing a haven for persecuted Ahmadis who had been forced to flee Pakistan in fear of their lives. In this respect he applauded the Government for not only allowing such immigrants to live freely but for positively embracing them as part and parcel of the local society. He said that this warmth had been accepted by the Ahmadis who now took great pride in being German and who were all completely loyal to the State.

Developing his them further, His Holiness rejected the fear voiced by segments of society that the building of the Mosque could lead to division between Muslims and non-Muslims. He said that in fact the opposite would be true. A prime example of the Jamaat’s integration was that the President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was an indigenous German. He said:

“His appointment is not based upon any political motive such as that a German should be made our President (Amir) or that we wish to receive any benefit from the German Government. It is merely due to his extreme sincerity, devotion and goodness that he has merited this status within the Community.”

His Holiness concluded his address by stating that the protection and sanctity of all places of worship was a basic part of the Islamic faith. In this respect he told the audience of the extent to which all Ahmadis would go to observe this principle. Their loyalty did not end with the four walls of their Mosques. He said:

“If a Christian Church requires protection and an Ahmadi is called to help then he must help. If a Jewish Synagogue requires protection and an Ahmadi is called to help then he should be there. If a believer of any faith requires the help of an Ahmadi to establish justice then the Ahmadi should be there by his side.”

The opening also included short speeches by Wolfgang Thierse, Vice Speaker of the German Parliament, Matthias Kohne, the local Mayor and Dr Heidi Knake-Werner, the State Minister for Integration. All three congratulated the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community upon the opening of the Mosque and expressed their hope that it would become a beacon illustrating the peaceful co-existence of different segments of society in Berlin.

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