Hasan Hakeem's Journal

Muslim Chaplains Work to Reform

2011-06-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Commentary: Muslim prison chaplains work to reform, not radicalize

Hasan Hakeem | Posted: Thursday, June 16, 2011

The danger of Islamic radicalization inside U.S. prisons “remains real and present,” alleges Republican U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York in his second congressional hearing on the threat of Muslims within America radicalizing.

It appears to me that Rep. King has never been inside a county jail or prison to meet incarcerated Muslims. If he had been, I suspect that Rep. King would not have made such an outlandish statement.

As a Muslim chaplain, I tend to prisoners of all faiths, not just Islam, and the common theme is that such people are seeking a new beginning through God.

Clearly lost upon Rep. King is the story of Malcolm X, a fellow New Yorker, who through Islam gave up his criminal ways to become one of this nation’s most honored civil rights activists.

Prisoners who convert to Islam in jail do so to find a new path, one that is far from the world of hate and violence that is often the cause of their incarceration.

To suggest that Muslim chaplains are radicalizing prisoners is to betray one’s own ignorance of the institutions of corrections in the United States. Books are screened for content, and chaplains interviewed and monitored.

But if Rep. King wishes to address incarceration, then let’s do that honestly. It is disgraceful that we, as Americans, place more emphasis on incarceration than on education.

In the past 20 years, state spending on prisons has grown at six times the rate of spending on higher education. And one in 31 Americans is under some form of corrections control.

Federal research shows states spend more than $50 billion annually on government-run correction programs. With more than 2 million people incarcerated in jails and prisons in the United States today, it would be more helpful for Rep. King, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, to focus on issues of judicial and prison reform than on imaginary threats that are in reality thinly veiled attacks against Islam.

You do your job, Rep. King, and I’ll keep doing mine.

Hasan Hakeem is a Muslim chaplain for Kenosha County Jail and president of the Zion, Ill., chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Kicked to the Curb: A Return to Prison

2011-06-19T07:07:00.000-05:00

Civil death

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Civil death (Latin: civiliter mortuus)^[1] is a term that refers to the loss of all or almost all civil rights by a person due to a conviction for a felony or due to an act by the government of a country that results in the loss of civil rights. It is usually inflicted on persons convicted of crimes against the state or adults determined by a court to be legally incompetent because of mental disability.^[2]
In medieval Europe, felons lost all civil rights upon their conviction. This civil death often led to actual death, since anyone could kill and injure an ex-felon with impunity.^[3] In the old German Empire, a person declared civilly dead was called "vogelfrei" ("free as a bird") and could even be killed since they were completely outside the law.^[4]
Historically outlawry, that is, declaring a person as an outlaw, was a common form of civil death.^[4]
In the US, the disenfranchisement of felons or ex-felons has been called a form of civil death;^[5] see also loss of rights due to felony conviction.
A recent study by the Pew Center on the States, a nonprofit public policy research organization, found that 43.3 percent of people released from the nation’s prisons in 2004 were reincarcerated within three years. But many state prison inmates are released after serving their sentence without any requirement that they check in with authorities to make sure they’re not getting into trouble again. Theoretically, at least, inmates who leave prison under supervision ought to have a much lower recidivism rate than those who do not.

Ex-Convicts and Civil Death

By Ruth Rosen

Imagine a corporate executive who’s been convicted of embezzlement. He serves his sentence and some years later, having paid his debt to society, leaves prison a free man. Now he’s an ex-convict, in fact, an ex-felon. Should we allow him to vote? Or has he forfeited his right to participate in American democracy?

Depending on where he lives, he may never vote again. Thirteen states bar ex-felons—permanently—from voting. Thirty-two states disenfranchise them while on parole, twenty-nine while on probation.

Few of us realize that ex-felons so commonly lose their right to vote. Nor are we aware that any felony can trigger what some have called “civil death.” If, for example, a first-time offender pleads guilty to a single drug sale and is placed on probation, he or she can be permanently barred from voting. As Andrew Shapiro, an attorney, notes, “ An eighteen-year-old first-time offender who trades a guilty plea for a non-prison sentence may unwittingly sacrifice forever his right to vote.”

The people most affected by these laws, as you might suspect, are not corporate executives. They are disproportionately black men. Thirteen percent of African-American men—1.4 million people—are permanently disenfranchised because they are in prison, on parole or probation, or are ex-felons.

The impact of such widespread disenfranchisement on our elections is staggering. Florida, for example, denies the vote to ex-felons who have fully served their sentence. According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, Florida law prevented more than four hundred thousand ex-felons from voting in the November election. Among African-Americans, the impact was dramatic. Approximately one-third of Florida’s black men—some two hundred thousand residents—were legally prohibited from casting a vote. Human Rights Watch concludes: “Assuming the voting pattern of black ex-felons would have been similar to the vote by black residents in Florida generally, the inability of these ex-offenders to vote had a significant impact on the number voting for Vice President Gore.”

In other words, absent these disenfranchisement laws, Gore would now be president.

This nation began with a stingy view of who was virtuous enough to cast a vote in elections. In fact, the framers limited this right to free white men who owned property. But ever since, suffrage has been extended to those who were initially excluded: people without property, women, African-Americans, and people who are not literate.

The one group still excluded is convicted felons. In part, this is a legacy of the South’s successful post-Reconstruction effort to prevent freed slaves from voting. Between l890 and 1910, southern states crafted their criminal disenfranchisement laws, along with other voting qualifications, with the goal of preventing African-Americans from voting. In 1901, for example, Alabama lawmakers inserted a provision in the state constitution that disenfranchised any person guilty of the felonious crime of “moral turpitude.” (In the South, that could mean just staring at a white woman.) Nor did the legislators even bother to hide their goal, which they openly declared was to establish and preserve white supremacy.

We are the heirs of that racist legacy. In most democratic countries, ex-felons are expected to re-enter society as citizens newly endowed with the rights and responsibilities they lost as legal outcasts. “These people have paid their debt to society,” says Jamie Fellner, associate counsel at Human Rights Watch. “No other country in the world takes away the right to vote for life.”

But in America, our legacy of slavery and Reconstruction still affects so many aspects of our democratic process—from the electoral college to poorly working voting machines in black districts. The bright side of Election 2000, however, is that it has ignited a spirited reconsideration of many of the arcane practices that shape our electoral process. So far, though, the issue of how many people are disenfranchised because of their criminal pasts has not been highly publicized.

I believe that an individual who is imprisoned for a felony should give up many civil rights, including that of suffrage. But afterward? If the point of imprisonment is rehabilitation, how can we conclude that people should suffer civil death after they have been released from prison? When a person has done time, he or she should be able to vote again, not after finishing parole, but upon leaving the prison grounds.

Because the disenfranchisement of ex-felons disproportionately affects African-American men, many of whom are in prison for drug felonies, many blacks are rightfully angry that disenfranchisement laws rob them of their participation in the voting process. “Fifty years after the beginnings of the civil rights movement, it is tragic that every day more black citizens lose their voting rights,” says Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Washington D.C.-based Sentencing Project. “This is not just a criminal justice issue, but one of basic democracy.”

Joe Loya, a disenfranchised ex-felon, expresses this sentiment even more eloquently: “Without a vote, a voice, I am a ghost inhabiting a citizen’s space. I want to walk calmly into a polling place with other citizens, to carry my placid ballot into the booth, check off my choices, then drop my conscience in the common box.”

Listen to his words. They just may be the battle cry for the next struggle for suffrage.

Ruth Rosen, who teaches history at the University of California, Davis, and is an editorial writer at the San Francisco Chronicle.

I Don't Know How to Live Out There

2011-06-19T06:52:00.000-05:00

Our challenge as Americans is what do we do about the thousands of men and women incarcerated in prisons? When they are relased how do we reintegrate them into society? Listen to what this inmate is saying to the listener. It is a cry for help. How do we help him to be a productive and better citizen in contemporary society, or should we just keep him locked up in an enviroment he has come to understand and survive in since he was a teenager?

His admission is a reality for men and women throughout our nation, who have no hope for a sustainable lifestyle in society, especially if they are on probation or parole conditions. They are subject to a brief freedom if they fail to adhere to the rules and regulations on "paper."

Prison Reform is the real deal in USA

2011-06-16T07:07:00.000-05:00

Michigan Rep. Clarke hits it right on the head. The problem is not Islam in prisons. It's the judicial system and the prison industrial complex that continues to suck the life out of our communities. Why not focus on the hatred that's created by inequality and injustice in the judicial system. What is needed is real justice -- Aboslute Justice For All Americans, regardless of creed, color, culture or race.

Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) used his question period to deliver an impassioned address about the broader problem of prison reform, at times holding back tears as he discussed how the issue impacted his own life.

"We talk about political correctness, you know what pisses me off? I'm a damned member of Congress here and my friends have rotted in prison and those that have gotten out, they've never been the same again," he said. "Some of you who are Tea Party members, this is the waste we got to stop. We're spending too much money incarcerating young men, young black men, whose lives can be saved. It's not about Islam, it's abut the sentencing policy, it's about this prison system. We got to change that."

He added that based on his own discussions with prisoners who converted to Islam, inmates did so largely to gain protection from dangerous gangs and to make a clean break from their criminal past, not to engage in any kind of radical behavior.

Media Neglects Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

2011-06-09T07:24:00.000-05:00

Got news? Ahmadiyya refugee edition

Posted by Mollie

I love ~~all~~ most of our reader submissions, but the other day we received one that sounded pretty surprising. It comes from Hasan Hakeem, a member of the Ahmadiyya Community and the Chaplain of the Kenosha County Jail in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I’ll go head and just quote it:

This week after spending almost 7 months at a refugee prison in central Bangkok, 96 Ahmadiyya refugees from Pakistan were released by Thai authorities, a landmark development in a country that does not formally recognize refugees despite the fact that it is currently coming to the end of its tenure as president of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The released Ahmadiyya are members of a minority Muslim group that is oppressed in Pakistan, where they are not recognized as Muslims and are often victims of sectarian violence. US Media completely ignored the story despite the fact that members of the American Ahmadiyya Community has actively fought for and provided resources for the release of the detainees.

I certainly hadn’t heard word one about this story. Had you? I did a quick Google search and not only do I not see any American media coverage of the time spent in detainment, the U.S. media isn’t even covering the release. If we can’t be bothered to cover stories such as this, which tell us not only about a dire religious situation but a political one as well, this is a problem.

Precisely the only story I found in the U.S. media came from MSNBC.com. A photo blog posting included several pictures of detainees being released, followed by this blurb:

Ninety-six people, most of whom were arrested in December, will be released from a Bangkok detention centre on Monday, an immigration officer said.
The detained group are from Pakistan’s Ahmadi Muslim community, who suffer violence and persecution in their home country, according to the Thai Committee for Refugees, which helped organise the release.

I’m glad that MSNBC.com covered the release, but wow do we need much more information. We’ve seen other stories on the Ahmadiyya, but a dramatic incident such as this needs context and analysis and much more insight and background.

Just from the reader submission alone, we see several angles that could be pursued.

Written by: Mollie on June 8, 2011.

Murder in the Name of Allah

2011-06-09T07:15:00.000-05:00

Comment: It's only the Ahmadies who strugle to improve the image of Islam where as the rest of the Muslims do nothing but disgrace Islam with their violence, foul language and disgracefull interpretation of Islam.

The Advent of the Messiah

2011-04-11T07:33:00.000-05:00

There are many different interpretations and understandings regarding the awaited Messiah. This documentary is a commentary and a thorough gathering of interviews from various religious leaders. The coming of the Messiah is the hope and prayer of all believers. What do you believe? How will you know if the Messiah has returned to the world?

8th Annual Ahmadiyya Peace Conference

2011-03-31T01:39:00.000-05:00

Peace Symposium 2011 - Address by Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Peace Symposium (8th Annual) held on 26th March 2011 at Baitul Futuh Mosque, London, England.

His Holiness concluded his address by speaking about the persecution faced by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. He said that in May last year 86 Ahmadi Muslims were brutally martyred whilst offering their Friday prayers. Similarly in February this year 3 Ahmadi Muslims in Indonesia were martyred in the most barbaric manner. His Holiness said that despite such cruelties and injustices the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat never responded with anything other than with peace. He said:

"We have always implemented the teaching of Islam that you should never take the law into your own hands and always keep the best interests of your country in view and never create disorder, because this is a requirement of true love for your country. Wherever in the world Ahmadis reside, no matter which country they originate from, be they Asian, or African, or Arab or European or American, their behaviour is always the same. For the sake of attaining Allah's pleasure they always steer clear of all forms of disorder. And this is the conduct that one day will not only save the world from anarchy, in fact it will be its guarantor for world peace."

Islamophobia in America

2011-03-30T07:41:00.000-05:00

On Sunday evening, March, 2011, CNN aired a one-hour special called “Unwelcome: Muslims Next Door.” Reporter Soledad O’Brien went inside the town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to investigate the controversy surrounding the proposed construction of a 52,000 square-foot mosque. This story highlights the national issue of religious freedom for the Muslim community that has been viewed as a suspect group across American since 9/11.

THE BEAUTY OF THE HOLY QURAN

2011-03-29T00:54:00.000-05:00

Hudhur recited the following verses of the Holy Qur’an at the start of his Friday Sermon today: ‘We have explained the truth in this Qur’an in the various ways that they may be admonished, but it only increases them in aversion.’ (17:42) and ‘And We are gradually revealing of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers; but it only adds to the loss of the wrongdoers.’ (17:83).

Hudhur said time and again, the rancour and malice of the detractors of Islam against Islam, the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) surfaces. It was reported recently that in some Muslim countries extreme reaction is being demonstrated. This is regarding the ill-natured American priest, who was verbally abusive about the Holy Qur’an in September 2010 and had talked of burning it, but had desisted at the time due to some pressure. However, two days ago, he committed this foul act. He justified it by calling on a [so-called] ‘jury’ of 12 people in which a Muslim Imam represented Islam.

However, after 6 hours the jury decided that the Holy Qur’an, God forbid, promotes violence and this was cited as the reason why they burnt it. Hudhur said they act as both the perpetrator and the judge themselves. This particular priest does not have any standing in the USA. His congregation numbers in a few hundred. He has committed this terrible act for cheap publicity which the media is fanning simply to increase their own circulation. Analysts are saying that in spite of media reporting it, the news item has not attracted attention. Council on American-Islamic Relations was asked to comment on this but they declined, saying they did not wish to give the man seeking his fifteen minutes of fame any more publicity.

Hudhur said such dreadful acts have always been committed against Islam and even if they are perpetrated publically or privately, they are hurtful to a true believer. However, the reaction should not be to put a price on the person’s head, as some have done, or take out demonstrations and cause damage to one’s own country. The correct reaction to such matters should be to present such a picture of the Qur’an through one’s word and deed that the world itself condemns the perpetrator.

Giving example of acknowledgement of the excellence of the Holy Qur’an by non- Muslims, Hudhur said that in his book ‘History of the Intellectual Development of Europe’ John William Draper writes that it is an erroneous concept that the advancement of the Arabs was with the use of force. He wrote that force cannot alter one’s conscience. He wrote that the Qur’an articulates its objective in an excellent manner.

Explaining the Quranic verses recited at the start, Hudhur said the Holy Qur’an has drawn a clear picture of these people. They are similar to the pagans of Arabia. Such people have always been around and will continue to be around who, in spite of elucidation of every aspect of the Holy Qur’an, they will continue to raise objections. Rather than open their eyes, the elucidation drives them away from this beautiful teaching. As the verses expound: ‘…increases them in aversion…’ whereas for the believers it is: ‘… a healing and a mercy…’. Hudhur explained that one’s view is in accordance to one’s nature, some will always have a jaundiced view. The Qur’an states in its very beginning that it is a ‘…guidance for the righteous…’ (2:3). Its beautiful teaching, which is superior to all the earlier teachings will only be evident to those who have Taqwa (righteousness) and it will give guidance to those who have fear of God. We are not concerned that their disrespectful stance will, God forbid, harm the Qur’an. God has taken the responsibility of safeguarding it Himself. The above verse 17:83 calls the Qur’an ‘a mercy’ and indeed it will always facilitate mercy. If the verse 17:83 is linked with the one before it, the message is that of glad-tiding for believers: ‘Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away…’ (17:82)

The honor of the Qur’an cannot be maintained by putting price on heads and wrongful demonstrations. A true believer proves the superiority of the Qur’an by practicing its beautiful teaching. When this teaching will become evident to the world, God’s decree will manifest to be a mercy for believers and a balm for injured hearts. The triumph of the Qur’an will be a triumph of the believers. Hudhur said, we as the followers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) are not particularly concerned with the vulgar antics of these people. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was sent to once again spread the message of the Holy Qur’an. It states:

‘Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Mighty, the Wise. He it is Who has raised among the Unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, although they had been, before, in manifest misguidance; And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise.’ (62:2-4).

Hudhur said in the first phase, God sent the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) who, with this teaching, brought a revolutionary change in the extremely deteriorated condition the world was in. He purified those who were ignorant and would get blood-thirsty like animals on trifle matters with this teaching. From the animal-like state these people became human, and then became knowledgeable humans and ultimately became godly people. In the current age, God’s mercy and grace sent the ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to recite the Qur’an and guide and thus increase people in faith. He gave us awareness of this Divine Book and explained how it is a healing and a mercy for us. He told us about the hidden pearls of wisdom of the teaching of the final Shariah. Thus was God’s favour on believers, fulfilled in the person of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) as prophesised by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Hudhur read an extract from the writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to further expound this.

He wrote:
‘The claim of the Christian missionaries that the Qur’an does not set forth anything new on the Unity of God and on Divine commandments which is not contained in the Torah, is altogether false. An ignorant person reading the Torah might fall into the error that it sets forth the Unity of God, and directions with regard to worship, and the rights of mankind, and that there is nothing new which has been set out in the Qur’an, but only a person who has not pondered the Word of God would fall into this error.

There is a great part of matters Divine that finds no mention in the Torah; for instance, it does not mention the finer stages of the Unity of God. The Qur’an discloses that the Unity of God does not mean merely that we should not worship idols, or human beings, or animals, or the elements, or heavenly bodies or satans, but that the Unity of God has three stages.

The first stage of the Unity of God is for the common people who desire to be delivered from the wrath of God Almighty.
The second stage is for those who desire to be closer to God than the common people.
The third stage is for those special ones who desire to achieve closeness to perfection.

The first stage is that no one should be worshipped except God, and that one should refrain from the worship of everything that is limited and created, whether it is on the earth or in heaven.

The second stage of the Unity of God is that in one's own affairs and in the affairs of others, God Almighty should be regarded as the true force and that means should not be so emphasised as to become associates of God. For instance, to say that had it not been for X one would have suffered a certain loss, or that if it had not been for Y, one would have been ruined, would amount to shirk, if by such pronouncements it is meant that X and Y truly possess some power.

The third stage of the Unity of God is to exclude the desires of one's ego from one's love of God Almighty and to devote oneself entirely to His Greatness. Such Unity of God is not to be found in the Torah. Also there is no mention of salvation or hell in the Torah, except some slight indications here and there. In the same way, there is no detailed mention in the Torah of the perfect attributes of God Almighty.

Had the Torah contained any Surah like the one in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Say, ‘He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.’ (112:2-5) then perhaps the Christians might have refrained from the worship of a creature. Also the Torah has not set forth the degrees of rights but the Qur’an has set forth this teaching also in perfection. For instance, it says: ‘Verily, Allah requires you to abide by justice, and to treat with grace, and give like the giving of kin to kin; (16:91) Allah enjoins equity, benevolence and graciousness between kindred. This means that our sympathy with mankind should be prompted by natural eagerness and not by any motive of seeking acknowledgement, as for instance, a mother has sympathy for her child.

The Torah also fails to establish the existence of God and His Unity and His perfect attributes on the basis of reason, but the Holy Qur’an has established all these doctrines and the need of revelation and Prophethood with arguments based on reason, and by stating everything in a philosophic way, has made it easy for seekers after truth to appreciate it. These arguments are put forth in such an excellent manner in the Holy Qur’an that it is not within anyone's power, for instance, to put forth any argument on the existence of God which is not contained in the Qur’an. A strong argument in support of the need of the Holy Qur’an is that all the previous Books beginning with the Torah and ending with the Gospel are addressed to a particular people, namely, the children of Israel and state in clear words that the directions contained in them are not for the general benefit, and are limited to the children of Israel. But the Holy Qur’an aims at the reform of the whole world and is not addressed to any particular people but states plainly that it has been revealed for the benefit of the whole of mankind and that the reform of everyone is its purpose.’ [‘Kitab ul Bariyyah’, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp.468 – 471]

Hudhur said this is but a glimpse of what the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) explained about the superiority of the Qur’an. Ahmadis are fortunate, indeed can be called fortunate only when they try and adopt this teaching and show the luminous teaching to the world about which they raise objections. Then alone will we be rightfully counted among the latter-ones.

Hudhur said in one of his sermons he had cited the German Jama’at as an example of holding exhibitions in various venues, including church halls, on the Holy Qur’an that had had positive results. Hudhur said his inference was that Jama’ats in other countries too should hold such exhibitions; however, this was not done. If an exhibition had been organised in USA, media, which is drawn to Islam these days would have referred to us along with referring to this bigoted man. Although the US Jama’at has extensively worked on the peace leaflets and has held seminars, and has worked well, which has been covered by the media, but exhibitions have not been organised as they should have been. A believer’s task is to keep an eye on every front. Media as well as the public will be drawn if exhibitions are organised in hired halls, in USA as well as other countries. Due to the negative impression people have formed about mosques they have reservations about coming to events there. So, if halls are hired and proper exhibitions are held with posters and banners depicting the teachings of the Qur’an and copies of the Holy Qur’an with translation beautifully displayed. Due to the attention to Islam, some people are writing in positive light as well, often they report accurately about our Jama’at. God knows what their intention is but we should take advantage of this. Although we set up stalls and participate in general exhibitions but those are not covered by the media. If we organise separate exhibitions they will nevertheless have impact.

Hudhur said our detractors talk a lot about Jihad and ‘Qitaal’ but do not mention what are the conditions under which fighting is allowed in Islam. These are ploys of Dajjal (antichrist) that are manoeuvred by certain people from time to time to harm Islam. A definitive antidote of this is required and for a definitive antidote continuous effort is required.

The Ahmadiyya Community alone can truly pay the dues of this.The extract from the writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) informs us of the significance of the teachings of the Qur’an and indeed no other book has given as much emphasis as the Qur’an does on justice. It states: ‘Allah forbids you not, respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you forth from your homes, that you be kind to them and act equitably towards them; surely Allah loves those who are equitable.’ (60:9). It also states: ‘O ye who believe! be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is aware of what you do.’ (5:9). The Qur’an also states: ‘And worship Allah and associate naught with Him, and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour that is a kinsman and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom your right hands possess. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful,’ (4:37).

Hudhur explained that the verse 60:9 commands to extend virtue to those who do not bear enmity. The verse 5:9 enjoins to be just and fair even to the enemy and not to respond to his foul act with a foul act. The verse 4:37 commands good treatment of everyone, from one’s parents to every human being, so that peace is established in the world. Such is the supremely excellent teaching of Islam which is the guarantee of peace in the world, as opposed to the step taken by the bigoted priest. Whenever we see wrong reaction as regards Islam, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and the Holy Qur’an, our task is to first correct our own practices and then spread the teachings of Islam in the world.

The Holy Qur'an, Part 1

2011-03-28T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Holy Quran is a compilation of the verbal revelations given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) over a period of twenty two years. The Holy Quran is the Holy Book or the Scriptures of the Muslims. It lays down for them the law and commandments, codes for their social and moral behaviour, and contains a comprehensive religious philosophy. The language of the Quran is Arabic.

Besides its proper name, the Quran is also known by the following names:al Kitab The Book;al Furqan The Discriminant: al Dhikr The Exposition; al Bayan The Explanation; al Burhan The Argument; al Haqq The Truth; al Tanzil The Revelation; al Hikmat The Wisdom; al Huda The Guide; al Hukm The Judgment; al Mau'izah The Admonition; al Rahmat The Mercy; al-Noor The Light; al-Rooh The Word
Surahs And Verses

The Holy Quran is divided into 114 Surahs or Chapters and each Chapter consists of individual Ayaat or verses. There are in total 6,348 verses in the Holy Quran. The Surahs are of varying lengths, some consisting of a few lines while others run for many pages. Surah al Baqarah (Ch.2 ) is the longest Chapter comprising 287 verses while Surah al Kauthar( Ch. 108) is the shortest with only four verses including the tasmia.

The text of the Holy Quran has remained unchanged over the past 1400 years. The millions of copies of the Quran circulating in the world today are all identical down to a single letter. And this is not strange since God says in the Holy Quran that He Himself will guard this book:

"Surely it is We Who have revealed the Exposition, and surely it is We Who are its guardians" (15:10)

We Pray for Bangladesh

2011-03-26T07:35:00.001-05:00

"Amra apnar shathe achhi" (we are with you)

We Pray for Bangladesh

87th Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, Bangladesh was held on 6th, 7th & 8th February, 2011. Due to space scarcity at it's National Headquarters, this time the Jalsa was arranged at Rover Scout Training Center, Bahadurpur, Gazipur, about 44 km north of the capital city center. However, on the eve of the Inauguration the local administration withdrawn their permission and compelled the Jama'at to vacate the palce. After short inaugural session from London by the Address of the Spiritual leader of the Jama'at, they had to shift the Jalsa to Bakshi Bazaar.

Surprisingly, local administration gave persmission to anti-Ahmadiyya Mollas to organize a rally 10 days after and more surprisingly the DC & SP, the two top govt. officials of the district participated that program and expressed their solidarity. This video is an audio-visual documentary of all these incidents.

For Da Brothers

2011-03-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

Watch more free documentaries

Ahmadiyya Persecution in Indonesia Pt. 2

2011-03-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

Muslims For Peace

2011-03-05T13:34:00.000-06:00

The right to pray - 101 East - Al Jazeera English

2011-03-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

The right to pray - 101 East - Al Jazeera English

A Favorite Video of Mine

2010-06-19T07:41:00.000-05:00

I love this video: In Your Face, "Haters."

The Importance of Jail Ministry For Muslims: Ahmadiyya Zion Project

2010-06-19T07:11:00.002-05:00

Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The Zion Project has impact on a two-state (Illinois and Wisconsin) three county area, Lake, Kenosha and Racine County. The reasons people give for changing their religion - or leaving religion altogether - differ widely depending on the origin and destination of the convert.

The group that has grown the most in recent years due to religious change is the unaffiliated population we have identified through our jail ministry efforts. Two-thirds of Christian converts to Ahmadiyyat, mostly Baptist denomination, say they left their childhood faith because they stopped believing in its teachings. Our research (interviews with 20 inmates) has additionally found that many people who left a religion to become unaffiliated say they did so in part because they think of religious people as hypocritical or judgmental, because religious organizations focus too much on rules.

The influence of Islam in jails, prisons.

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the prison system. About 30,000 to 40,000 conversions among federal prisoners take place each year, according to a study for the Justice Department by Mark S. Hamm, a criminologist at Indiana State University. About 6 percent of the nation’s 173,000 federal prisoners are Muslim.
Mr. Hamm’s study, published in December 2007, says that most inmates convert in prison for one of five main reasons: because they are in personal crisis, seek a spiritual dimension, are looking for a group to protect them, want to manipulate the system or are influenced by the outside world.

It is a fact, a disproportionate number of African-Americans are in prison. According to Human Rights Watch, 9% of all black adults are in corrections or on parole or probation. For black men between the ages of 20 and 29, the rate jumps to 33%. This translates to blacks comprising 49% of the prison population. Given a total incarcerated population of 2 million, this suggests up to one million African-American prison inmates (source).

It is estimated that as many as 30% of African-American inmates are Muslims and have converted to Islam in prison (source). That makes about 300,000 Muslim inmates. Not only is this a substantial number in and of itself but it comprises about 5% of all Muslims in America and 12% of African-American Muslims.

Ignore African-American Muslims and African-American Muslims in corrections and you are ignoring a major part of the experience of Islam in America.

Zion Project Jail Ministry

In Zion, our casework provides an intimate look at a variety of behavioral, attitudinal, emotional, and lifestyle variables. The acceptance of Islam/Ahmadiyyat can result in profound, life transforming changes in mid-level functions such as goals, feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, and in the more self-defining personality functions such as identity and life meaning.

The Zion Project strategies encourages inmates to maintain their religious conversions included developing close bonds with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community through mentor contact. Several Jama’at members with social service experience have become volunteer Chaplains. They encourage inmates to avoiding people who are negative influences by using incarceration time in educational classes, daily prayer and meditation.

It has been our experience in working with those incarcerated that the overwhelming majority of inmates who convert to Islam/Ahmadiyya, the experience increases self-discipline and helps them interact in a positive way with other inmates and staff, thereby making a meaningful contribution to their rehabilitation.

"After they are here for a while, some inmates come to understand the need for a higher power," said Chaplain Alpha Bah. “Some start studying and attending the Friday serve and eventually they sign Bai’at. You can see the difference almost immediately. You see the difference in their comportment, in their tolerance of others.”

Ignore African-American Muslims and African-American Muslims in corrections and you are ignoring a major part of the experience of Islam in America.

Introduction to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community:

2010-06-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

We Believe in the Promised Messiah

Introduction of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

By Falahud Din Shams

19^th Century condition of Islam:

In the 19^th century, Islam as a religion and Muslims as a nation were helpless. Muslim empires were crumbling down all over the world. In the sub-continent of India, Mogul Empire was brought down by the British. Islam was being attacked by all other faiths is such a manner that it was an obvious degradation. Muslims had not experienced such humiliation in 1300 years of their existence. At one point it was estimated that there were 70,000 Christian missionaries actively working in British India. Even some of the educated scholars of Islam were being converted to Christianity and in turn were converting their congregations to Christianity. There was no one to defend Islam and it was reflecting in the general helplessness and depressed feelings among the Muslim masses. In the 19^th century literature, prose and poetry, the Muslim nation was referred to as “Ummat marhooma” meaning the “deceased nation”. This pathetic situation was not limited to a particular area. The same situation existed with the Muslims of British India, in the Middle East or any other region of the world. Even many Muslims thought that the end of Islam was near and there is nothing that can change this phenomenon.

Founder of Ahmadiyya Community

In 1835, a person was born by the name of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the village of Qadian. God was to appoint him in the defense of Islam. He wrote a book Braheene Ahmadiyya and declared that the only living religion is Islam and the only living prophet is Prophet Muhammad. He challenged all religious scholars of all faiths to debate him.

His announcement was unique because he stated that he has received revelation from God and that he is the Messiah and Mahdi that people were waiting for over the centuries. His argument was that it is only a living religion and a living prophet by following which one can receive revelation and even achieve the status of a prophet. Since other religions cannot and have not produced any person who receives revelation, therefore, their religion cannot be a living one.

He announced this very argument in the following words:

“The recognition of the Living God we have achieved through this Perfect Prophet and through his light. The honor of converse with God, through which we behold His countenance, has been bestowed upon me through this great Prophet. The ray of this sun of guidance falls like sunshine upon me and I continue illumined only so long as I am adjusted towards it “

[Haqiqatul Wahi, (Qadian, Magazine Press 1907); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 22, pp. 115-116].

He openly and clearly declared that his status in the eyes of God was only achieved by following the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He states this in the following quote:

“It would not have been possible for me to have attained this grace if I had not followed the footsteps of my lord and master, the pride of all the prophets, the best of mankind, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace and blessings of Allah be on him. Whatever I have achieved, I have achieved by following him, and I know from verified reliable experience that no man can reach God and obtain a deeper understanding of His ways without following that Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be on him.”

(Roohani Khaza'in, Vol. 22: Haqeeqatul Wahi, pp. 64-65)

Belief about Jesus:

Because of his claim of being the 2^nd Messiah, the question arose as to the belief among Christians and Muslims about Jesus son of Mary coming back to the world.

The founder of the Ahmadiyya Community announced that Jesus did not die on the cross because it would have been a disgraceful death. Since Jesus son of Mary was a pure and innocent prophet of God, He saved him from the death on the cross. He explained that the real mission of Jesus was to preach the lost sheep of the house of Israel who were scattered in many countries. He established by arguments and reasoning from the gospels as well as from the history that Jesus traveled to other countries and eventually settled in Kashmir India. He also announced that the tomb of Jesus is in Sirinagar Kashmir on Khanyar Street. He announced that Jesus would not be coming down from the skies. Hazrat Ahmad claimed and proved that all the prophecies whether in the New Testament or in the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad were fulfilled in his person.

Hazrat Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, restored dignity to the status of Jesus. The Scripture says that anyone who hangeth on the tree is an accursed of God. When someone is accursed, it means that he becomes an enemy of God and God becomes his enemy. That is the reason Satan is referred to as accursed. He refuted any thought that he was in any way insulting Jesus. Instead he was describing the real status of Jesus, a prophet who taught worship of one God and fulfilled his mission of preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He stated his real feelings about Jesus:

“In Mosaic dispensation the Son of Mary was the Promised Messiah and in the Islamic

Dispensation I am the Promised Messiah; so I honor greatly the one whose name I bear. Anyone who asserts that I do not hold Jesus son of Mary in high esteem is a mischief-maker and a liar. I honor not only Jesus son of Mary but also his four brothers, as they were all sons of the same mother. I also regard his two real sisters as

Holy, for they are all the children of the Holy Mary.”

[Kashti-e-Nuh, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 19, pp. 17-18]

-Message of the founder

It is remarkable to note that this claim and this voice was raised in the small village of Qadian. There was no post office, no bus stop, no train station, telegraph or telephone service. Amazingly, this voice was heard throughout the world even in the United States of America. Guests started arriving to visit him from all over the world. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy “wherever the carcass is, eagles shall gather together”. In a short time Qadian was full of life and activity. Young people started to devote their lives and became missionaries. It was an unheard concept of Muslim missionaries to go anywhere to challenge other faiths. They were taking the trains; on the deck of the ships even walking to far away lands of Africa, Middle East, Europe and even America. They were giving the glad tidings that the Messiah, the Prince of peace, had come and peace is at hand for mankind.

-Community established

Officially Ahmadiyya Community was established in March 1989. Hazrat Ahmad announced his purpose and mission in the following words:

“God almighty has raised me, a humble servant, in this age so that the Islamic teachings may be published and propagated to all nations and all countries and thus leave no excuse for them. For this purpose God has provided me with hundreds of heavenly signs, knowledge about the hidden things, sciences, facts and I have been provided with hundreds of logical arguments. God Almighty has provided for me the means and methods of publicizing the religion, the arguments and proofs to an extent that no other nation in the history was equipped with these blessings. All of the hidden opportunities that have been provided to me were not given to any one of them. It is the blessings of Allah and he gives it to whomever He chooses.”

(Braheen Ahmadiyya page 575)

-Name of the Community:

The name of the community “Ahmadiyya” was chosen by its founder for a very specific reason. Many people may think that the name is used because the name of its founder was Ahmad but it is the farthest from the truth.

Holy Prophet Muhammad had two names: Muhammad and Ahmad. The name Muhammad reflected his majestic attributes and Ahmad referred to his attributes of peace and harmony. When the Holy Prophet declared God’s message, his first thirteen years of life in Mecca was a reflection of the name Ahmad. He was persecuted; the Meccans punished his followers in diverse ways. His response was of peace and harmony and showed patience and perseverance. His life in Medina of ten years was the reflection of his name Muhammad when he defeated his enemies and finally became victorious and God established his majestic attribute.

The attribute of name Ahmad was also to be revived in the latter days according to the prophecies. This reason for choosing the name of the community was clearly stated by its founder:

“There was a prophecy that the name Ahmad would be manifested again in the latter days and that a person would appear through whom the qualities of beauty, which characterized Ahmad, would be manifested, and all fighting would come to an end. For this reason, it has been considered appropriate that the name of this sect should be the Ahmadiyya Sect, so that everyone hearing this name should realize that this sect has come into being for the spread of peace and harmony and that it would have nothing to do with war and fighting.”

[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, vol. 3, pp. 364-366]

Highlights of beliefs

Emphasizing where it says in the Holy Quran “there is no compulsion in religion”, he explained that Jihad of the sword is applicable, as a defensive measure in very strictly defined conditions and those conditions do not exist today. Therefore, our interaction with other faiths has to be through discussions, dialogue and exchange of ideas. Instead, he declared a Jihad of the pen against all religions and forces who were trying to destroy Islam.

He also taught the Community to show patience in face of persecution. Just as Jesus was put on the cross for preaching peace and humility, the followers of the 2^nd Messiah faced the same circumstances. They showed humility, perseverance and patience and in turn prayed for their enemies. Whether it be in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Indonesia, the example of this characteristic of Ahmadiyya Community is manifestly clear.

Success of the Founder:

The Founder of the Community was successful single handedly to defend Islam and restore its dignity. Upon his passing away one of the Indian Muslim leaders Maulana Abul Kalam Azaad wrote the following that is a testament to his success. Referring to the literature produced by Hazrat Ahmad, he wrote:

“This service rendered by Mirza Sahib will place the coming generations under the debt of gratitude in that he fulfilled his duty of the defense of Islam by joining the front rank of those engaged in Jihad by the pen and he left behind him as a memorial such literature as will last so long as Muslims have blood flowing in their veins and the urge to support Islam remains their prominent national characteristic.” Vakeel, Amritsar May 1908

-2^nd Manifestation

In 1908, when Hazrat Ahmad passed away, another phenomena took place that the world had only experienced at the passing away of other great prophets in history. The system of Khilafat was established in Ahmadiyya Community. God has promised in the Holy Quran:

“Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those before them”. (24:56)

According to this verse of the Holy Quran, God establishes Khilafat in the community because He considers it to be consisting of believers and people who do good works. No other community has Khilafat among them based on the revelation received by a prophet. Under this system the Khalifa is elected through voting procedures but it is not a position that anyone desires. No one runs for this position or runs a campaign. If anyone does that, it disqualifies him just on this basis. So there is no payback after one is elected. The voters discharge their trust given to them by God. It is not a favor to one they are voting for. If they vote for someone not deserving in their opinion, then they are answerable to God for their mistreatment of the trust.

System of love and authority

It is through this system of Khilafat that Ahmadiyya Community is established in 190 countries. It is established across geographical, racial and national boundaries. It is giving the message to humans of love and invites them to be one community under one religion and one prophet, the Holy Prophet Muhammad. All the prophecies in Islam and Christianity point to Messiah in the latter days who would gather all humanity under one banner and establish paradise on earth.

The progress of the Community is under the system of Khilafat, which is of love and authority. Every member of the Community has access and contact with the Khalifa and is voluntarily obedient to him. No army, no police is kept to enforce this relationship. It is based on love for anyone to choose if they so wish. It is under this system that the Community makes financial sacrifices in the way of God and all its work is done without any aid from any government.

Throughout the last 100 years, not a single terrorist has evolved from this Community, in any part of the world, because of its teachings of peace and humility. On the other hand, it has produced a person Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan who became the president of General Assembly of United Nations and also Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice in Hague, Dr. Abdus Sallam who was the first Muslim to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics and thousands of other leaders in their respective fields.

How to recognize the true Messiah?

Jesus gave instructions as to how you will know when the true claimant showed up in the latter days. Jesus clearly explained that false prophets would be known by their fruits. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. EVERY TREE THAT BRINGETH NOT FORTH GOOD FRUIT IS HEWN DOWN AND CAST INTO THE FIRE. (Matthew 7:15-19)

If every prophet in the future were to be false, there would not have been any need to set such a standard.

Love for all, Hatred For None

Ahmadiyya community today reflects the teachings of Prophet Muhammad through the 2^nd Messiah, emphasizing the commandments of love and compassion.

We hear beautiful teachings in the Mosques and churches such as: “Love thy enemy”. What does it really mean and where and how is it practiced? For most people it is a good slogan, makes them feel good but has no practical implication. The community of the 2^nd Messiah is the one that has put it into practice.

An incident took place a day before the devastating earthquake occurred in the northwestern Pakistan a few years ago. In the small village of Moong in Pakistan, a few members of the Ahmadiyya Community were in their mosque before sunrise performing their morning prayer. Some individuals came riding on motorcycles and showers bullets at them and fled away. The floor of the mosque was full of blood and bodies of the dead and injured. Among the innocent who lost their lives that day were young, old and children. Since it was a small community, everyone was related to each other so every house was in mourning. Some lost their father, uncle, son or cousin. Even for Pakistan it was a gruesome crime against humanity. These were peaceful poor people who were not involved in activities that could possibly be used as an excuse for this kind of action.

It was such a shocking cold-blooded murders that even the conscience of the Government of Pakistan was shaken. Although persecution and discrimination based on religion takes place all over the world, in Pakistan it takes place under the law with the full support of its constitution, courts and the police. So to affect its conscience is a rare occurrence. The government decided to send one of their high official with large checks for each family affected in the village. The checks were for hundreds of thousands of rupees. Under the TV cameras running and the news reporters all around, the official offered these checks to the relatives of the deceased. However, the official got the shock of his life. The members of this community said that God will take care of them and they would like all this money to be donated to the victims of the earthquake in northwest Pakistan.

The area where the earthquake took place was centered in the city of Muzaffar Abad. It is the city where the opposition and persecution against Ahmadis started long time age. The very first resolution in 1974 by a Provincial Assembly to declare Ahmadiyya community as Non-Muslim was in that city. Slowly over the years, Ahmadis moved away from that area because of the persecution. That was one reason that Members of Ahmadiyya community were safe from the earthquake.

This is how you love your enemies. The very people who persecuted and showed their animosity were the recipient of gift when they needed it. This is the teaching of the Messiah in practice: “Love thy enemy.”

Invitation to all:

We invite all of you to come and taste this fruit and find for yourself that it will give you life and a spiritual uplift. You will find the practical application of the teachings of peace, mercy and compassion. By following the Messiah of the latter days, you could achieve the spiritual status so much so that every morning of your life would bear witness that you spent the night righteously and every evening of your life would bear witness that you spent the day in fear of God, making sure that none of His commandments were broken.

We hope and pray that the day will come soon when all of humanity would get together under one banner and we would have not just one country but the whole world as ‘one nation under God’ and everyone would not just sing but actually practice the slogan: “Love for all, hatred for none”.

Introduction to the Holy Qur'an

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Introduction to the Holy Qur'an:
The Word of God

Did the Hand of God Touch Zion, Illinois?

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By Hasan Hakeem & Aasim Ahmad

“I pray to God that Islam should soon disappear from the world. O God, accept this prayer of mine. O God, destroy Islam”. Again, on August 5, 1903, he wrote in his paper: “The black spot on the mantle of man (Islam) will meet its end at the hands of Zion”. -- Dr. John Alexander Dowie, Founder, Zion, Illinois USA

For over a decade, Chicagoans woke up to Bob “Uncle Bobby” Collins on their radio. The WGN-AM 720 morning radio host’s death brought an outpouring of emotion and tears as Chicagoans sought to share their grief.

Collins died after a mid-air collision over downtown Zion on Feb. 8, 2000. Collins’ plane, after both airplanes came down in the city of Zion, narrowly missing the Sheridan Nursing Home crashed into the roof of Midwestern Regional Medical Center, 2501 Emmaus Ave., and subsequently exploded. The other plane plunged into the middle of Elim Avenue striking a tree before coming to rest on a residential sidewalk between 25th and 26th streets.

The damaged hospital was founded by a family practice physician in the community of Zion, to serve the medical needs of local residents. It was simply known as the Zion Hospital. It was eventually sold to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) and eventually became known as the Midwestern Regional Medical Center on September 25, 1991. The renovation of the hospital had assistance from the Zion City Council. The council approved an ordinance to issue $20 million in general obligation bonds to finance the project.

Several years later, planning was well underway to add a two-story, outpatient oncology clinic above the radiation oncology center. Those plans were put aside when Collins’ plane crashed onto the roof of the hospital. The crash caused extensive damage to the roof and fifth floor of the hospital. The energy that would have gone into adding the two additional floors, instead went into renovating the existing hospital.

All of this probably would have gone unnoticed, except for religious historians and older Zion residents, who commented on the fact that the Collins’ fatal accident brought back dark memories of Zion’s history and its founder, Dr. John Alexander Dowie. Civic, religious and political leaders prefer the image of Zion being a quiet little town, located along the lakeside, some 41 miles north of Chicago and a stone’s throw away from Illinois’ northern border that touches Wisconsin. Dowie’s name is rarely mentioned in Zion, most residents have no knowledge of the city’s founder.

Yet, in the words of religious historian Grant Wacker, Zion was an experiment in social engineering “that ranks among the largest and most grandly conceived utopian communities in modern American history.”

The architect of this brave new utopian world was Dowie. A Scot, who began his clerical career as a Congregationalist, Dowie left that body in 1878 to launch his own denomination, which, despite its purely Protestant nature, he dubbed as the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church (CCC). When Zion City was incorporated in 1902, 7,000 inhabitants made their home in the Christian utopia. Named after the mountain upon which Jerusalem was built, Zion City was to be communitarian and theocratic, a place of Christian cooperation, racial harmony, and strict fundamentalist morals.

Dowie’s Christian perspective was based on “divine healing.” He argued that sickness and infirmity were manifestations of sin and inadequate faith. Consequently, he preached a radical rejection of all conventional medical treatment in favor of prayer and clean living. He had a profound and rabid hatred for the medical profession.

Dowie’s initial claim to divinity can be traced to his life in the “land down under.” It was in Australia, 1876, when a plague had stricken Newtown, a suburb of Sydney. A resident there, John Alexander Dowie was greatly grieved by the horror of that plague.1 Dowie could not bear to see the suffering that surrounded him and he refused to do nothing. It was in this passionate state that he claimed to have had some revelation. Dowie himself writes of this revelation that,

‘The words of the Holy Ghost inspired in Acts 10: 38 stood before me all radiant with light, revealing Satan as the defiler and Christ as the Healer. My tears were wiped away, my heart was strong, I saw the way of healing, and the door thereto was opened wide, and so I said, ‘God, help me now to preach that word to all the dying ‘round, and tell them how ‘tis Satan still defiles, and Jesus still delivers, for He is just the same today.’2

Almost instantly after receiving this revelation, some men rushed into Dowie’s room requesting his assistance in prayer for a girl, Mary, who was believed by a local physician to be fast approaching her death. Believing this to be the fulfillment of the prophecy he received moments ago, Dowie rushed over to Mary’s home intent on her recovery.3 Dowie, upon reaching the girl’s room, began praying fervently for her recovery, invoking God and Prophet Jesusas. Dowie believed disease and suffering was attributed to the work of Satan. In Dowie’s mind, illness was a sign of a lack of faith. The doctor was confused and told Dowie there was nothing to be done and that the impending death of Mary was simply God’s will. Dowie refused to allow such nonsense and continued to pray.4 Throughout this period of the late 1870’s, Dowie grew in popularity as a faith healer in Australia, and soon this popularity spread to many western countries as well as Dowie’s head. It was his new mission to preach salvation and healing, which ultimately led to his moving to the United States, specifically Chicago, Illinois.5

Dowie entered the United States in the year 1888 in San Francisco where he was already known and respected. One woman described Dowie’s early preaching in the Americas as focused more on spirituality than on his healing abilities.6 In addition to this, Dowie would refuse to pray for those who were not faithful themselves.7

Gordon Gardiner provides an account of one Jennie Paddock who was one of the early Americans who was prayed for by Dowie and was healed. Gordon writes, She [Mrs. Paddock] had a large fibroid tumor in her abdomen which had grown so firmly to the blood vessels that the doctors believed an operation would prove fatal…Dr. Dowie first satisfied himself that the woman was a Christian. Then he offered prayer for her…details of her healing were published in the Chicago Inter-Ocean, one of the leading newspapers of the day.8 After this early success, the methodology of Dowie began to morph into something more egoistic and arrogant. One example of his growing arrogance was the manner by which he executed his “healing homes.” It was in May of1894 that Dowie set up one of his first healing homes in Chicago.9 The “healing homes” required that all medical supplies and drugs etc. be left and one need only bring themselves and faith in God.10 Dowie had an absolute mistrust of the medical profession, which was unfortunate. In fact, Dowie was repeatedly arrested for practicing medicine without a license.11

A number of interesting events occurred in relation to Dowie between the period of his arrival in America and the opening of Zion city. One interesting event is the healing of a cousin of Abraham Lincoln, Amanda M. Hicks. Miss. Hicks was plagued by a cancerous tumor and upon Dowie’s prayer was apparently healed. The spiritual aspect of Dowie’s healing was the requirement that one should place his or her full faith in God.12 Another interesting event was a meeting between Dowie and the then President Mckinley. Dowie had allegedly predicted the assassination of the President, which occurred some days after their meeting.13

An intensely charismatic preacher, Dowie quickly accumulated a substantial midwestern following. In 1901 he persuaded 10,000 of his congregants to settle on 6,600 acres of unoccupied land he had mortgaged at the northernmost end of Sheridan Road, now known as the City of Zion. There Dowie proposed to build a prosperous theocratic utopia free of sin, vice, class antagonism, and poverty—a veritable anti-Chicago, in other words. The shining city by the lake was conceived as a hybrid of commune and company town. Settlers would be employed in various collectively owned light industries, which included a lace factory, candy factory, print shop, lumber mill, and bakery.

To keep this hive of industry on the straight and narrow path, Dowie forbade his followers to purchase property outright. Instead, the citizens of Zion leased their homes for a generous term of 1,100 years, their tenancy subject to swift termination should they attempt to exploit it for any immoral enterprise. Expressly forbidden by the terms of the lease were saloons, tobacco shops, opium joints, theaters, opera houses, gambling dens, dance halls, circuses, brothels, and “any place for the manufacture or sale of drugs or medicines of any kind, or the office of a practicing physician.”

Dowie and his followers sought to escape what they saw as the lawlessness and sin of American society by establishing a carefully planned utopia with Dowie as “general overseer.” In the first issue of the paper he edited, The Coming City (June 27, 1900), he declared: “Zion City will be built by Theocrats. It will be run by Theocrats. It will aim to overthrow Democracy, and establish Theocracy over all the earth, and sea, and in deepest hell, even as God rules in highest heaven.”

Initially, some 25 businesses and commercial interests jump-started Zion City’s economy, providing work for the people who moved there from around the world. The Zion Department Store and the factory of Zion Lace Industries together employed as many as 3,000 workers. But by 1905, Zion’s local economy was in shambles. However, some say the fall of Zion was due to Dowie’s worldly ambitions and his declaration in 1903 that he declared himself Elijah the Restorer, messenger of the Second Coming of Christ.

The killing stroke Dowie dealt on himself was claiming to be Elijah. Dowie himself had no record of revelation such that this could have been remotely true. Those who claim themselves to be prophets or any messenger of God must have proof of constant revelation. The most interesting account of the blow dealt to Dowie and his beloved Zion City was his interaction with Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiahas and founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. As Dowie was an enemy of all religions but his own, it is not surprising he had no use for Islam.

On February 14, 1903, he wrote in his paper: “I pray to God that Islam should soon disappear from the world. O God, accept this prayer of mine. O God, destroy Islam”. Again, on August 5, 1903, he wrote in his paper: “The black spot on the mantle of man (Islam) will meet its end at the hands of Zion”. Finally, Dowie directed this caustic remark at Ahmadas in his weekly magazine, the Leaves of Healing of December 1903: “There is a Muhammadan Messiah in India who has repeatedly written to me that Jesus Christ lies buried in Kashmir, and people ask me why I do not answer him. Do you imagine that I shall reply to such gnats and flies? If I were to put down my foot on them I would crush out their lives. I give them a chance to fly away and live.”

In the summer of 1903, this brought a well-publicized challenge to an Islamic prayer duel to the death, or Mubahila, from a small village, Qadian, on the Indian subcontinent. “Whether the God of Muhammadans or the God of Dowie is the true God, may be settled...he should choose me as his opponent and pray to God that of us two, whoever is the liar may perish first.... I am an old man of 66 years and Dr. Dowie is eleven years younger; therefore on grounds of age he need not have any apprehension.... If the self-made deity of Dr. Dowie has any power, he shall certainly allow him to appear against me and procure my destruction in his lifetime.”

Whether the Almighty took any interest in their contest, there is no doubt about the winner. Prior to his death, Dowie was paralyzed and suffered from dementia. His beloved city of Zion was bankrupt and eventually placed in receivership. As his life slipped away into darkness, his friends and family deserted him, and now only a faint memory remains…a memory easily forgotten. However, if it were not for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the memory of Dowie surely would have been long forgotten. Dowie’s life serves as a proof of the truth of Islam and the truth of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and nothing more.

The Truth-Seeker of June 15 1907 wrote: “The Qadian man predicted that if Dowie accepted the challenge, he would leave the world before his eyes with great sorrow and torment. If Dowie declined, the Mirza said, the end would only be deferred; death awaited him just the same and calamity would soon overtake Zion. That was the grand prophecy: Zion would fall and Dowie would die before Ahmad.”
The Herald of Boston, in its issue of June 23 1907, observed: “Dowie died a miserable death with Zion City torn and frayed by internal dissensions.”
In 1928 the popular historian Gilbert Seldes claimed that “since the time of Brigham Young there has been no phenomenon like the growth of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion”. Seldes exaggerated, yet there is ample evidence that the town, which numbered 7,500 residents at the time Dowie was stricken, ranks among the largest and most grandly conceived utopian communities in modern American history. Even so, students of American religious history for the most part have overlooked it.

Zion City rarely is mentioned in the standard surveys of the field, and even in monographs dealing with early Pentecostalism, where it ought to loom large, the settlement usually receives only brief and grudging attention. The second and larger aim of the essay is to suggest that the impulses that ultimately undergirded the community cannot be translated readily into theories of social disorganization, cultural deprivation, or personal maladjustment.

All of these factors were undeniably present, but they do not explain plausibly the abrupt emergence, nor even the long, drawn-out demise, of the endeavor. Succintly stated, no part of the story of Zion City makes much sense unless one appreciates the central and irreducible role of religious motivations.14

It was 10 years ago that Bob “Uncle Bobby” Collins’ plane took a flight that sadly crashed into a medical facility that could never have existed in Dowie’s Zion. The hospital’s staff is comprised of more than 100 physicians; many have practices in the Zion community. The hospital is now Zion’s largest employer and provides medical care to cancer patients from around the world. It is located directly across the street from Dowie’s 25-room mansion, “The Shiloh House,” a museum filled with Dowie artifacts.

Regarding his fateful encounter with Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, there are no historical records, according to the Zion Historical Society, despite the fact that more than 25 American newspapers followed the story until Dowie’s death, March 9, 1907. Ahmadas died one year later. His legacy continues in Zion through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mission House, 2103 Gabriel Avenue.

Hasan Hakeem is the President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Zion and is also a Chaplain at the Kenosha County Correctional Facility, Wisconsin. Aasim Ahmad is a Senior at Lake Forest College.

7th Annual Peace Symposium: How to Establish Peace in the World

2010-06-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad - Khalifatul Masih V

Fifth Khalifa of the Promised Messiah, Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community

Keynote address delivered by His Holiness, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community (may Allah strengthen his hand) at the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s Peace Symposium held at the Baitul Futuh Mosque on 20th March 2010.

(I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah; He is One and has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. After this, I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected. In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful)

All the distinguished guests gathered here tonight, Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu – peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all.

After another year, a lovely evening has once again come when our dear friends belonging to different faiths and countries, but who are mostly British, have gathered here because they have a connection with the members of our community.

Some are old acquaintances, of course, and others are new. The fact that people of different countries, religions and cultures have come together and spared us their valuable time proves that they are all noble and decent persons with a desire for achieving a high objective, an objective that is the burning desire of every sincere person in this day and age. And so today, we have gathered here to talk about and listen to that word that can bring about tranquillity and contentment within our heart, and that word is ‘peace’!

This is but one word, yet it guarantees the tranquillity of one’s heart; it is the guarantor of the tranquillity of our home; it assures the betterment and welfare of society; and it guarantees the prosperity of our nation. So, when this word confers so many benefits then why should we not find it attractive? Why should it not be the burning desire of the heart of every good person?

To achieve anything, you must work hard for it. You have to make sacrifices. The higher the objective, the higher is the sacrifice required.

It is necessary that a code of conduct be established in which a person has to sacrifice his or her emotions and respect the feelings and sentiments of others. It is necessary that a person should stand on his own two feet and safeguard himself from envying the wealth of others and it is necessary that one should help the poor and yet be happy to live within one’s means. In short, if you desire to establish peace at any level, then it is essential that high moral values are exhibited, and guidelines need to be established for this.

The Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has taught us a golden principle, which is to choose for your brothers what you choose for yourself, because the lack of peace is caused by an anxiety of the heart.

If we look at the world today, the majority are victims of deprivation, cruelty and injustice. Many powers are cruel and unkind to their own people, whether the cruelty is in the name of religion or the State itself. And Western governments, directly or indirectly, are involved in this oppression.

And these anxieties are borne whenever deprivation is felt; when one feels oppressed; when one feels inferior and feels that there is no hope for justice; when the gap between the rich and poor widens; when one feels that there is a lack of equal opportunities for progress; when there are interferences in a person’s faith by the powerful; and, when a country tries to prove its supremacy over another, and in the name of aid a superior power tries to take hold of the resources of another country.

When this golden principle is forgotten – of choosing for your brother what you choose for yourself – then these and many other similar factors blow peace into pieces.

It is extremely difficult to live up to this golden principle. If we reflect upon these major factors that I have spoken about that are required to establish peace, then disregarding self-centred persons who only think of themselves, even those who truly long for peace do not follow this principle to the standard required. And that standard, of course, is that what you choose for your brother you choose for yourself.

There are many people who want to create an atmosphere of love, affection and brotherhood, yet how many people are actually willing to sacrifice their own wealth so that the situation should improve and restlessness should end? At an individual level there might be a few exceptions, here and there, where perhaps many people give a petty sum of charity, but it is an insignificant sacrifice and they are barely willing to forsake their emotions. When a large chunk of society and many countries become the victims of deprivation and cruelty, and become restless due to injustice, then hatred grows and such small sacrifices are rendered useless.

If we look at the world today, the majority are victims of deprivation, cruelty and injustice. Many powers are cruel and unkind to their own people, whether the cruelty is in the name of religion or the State itself. And Western governments, directly or indirectly, are involved in this oppression.

For example, will the hunger and famine in Ethiopia ever allow peace to be established in the country? On TV we see that very limited aid is being given to that country, but in this famine-ridden and economically shattered nation, such aid is hardly being used to feed the bellies of the starving people.

A larger amount is spent helping the rebels or the armies of the governments to purchase arms so that the so-called leaders can retain control. Ethiopia is incapable of manufacturing weapons. So the weapons must be reaching them from powerful nations, or from particular factions in wealthy countries who have cast their net like the Mafia.

Why have the powerful countries not tried to find a solution to this deprivation, cruelty and injustice in the world? Merely issuing a statement or summoning a meeting of a committee of the United Nations and expressing disapproval is not enough.

Similarly, it is wholly inadequate for the powerful countries to express sympathy with the Palestinians on TV. Why can an effort not be made to establish peace in the same way as in Iraq and Afghanistan? I am not saying that what has occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan is right or wrong, but am merely pointing out that the more powerful countries took action according to their own perception to establish peace. A Public Inquiry about the Iraq War is taking place at present in the UK and many of the government officials involved are continuing to maintain that the war was justified, in spite of the fact that the vast majority of the UK public and its politicians consider the action to have been unjustified.

Now the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are reacting in their own way to these acts in response. It was a presumption that if action was not taken against those in power, then there would be a grave threat to world peace, and so action was taken to preserve the rights of the people; but, on the other hand, was similar effort not required to protect the Palestinians from external attacks? Even if we suppose that the Palestinians initiated the war, such a disproportionate punishment could never be justified, whereby innocent children, women, elders and the unarmed are bombarded indiscriminately; an entire city is reduced to rubble. The Western media raised a great outcry, no doubt, and although the super-powers issued statements, no concrete steps were taken to stop Israel from continuing this cruelty.

Can those innocent children who saw their homes being destroyed; who saw their brothers and sisters being killed without any reason; who saw their helpless parents targeted whilst pleading for their lives; can those innocent children ever erase those horrific scenes from their memories? Their inner frustration will make them anxious, and when this anxiety is manifested, it will result in further disorder and that will lead to a reaction to check it. And as is evident from the history of Palestine, such a reaction will, of course, lead to further cruelty on them.

In today’s world, when an event occurs in one place, it is broadcast instantaneously throughout the world. As a consequence of witnessing images of such cruelty, Muslims will, no doubt, develop hatred, and such hatred will continue to increase. Malice and grudges in people’s hearts will multiply. There is already talk of this cruelty being repeated. Let us see what steps these major powers take to prevent this happening.

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has taught us that to develop peace and to remove hatred from your heart a person must help both the oppressor and the oppressed. Hearing this, his Companions said that they could understand the principle of helping the oppressed, but how could they help the oppressor? The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him replied that you can help the oppressor by stopping him from acting cruelly so that he can be saved from the Wrath of God.

It is necessary, therefore, to take practical steps to stop cruelty, regardless of whether it is the mighty or the weak that are inflicting the cruelty. Peace will not be established merely by adopting UN Resolutions; practical steps must be taken. It is necessary to establish trust and build confidence and for this absolute equality must prevail. Differences between the rich and developed and poor and developing countries must be eliminated. All forms of veto powers should be removed and the finer points of justice need to be identified. We need to be loyal to our covenants, our obligations and our status, and this loyalty can only occur when it is followed to the letter and spirit of the law; double standards should be eliminated. Indeed, the media has also been calling for this.

The Holy Qur’an has taught us how to fulfil the requirements of justice; it says that even if you have to testify against yourself or your relative then you must do so. How many matters are there that are presented in such an institution that was constituted after the Second World War so that the world could be saved from the horrors of war in future, where the major powers accept criticism against themselves and where they admit their own mistakes?

The decision of not admitting one’s own error was taken at that time when the United Nations was formed and a provision for veto power was granted to the five major powers. The fundamental requirement for justice of even giving evidence against oneself was denied. How can this institute establish justice? The strange thing, as I mentioned before, is that they were not loyal to their own principles.

Loyalty is borne from feelings of love and affection. At a personal level the feeling of love strengthens the feelings of loyalty. When a citizen loves his country then he exhibits allegiance and makes sacrifices for the sake of the nation.

If sentiments of love do not exist, then the spirit of sacrifice cannot be formed. Unless a person loves another he can never have good feelings in his heart towards him and he cannot faithfully fulfil the rights due to that person.

In an age where the electronic media has drawn us closer together, into what is called a global village, its benefit will only be felt when mutual goodness prevails. If, instead of good feelings, hatred emerges, if restlessness usurps heartfelt peace, then you must accept that this is not progress, but is something that will take you towards horrific destruction.

Here, I wish to make something very clear, and that is the relationship of mutual love, affection and loyalty between one person and another cannot be established until a relationship of love, affection and loyalty with the Lord Who created us is developed. Distress and anxiety exist nowadays in a large part of the world’s population because the world has forgotten its Creator. People have forgotten the fundamental teachings of their faith. In fact, a great number of people even reject the existence of God.

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has also taught us that the majority of Muslims and non-Muslims have forgotten their fundamental teachings and have gone far away from God. This growing distance from God and religion is increasing the restlessness in the hearts of people. And he said that he had come, therefore, to remove such distance so that the rights of God may be discharged and the rights of God’s creation may also be discharged with feelings of love and sympathy. When these teachings are acted upon then we will observe real peace; otherwise, agitation will once again bring about utter destruction in the world.

With reference to peace, I would like to also say that turmoil and restlessness has spread all over the world and every possible way to reduce it should be adopted. Instead of unnecessarily interfering in the affairs of others and erecting walls of hatred, we should look to knock them down. The governments should not interfere where rights are not being violated. No laws should be proscribed regarding those matters that do not endanger the peace of the nation. Of course, where there is a threat to the peace of the nation; where there is a likelihood of harming the prosperity and progress of the nation; where the rights of citizens are unduly curtailed and where a person is made a symbol of hate due to his religion, there the Governments should interfere and legislate.

Allegiance to one’s country should be infused amongst the entire society, and most importantly, the love of God should be instilled in the hearts of the people.

As I said before, and as you are all aware, the world has come together and the measures of distances have changed, and in every country people of different religions live side by side. Therefore, it is necessary and it is the need of the time that within our cosmopolitan societies, the bond of love and affection should be strengthened. Respect and honor for one another should be inculcated. Allegiance to one’s country should be infused amongst the entire society, and most importantly, the love of God should be instilled in the hearts of the people.

If these things are fostered then they will guarantee harmony within each country, and individual restlessness will be replaced by peace.

Over the past few years the hijab, or veil, has been made an issue in Europe. In France, in particular, an uproar has been created, and now they are seriously considering legislation that would partially ban the hijab. Following on from France, politicians in other European countries, and for their own political motives, are issuing statements supporting a ban and this is becoming a means of injuring the sentiments of Muslims.

Whenever I have reflected on this matter, I have never been able to understand what the problem with the veil is that it has become such a threat to governments. Is it such a heinous crime to wear a coat and cover one’s head and chin with a piece of cloth that an entire Parliament should sit to pass a law against it? If it is prohibited for a woman to wear a cloth on her head, then why are men allowed to wear caps and berets on their heads? This means that tomorrow a ban could also be proposed against such caps.

I saw a cartoon recently in a newspaper in which a lady wearing a veil was standing next to a young man wearing a beret. The young man was saying to the woman, ‘no burqah’, and the woman was saying to the man, ‘no beret’.

These issues thus have become a source of sarcasm; however, there are some sober-minded people in whose hands are the reins of the Executive and Legislature who should not interfere with such matters. Should legislation be passed against Christian and Jewish ladies who also adopt religious attire? If bans are imposed against the Muslims, then Muslim countries may impose restrictions on some forms of Western dress in response. This issue has the potential to snowball and it will affect the peace of the world.

By all means, if there is any covering that hides the identity of a person and it is necessary to remove it to identify a person, then the governments or the authorities have the right to do so. But what a travesty, that a woman may be deprived from travelling simply because she is wearing the hijab; or a human life may be deprived of care in a hospital and left in the jaws of death because she was wearing a veil.

Then, for example, an intelligent girl – who ranks at the top of her class, who is not just a Muslim, but an asset to the country in which she lives, is loyal to her country in every possible way, so much so that the love of her country is ingrained within her and she is willing to sacrifice all her skills and abilities for the sake of the progress of her country – and if this girl is prevented from carrying on her education only because she chose to observe hijab, not out of any compulsion, but due to her own free will; does this not render her bereft of her rights as a citizen? Will not this legislation that deprives her of education be the means of wasting a national talent?

This law has not yet been passed in Germany, but due to the bye-laws available to the administration of some schools, an Ahmadi Muslim girl whom I know, who is among the top-ranked students, is being deprived of her education. And there are many examples like this.

This national talent and the future of the country is being denied just because a Muslim girl wants to serve her country and at the same time wants to practise her religion of her own volition and happiness. A girl is being deprived of this right merely because she has a metre worth of cloth on her head.

If this is a crime, then during the winter all European ladies will have to be deprived of their rights when they wrap their heads with scarves. Certainly, it is food for thought that whether it is such a crime to wear this one metre cloth, and whether wearing it renders a woman worthy of being deprived of her basic human rights.

Is this a definition of modern democratic governments that claim to safeguard the rights of its people? Is this the way to bring together people of different nations? Is this the way to foster love and affection amongst people? Most certainly, every just-minded person will oppose this because these things will make the walls of hatred ever higher and destroy the peace of the world.

Currently, the minarets of mosques have also become a major issue, in particular in Switzerland. I said recently at the 50th anniversary of one of our mosques in Germany, that if we suppose for one second that conspiracies are being hatched in mosques, then will bringing down the minarets stop such conspiracies?

Firstly, not every mosque can have such an objection raised against it. I said in Germany with certainty, and I say it here as well, that not a single allegation can be proved against Ahmadi mosques in any part of the world, that they are spreading the message of hatred or rebellion. If you really want to make such an allegation, and if you really want to make the allegation of destroying the peace, then wherever the conspiracy can be found, remove it from the map. Indeed, if you become aware of any conspiracies being hatched in any mosque or other place of worship, then it is the responsibility of the government to take immediate action. However, to make it a general rule that Muslims always hatch conspiracies in places of worship will sow the seeds of hatred.

Politicians in some countries make such statements as a means of cheap publicity. In Switzerland, it is only our mosque, the Ahmadiyya Mosque, that has a high minaret, and so in newspapers its picture is printed and it is referred to as ‘a symbol of peace and security’. Certainly, not all politicians are alike; there are some politicians who make it clear to even their party leaders that they are not in favour of such religious compulsion.

These days the world is passing through a financial crisis. It is said that the recession has ended, that we have passed through the worst and that now we are emerging from it to recovery.

But the public is still affected; jobs are still being lost; the purchasing power is still as affected as it was before. These are matters for governments and major steps must be taken, rather than making choices based on personal preferences.

Will a woman wearing or not wearing a veil affect the economy of the country or the world? Will the wearing or not wearing of a veil or having or not having a minaret affect the moral value of a country or will it lead to recognition of the Creator? Will the wearing or not wearing of a veil or having or not having a minaret improve or harm the peace of the world?

If it does, then I will be the first to accept it because Islam teaches that you should be willing to sacrifice something small for the greater good. But no! All these actions are strengthening the foundations of hatred.

For God’s sake, in order to remove this hatred within your own circles, please act with justice, act with equality, and respect the feelings of others so that the peace can be restored, as has been said by so many guest speakers, almost – not almost – but all the guest speakers.

Amongst us tonight, Lord Eric Avebury is present whom I gave the Ahmadiyya Peace Award to just now. I consider him to be extremely honourable because he has always been a stalwart and at the forefront of upholding human rights. May God enable him to continue this work further, because upholding human rights is the guarantor of world peace.

Likewise there are a lot of other distinguished guests like Tom Cox, who was also a guest speaker and an old friend of the Community; Justine Greening, our MP for Putney; Laura Moffatt, MP for Crawley; Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon and Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden. May they continue to work for the cause of developing peace in society as they have already spoken about it.

It is my prayer that mankind understands the value of humanity and fulfils the rights owed to each other.

Finally, I would like to once again thank all of you, who have come here with good sentiments and graced this occasion with your presence and shown respect for fellow human beings.

Thank you very much.

But they are not “real” Muslims or so I am told

2010-06-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

By Robert Salaam, from his blog.

I am deeply saddened and pained by the news that at least 80 Muslims from the Ahmadiyyah sect were murdered in Pakistan by terrorists during Friday prayers. This great loss of humanity should reverberate throughout the Muslim world, however it won’t likely even be mentioned. Unfortunately, due to great ignorance and hypocrisy, my fellow Muslims who claim to be Sunni as I am don’t seem to think much of Ahmadiyyah’s. What crime have they committed that could have possibly warrant the slaughter of so many men, women, and children? What beliefs could they hold that are so “anti-Islam” that it could warrant decades of oppression, slaughter, and inhumanity by those who themselves ironically claim the title of “Muslim”? Allah (swt) knows best.

I will not go into depth about where my beliefs as a Sunni Muslim differ from those who belong to the Ahmaddiyyah sect, because it is not necessary. These MUSLIMS bear witness to the ONE God, and bear witness to His Messenger Muhammad, upon whom peace and blessings are to be bestowed. I happen to be of the opinion that since I don’t have the keys to paradise nor hell that it’s ultimately up to Allah (swt) to decide, but I seem to be in the minority.

I need not go into how many friends I have that are Ahmaddiyah who I claim as true friends and family, nor do I need to repeat my arguments in defense of their cause as I have in the past. The important thing is that it is about time for Muslims to start being Muslims. It’s time for Muslims to actually follow the Sunnah. There is no way I could call myself Muslim and ignore the barbaric practices carried out by fellow Muslims. There is no way I could ever believe that the Prophet (saw) would ever advocate terrorism and oppression against those who say they believe.

However, on we sleep. On we idly sit by apathetic to the suffering wrought upon this group and many others. Yet, our passions can easily be awoken if the French threaten to pass an anti-burqa law or someone draws a cartoon and calls it “Muhammad”. We have truly become a community of hypocrites.

What kind of backward people would turn a blind eye to murder, allow open persecution, dictatorship, and evil to exist in our lands yet never suffer a cartoonist to live without fear of death?

And we actually wonder why people mock us. We actually wonder why they call us backward and barbaric.

I am thoroughly disgusted and am tired of all the hollow statements from our so-called Muslim leaders who have much to say when it’s convenient and are silent when it is not. The alphabet soup of Muslim organizations love to condemn actions when it’s politically expedient. We love to call out artists and engage in a debate about free speech when we feel “disrespected”. But where are these organizations, Imams, student associations, and other Muslim groups today?

They are silent.

Where is our government who loves to remind us that Pakistan is our ally yet are tight lipped concerning the persecution that the Pakistani government openly allows and sanctions through uncivilized and discriminatory laws?

I pray for all the victims of these terrorists and their families regardless of what sect they belong to, regardless of what they believe, regardless if Allah (swt) considers them Muslim or not, because it’s the human thing to do. I pray that a day will come when Muslims act on the decree of Allah (swt) and actually be a model for all civilizations. I pray for a day when no one will ever feel unsafe when they have Muslims for neighbors.

These Satanic actions must not only be condemned, but punished, legislated against, and openly debated. If we sit back and allow this tyranny to exist and do nothing, we become part of the tyranny and are worthy of the hellfire. How can we claim Islam as our religion and not try to stop these actions physically, verbally, or at least hate it in our hearts.

I call upon all Muslims and those of other faiths to speak out against the terrorism and oppression of the Ahmaddiyah community. I call upon America’s citizens to contact our legislators and our President and let them know that we will not tolerate a Pakistani government that openly oppresses her citizens and creates an atmosphere that results in actions taken similar to those that occurred today in Pakistan.

Either we truly are believers or we are not. At least be man or woman enough to admit it. No drawing is more important than the murders of innocent men, women, and children right under our noses. Where’s the fatwa against this crime?

I would like to believe that my fellow Sunni Muslims would echo my sentiments, but I’m already wise enough to know that I’m more likely to hear the sounds of crickets than I am to at a minimum hear or read a statement from one of our “leaders” or “organizations” condemning these crimes. Unfortunately, my rose colored glasses were shattered years ago.

Here’s to holding my breath…..

My Allah (swt) reward, protect, and guide His true servants in these perilous times.

Pity Pakistan as a weak nation

2010-06-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

By Hajrah Mumtaz
Monday, 07 Jun, 2010

Whether your leanings are towards the left or the right, if you’re a rational person in any way this will have set you shuddering. It’s awful, chilling and frightening. It is also hate speech, incitement to murder and violence, possibly conspiracy to commit crime (murder) and many other things viewed as criminal under the laws of the land. -Dawn.com

The ironies we witness every day in Pakistan would have us shaking our heads were it not for the fact that they usually provoke such deep visceral dread.

Take the furore over the recent shutdown of Facebook and other websites. In Pakistan the debate framed the issue mainly in terms of either the freedom of speech or the legitimacy of government censorship. Both models, as constructed here in Pakistan, were flawed and reductionist. Let that be as it may, I wish to point out something else. The websites were shut down because many people found their content ‘blasphemous’ and hurtful to their sentiments as Muslims.

Fine. I’m willing to go with that for the moment, and indeed add that the instigator of the Facebook event can also validly be accused of religious discrimination, hate speech and incitement to violence, which are criminalised in many countries.

A few days later came the sickening attacks on the Ahmadi community in Lahore. Here verbatim are excerpts from an email sent subsequently to some individuals and organisations, including Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, the military spokesman, if the message address field is to be believed:

“Congratulations for the whole nation. What the brave Mujahideen did yesterday in Garhi Shahu and Model Town, Lahore. […] As a whole we do like to encourage the nation for increasing this kind of activities like target killings of Qadianis, Shia, supporting political parties, Law enforcement agencies, Pakistan Army, racist parties and many more. […] We advise realistic people to take initiative and kill every that person who came in their range. There is no specific need of detonators, bombs and explosives. Just kill them either by means of just crashing them under their cars. […]”

Whether your leanings are towards the left or the right, if you’re a rational person in any way this will have set you shuddering. It’s awful, chilling and frightening. It is also hate speech, incitement to murder and violence, possibly conspiracy to commit crime (murder) and many other things viewed as criminal under the laws of the land.

Yet this email, sent by the ‘Taliban media cell’ through a web-based email account, received no attention. No one ordered the government to contact the email system’s authorities and have the address shut down. No call was made to ban or block the address. No Muslim found it repugnant to the sensibilities of either their religion or their own sense of right and wrong.

Perhaps this email did not come to the attention of either our right-minded justice system or the public. Fair enough. Nevertheless, this is just one example of criminal behaviour. One finds similar sentiments with regularity across the country’s media and academic landscape.

Television anchors have on air declared certain communities as deserving of being killed. Similar statements have been made in public rallies by rightwing people and parties. Recently, a journalist came under suspicion for having links with the Taliban. Religious seminaries print, teach and widely distribute books and pamphlets that incite hatred and violence against any number of communities, from Ahmadis and Shias to women and aid agencies.

Meanwhile, the law looks the other way. In fact, sometimes it colludes, as in the case of two banners that were up in Lahore. One was recently on Mall Road outside the Lahore High Court and translated, read: “Jews, Christians, Ahmadis are enemies of Islam.”

The other was a billboard put up last year, reportedly, for the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwat. Translated, a section of it reads: “Friendship with Ahmadis is rebellion against the Prophet, peace be upon him.” City authorities did not remove this venom for fear of provoking a reaction by the extremist right.

On May 30, Zaeem Qadri, adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, said in an interview on Dunya TV that the provincial government had failed to remove the threatening banners from the city’s thoroughfares in order to prevent “adverse reaction against the government” by the groups responsible.

Bombings and mass-scale massacres have become a regular feature in our country. And while they are condemned almost by routine, there are few examples of the average good Muslim standing up to say that murder and mayhem are repugnant to their religion and hurtful to the memory of and example set by the leaders of Islam. It took years for religious scholars to condemn suicide bombings as un-Islamic, despite this manifestly being the case. And it took politicians some time before they visited Ahmadi victims in hospital.

The fact is that over the years bigotry and religious discrimination have been institutionalised in Pakistan. The 1974 anti-Ahmadi amendments to the constitution are one example. Ziaul Haq’s 1984 Martial Law Ordinance XX was another move that legalised, even encouraged, the persecution of the Ahmadi community.

The blasphemy law continues to be used to target the Christian community in southern Punjab in particular, often for reasons of dispossession of land and assets. And where the laws of the land are not discriminatory in specific, the lack of reaction by law enforcers makes for the rest. Why is hate material in books, video and audio form so easily available across the country? Why are people who spew venom against others and create the social fabric that makes criminal acts not prosecuted? Why are the laws not repealed?

It could be because the mindset of bigotry and discrimination, and the violence it engenders, has been absorbed by policy formulators, justice dispensers, lawmakers and enforcers in the same manner as the rest of the citizenry. We have had, after all, at least three decades in which to steep ourselves in hatred for those who are different.

Khalil Gibran got it right: “Pity the nation that raises not its voice when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block. / Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.” — The Garden of the Prophet (1934). Except that in Pakistan’s case, it is the pity one reserves for people on death row, there as a result of their own crimes.

hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com

A video message to Pakistan: Ahmadiyyat Zinzabad

2010-06-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

Love For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For NoneLove For All. Hatred For None

With love,
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Zion, Illinois USA

Pakistan, WAKE UP!

2010-06-11T08:41:00.000-05:00

State Sponsored Terrorism in Pakistan. The Shame of Pakistan. We Pray For You!

The Dark Shame of Pakistan: Decades of Persecution

2010-06-11T08:39:00.001-05:00

Of Sacred and Secular

2010-06-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

Of Sacred and Secular

From the Mosque: Bait-ul-Muqeet and the mourning Ahmadiyya community

By Joshunda Sanders | Saturday, June 5, 2010, 02:42 PM

Religious groups and sects that I rarely ever see and, therefore, never write about exist just out of my comfort zone. I realized that this week when thinking about Gaza and the flotilla and also, while visiting the Bait-ul-Muqeet Mosque for Friday prayers yesterday.

I’ve been reading Stephen Prothero’s latest book “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run The World And Why Their Differences Matter.” So far, it’s been a great read and a helpful primer on religious differences. I’ve just gotten to the chapter on Islam, and when I read this passage, it rang true, at least for me:

Is Islam a religion of terror? Are Christianity and Islam now engaged in a clash of civilizations? Or do Muslims stand peaceably alongside Jews and Christians as siblings in one tripartite family of religions?

Unfortunately, this crucial conversation rarely advances beyond a ping-pong match of clichÃ©s in which some claim that Islam is a religion of peace while others claim that Islam is a religion of war. One side ignores Quranic passages and Islamic traditions that have been used to justify war on unbelievers, while the other ignores Islam’s just-war injunctions against killing women, children, civilians and fellow Muslims (hundreds of whom died in the Twin Towers on 9/11). The reason for all this ignoring is our collective ignorance. We are incapable of reckoning with Islam because we know almost nothing about it.

I told Aziza Faruqi, a member of Austin’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community, something similar to the above passage yesterday. She wrote on Monday to invite me to Friday prayers at the Round Rock mosque. There, Ahmadis were still mourning nearly 100 members of their community killed in attacks on two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan on May 28.

The Ahmadi Community is religious minority group within Islam that believes in a messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who came after the Prophet Muhammad, a fact that separates them from most Muslims. While it is believed that Prophet Muhammad died in 632, the Ahmadis believed their prophet died in 1908. As a result, the minority sect has been persecuted and discriminated against for decades in India and Pakistan, where there are more than 2 million adherents (in America, there are more than 4,000, according to adherents.com).

“We are a small Muslim sect which is persecuted in Pakistan and some other Muslim countries because we believe in the Messiah,” Faruqi said. “We are a peaceful and progressive-minded community with a motto, ‘Love for all, Hatred for none.’”

Faruqi and others that I talked to at the Round Rock mosque believe this is why those killed during Friday prayers in Lahore were targeted, because the Muslim extremists who wanted to send a message knew the Ahmadiyya community would be unarmed. So, Muslims sprayed bullets from their AK-47s from a top a minaret, blew themselves up inside the mosque and killed 94 people.

Maqbool Ahmad told me on Friday that in 1984, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws declared Ahmadis non-Muslims and that it is illegal for Ahmadis to declare themselves Muslim in Pakistan. Those laws protect the perpetrators of crimes like the mosque attacks he said, “because they are protected under the law.”

Even while recounting the bias against Muslims in Pakistan, Ahmad and Iftikhar Naghmi, said that the community here would remain true to the convictions of their faith and pray for their lost loved ones, who they now consider martyrs. They said they would not consider retaliation, which is a contradiction of their faith. “Our youth group will donate blood soon,” Naghmi said, noting that the biggest need in the aftermath of the attacks was blood donation because so much had been shed.

The women in the community echoed that same resolve, as leaders and laypeople alike said prayers asking for strength and understanding in the face of such loss and sadness. Husna Ahmad, 41, lost a first cousin in the attacks. “Our community is like one body so that if one part of the body hurts, we all hurt,” Ahmad said. “The fanatics, they don’t know the Quran. They talk against us and say we deserve death, but all religions are good if they are practiced in their original way.”

Comments

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By Hasan

June 10, 2010 8:46 AM | Link to this

The scale of discrimination practiced against Ahmadis is simply mind-boggling. It is simply a grotesque form of modern-day apartheid. When the state itself discriminates against a section of its people and humiliates their religious icons, it takes discrimination to a whole new level.

By Hasan

June 10, 2010 8:44 AM | Link to this

By Hasan

June 10, 2010 8:44 AM | Link to this

By Zebr

June 7, 2010 7:12 PM | Link to this

Great thoughts and interesting facts. Its just a matter of extending one’s hand to experience so many diversities around. And indeed, this counts as a strong step in building bridges at a time when we need many more. It is surprising, however to see the hate mongerers among the commentators, one wonders if there is anyone who actually takes the time to listen to, or care about anyone anymore. Maybe the world is now a satirical soapbox theatre and all the good people have taken to be silent mimes. Maybe we need take the step you took and actually test the water some too.

By Alex H.

June 7, 2010 1:07 PM | Link to this

The Muslims I have met in Austin are good people. I worked for one for several years and I am an Orthodox Jew. We had no problems. Other Muslims I have met in Austin have been friendly and good. I have trouble squaring what I know in Austin to what I see happening around the world in the name of the same religion. It must be like how Catholics and Protestants felt when there was so much fighting in Ireland. There seemed to be a difference. What they did in Ireland did not spill into the USA. If it had, I would have expected some accounting by those groups in the USA but I would not have expected them to suddenly jump up and join the violence. Each religion has had their violent episodes and each had to find a way to square up their religious edicts with reality. As a Jew, I’ve done that. Christians are well on their way to doing it and Muslims are lagging. No surprise. They are the the youngest religion.

By deed

June 6, 2010 12:23 AM | Link to this

Oh joshunda al-talibani, how sweet it must be securing your place among us—the infidels. Hope you get your wish soon, so you can just be at home barefooted and having kids, cause you won’t be able to drive, little thing…hope you get it.

By SJ

June 5, 2010 11:27 PM | Link to this

“Islam has bloody borders.” — Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs magazine, Summer 1993

By ThinkCrimson,Horns!

June 5, 2010 9:41 PM | Link to this

Ah, yes, the weekly muslim apologetic installment from Joshunda.

Great picture, Joshunda! Such a diverse group. Of the eighteen congregants in the photo, I count eighteen dark-skinned men wearing funny hats. Celebrate diversity! COEXIST! proclaims the popular bumper sticker. It’s on all the Priuses these days.

“in 1984, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws declared Ahmadis non-Muslims and that it is illegal for Ahmadis to declare themselves Muslim in Pakistan”. You can’t make this stuff up. 1984. Ironic that the blasphemy laws were passed in that year. How about this:

“in 1984, America’s blasphemy laws declared the Amish non-Christians and that it is illegal for the Amish to declare themselves Christian in America”.

And this:

“the Episcopalian extremists who wanted to send a message knew the Amish community would be unarmed. So, Episcopalians sprayed bullets from their AK-47s from a top a steeple, blew themselves up inside the church and killed 94 people”

Maybe that would draw your attention, Joshunda, in your dogged pursuit of “Religious groups and sects that I rarely ever see and, therefore, never write about exist just out of my comfort zone”

By TXatheist2

June 5, 2010 5:47 PM | Link to this

“…but all religions are good if they are practiced in their original way” Yikes, killing for working on the sabbath, adultery or for taking god’s name in vain would make society very barbaric and I’m glad we ignore most of the 10 commandments in the 21st century. You are naive if you think having ‘no other gods before me’ would have allowed islam to be invented. Thank you Enlightenment Era. And on a lighter note do the Ahmadis think Joseph Smith was a prophet or has anyone told the mormons Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet?

By Lubna Qureshi

June 5, 2010 5:16 PM | Link to this

Thank you Joshunda for a very well written article! I admire you to come forward and share the pain of the grieving community by spreading the word out. I just wanted to make a clarification that Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes in Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last law bearing prophet and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Promised Messiah of the latter days. The Promised Messiah founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889 and passed away in 1908 leaving behind an ever growing community that, at present, spans to 180 countries.

Lubna Qureshi Interfaith Coordinator

Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association, Austin

Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is an excellent Guardian

2010-06-11T08:03:00.000-05:00

Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is an excellent Guardian

Summary of Friday Sermon

Delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ^at, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

March 5 ^th, 2010

NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon

People of Divine communities have the same responsibilities as the Prophets of God who establish them, i.e. summon people to God and having pointed out misleading thoughts and practices that get set in with the passage of time, show them the way of truth. History of religion tells us that each time followers of a Prophet of God did this they received overwhelming opposition, especially at the time when they were small in number. Pharaoh-like people tried their best to obliterate Prophets of God and their followers. This happened with each religion as long as they stayed firm on the original message. Likewise, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was treated in similar manner although he was the most beloved of God. The troubles, difficulties, wars etc. that he had to endure were indeed more than the earlier Prophets. However, his steadfastness was resolute and he inculcated this spirit in his Companions as well. Lack of numbers and weapons etc. did not ever shake the resoluteness of his Companions. The Holy Qur’an states: ‘As to those who answered the call of Allah and the Messenger after they had received an injury — such of them as do good and act righteously shall have a great reward; (3:173)

Those to whom men said, ‘People have mustered against you, therefore fear them,’ but this only increased their faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’ (3:174). This strength of faith and spirit to sacrifice one’s life in the cause of God can be seen in the account of the Battle of Uhad. Due to the error of a small group of Muslims, a battle that had been clearly won was turned around and the pagans of Makkah attacked once again incurring heavy loss on the Muslim side.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) lost his blessed tooth but the Companions gathered around him in a manner that no force could move them and each attack of the enemy met with failure. The pagans of Makkah appeared to have the upper hand, although not in the militarily. The Arabs taunted them that they had imagined to retaliate for Badr, but what sort of a victory was this where there was neither any bounty of war nor any prisoners. This incited the pagan to return to the battlefield and attack the battle-weary and injured Muslims.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) got wind of this. He gathered the Companions and prepared to chase the pagans but said that only those would participate who had been to Uhad. Imagine the weary and the injured Companions, 250 of them set out with the passion of a victorious army. When they encamped the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) ordered that fire be lit in 500 spots. It was a most impressive sight from distance.

The pagans of Makkah thought it better to go back. The Muslims too returned after a stay of two three days, God’s awe having struck the pagans. It is significant to note that on return from Uhad Abu Sufyan had declared and challenged that they would fight the Muslims at Badr one more time. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) accepted this callenge. In 4 Hijra the Muslims prepared an army of 1500 while Abu Sufyan prepared an army of 2000. His spies had informed him about the numbers of Muslims and he was secretly perturbed that their number was not large enough.

He sent a man to Medina to scare the Muslims into believing that a very large Makkan army was on its way. However, God states such propaganda by the enemy actually enhances Muslims in faith. Their reply was and always is: ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’ The 1500 Muslims reached Badr but the pagans of Makkah went back from a little outside Makkah. They said it had been a famine year and their preparation was not adequate, they would come the year after. Death had scared the pagans off whereas it enhances believers in faith.

Hudhur said the history of Islam is full of incidents where the scare-mongering of the enemy did not work. Today, the believers should respond in the very same manner. Today the followers of the Promised Messiah respond in the same vein when efforts are made to scare them. True believers are not frightened of the scare-mongering of any group, any legislative body or any organisation.

They are always steadfast and firm on faith. They are beaten up, abused and their lives are taken, but they are never in awe of anyone save God, their response is always: ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’ The more the enemy tries the more they turn to their Lord. Hudhur said today there is great opposition towards our community in some countries. This, in fact is a testimony of its truthfulness.

In their opposition all the 72 sects of Islam have tried their utmost in Pakistan but have not been able to harm Ahmadis, indeed, they cannot harm them. Apparent loss is nothing for a true believer, the real thing is faith. Hudhur said he receives letters from parents and families of the martyred Ahmadis expressing a greater and enhanced spirit of faith and sincerity. Now, opposition is growing in parts of India as well and the situation in Bangladesh too continues to be adverse at any given opportunity.

In some Arab countries, be it Syria or Egypt, situation is similar as it is in Bulgaria and some ex-Soviet states where the Muftis pressurise our community. Opposition of the community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in different parts of the world confirms its global significance. Those who appreciate and understand the Divine attribute of Al Hasib will always respond that no matter how much opposition there is, their reply is: ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’This is what we have learned from the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said, ‘These verses illustrate that true courage derives from steadfastness. To be steadfast against every personal passion or against any calamity that attacks like an enemy and not to run away out of cowardice is true courage.’ (The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam’ p. 77). Hudhur explained that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) unfolds a different perspective for us here, that aside from apparent enemy, passions of the self can also be aggressive like an enemy. To overcome passions of the self also enables one to contend with apparent enemy. Therefore one has to submit oneself completely to God and it is then that one experiences the manifestations of the Divine attribute of Al Hasib beyond one’s imagination.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) also said that joining his community entailed following it’s teaching in the face of all opposition. He said that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and his Companions faced bitter persecution for thirteen years but eventually all the enemies were obliterated. God has willed that this community too will spread in the world and when it will gain in numbers, the opponents will be silenced. God wills to give training of patience through these circumstances. He wrote that many who used to be abusive repented and took bai’at. Patience is also a kind of worship and has countless blessings. Pain strengthens faith.

Hudhur said he has chosen two subjects with reference to the Divine attribute of Al Hasib for today’s Sermon. One was to elucidate that the strength of true believers' faith and their steadfastness enables them to face opposition. It is a source of attaining nearness to God and gives them an insight and perception that God is Sufficient for them. Next Hudhur cited verses 41 and 42 of Surah Al Rad and explained that the objectives of Prophets of God and their followers is to take the message of truth to people whether people accept it or not. The consequences of them not accepting is in God's hands, Who is Al Hasib (the Reckoner). Verse 41 states: ‘And whether We make thee see the fulfilment of some of the things with which We threaten them or whether We make thee die, it makes little difference, for on thee lies only the delivery of the Message, and on Us the reckoning. (13:41)

Do they not see that We are visiting the land, reducing it from its outlying borders? And Allah judges; there is none to reverse His judgment. And He is swift at reckoning. (13:42). Hudhur explained that God has His own way of chastisement and knows well when to punish whom. It is not essential for Him to implement prompt chastisement. Chastisement can be a sign and its objective is reformation. It is in God’s knowledge who will desist in their opposition of Prophet of God and will be reformed and who will reform after slight punishment and who will never desist. It is these people who are chastised.

Hudhur explained that some enemies of Prophets of God are brought to account during the lifetime of the Prophet while others are not. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) accurately foretold the exact locations where some of the enemies would lose their lives in the Battle of Badr. There were indeed some among the enemy who later accepted Islam and were saved in the various battles.

The real objective of a Prophet and his followers is to spread the message, punishment is not their aim, rather, it is to make people worship God. As a matter of principle those who have been warned will be chastised, whether in this world or the next. That only God knows. Accountability is with God. Hudhur said some people object that this prophecy or that prophecy has not been fulfilled. It will all be evident in the Presence of God. Ahmadis are witness to the fact that many prophecies have indeed come to pass, others are coming to pass and each new day makes the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) evident.

In verse 42 of Surah Al Rad God states that can the opponents of truth not see that God is ‘reducing earth from its outlying borders’? Hudhur said Islam spread rapidly in its early years and numerous came in the sphere of its safety and security. When God decreed He also punished. It is God’s verdict that either great numbers accepting Islam reduce the earth for enemies of Islam or natural disasters reduce land for them. This happened in the past, is currently happening and will happen in the future. When God is with His Prophet then who is it that can come in the way? There is none who can reverse God’s decree. Therein God has given hope and courage to true believers that as long as they continue to be true servants of God, they will have no fear. God is swift in reckoning.

Verse 45 of Surah Al Anbiya states the same subject: ‘Nay, We provided those and their fathers with the good things of this world till life grew long for them. Do they not see that We are visiting the land, reducing it from its outlying borders? Can they even then be victors? (21:45). Hudhur said if a nation has been in power for a long period of time and feels superior about it, certainly such situations are not permanent. In fact God states that He generously provides generations upon generations of a nation but it should always be kept in view that great big nations were diminished in the past. In recent past the European nations lost much of their power.

They had colonised huge parts of the world and now they are diminished. Russia too had spread over a vast area but many of its nations have gained independence. This very destiny will one day be repeated in America. Smaller countries too may not have any presumptions, they too can diminish. However, there is glad-tiding for Islam, there is glad-tiding for the followers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that Islam will be triumphant.

Our Tabligh efforts are humble, our task is to spread the message with love. However, we see glimpses of what Divine decree can do in the form of earthquakes and other calamities. If only the Muslims too would abandon their opposition and become a part of the destiny that will come to pass through the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hudhur said the current-day calamites and disasters are also a sign of support for the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Many people query that the opposition is from the false Imams, why then are the poor and disadvantaged being killed in these disasters.

Explaining this, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that it is the way of God that when all limits are exceeded in accusing truthful people of God of falsehood and they are persecuted, all kinds of calamities occur in the world. All Books of God state this as does the Holy Qur’an. Just as at the time when Moses (on whom be peace) was accused of falsehood all kinds of calamities befell Egypt. Although the far-afield people of Egypt had not even heard of Moses (on whom be peace) and therefore had not sinned. While the Pharaoh was saved, the unaware were killed. Again, in the time of Jesus (on whom be peace) those who wanted to kill him through crucifixion remained unharmed.

However, forty years later thousand of Jews were killed and there was an outbreak of plague. The Qur’an proves that this was due to Jesus (on whom be peace). Similarly in the times of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) a seven year famine took place and most of the poor died whereas the great big evil-doers were saved for a long period. In short it is the way of God that when someone comes from Him and is accused of falsehood, all kinds of calamities come to pass. However, people who have nothing to do with the accusation of falsehood are caught up in the calamities. Gradually the false Imams are seized and the time of the wickedest comes in the end. The natural calamities that follow accusation of falsehood on God’s appointed people are general and not specific.

Hudhur said a few days ago a huge earthquake struck Chile. Two months ago an earthquake had struck Haiti. The Chilean earthquake was 64–times stronger than the Haitian quake. Hudhur said these are signs in support of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged. It is being said that the Chilean earthquake is the seventh most dreadful earthquake since records began. The earthquake has taken off 1.26 milliseconds from Earth day, which is now this much shorter. Scientists have also recorded that the powerful quake shifted the Earth’s figure axis by three inches. Hudhur explained this is the axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced. Thus a situation is arisen to ‘reduce earth on its outlying borders’.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) indeed foretold earthquakes as one of his signs. A quake struck Chile in 1906 which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had called as a sign in his support. From 1570 to 1835 five earthquakes struck Chile. The next one struck in 1868 and then the 1906 one. Since then Chile has been struck with eighteen powerful earthquakes. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote at the time of the Chilean earthquake of 1906 that he had had his prophecies about strong earthquakes striking the world published many times so much so that the earth would disintegrate. He wrote that the earthquakes of San Francisco and Formosa that came in accordance to his prophecy were known to all, but recently, on 16 August 1906 an earthquake had struck Chile which was no less powerful. It destroyed fifteen towns, thousands lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were made homeless. Some could ask how could this be a sign, as these earthquakes did not strike Punjab.

They did not realise that God is the God of the entire world not just of the Punjab and He had informed the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) about the whole world. It was unfortunate that accusations of falsehood were levied in the Punjab. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) warned that just as earthquakes had struck according to prophecies in America and Europe, they would strike in Asia, some of which would be a picture of Day of Judgement, obliterating life en masse. So much so that those with wisdom will find this extraordinary and no worldly knowledge will be able to explain the phenomenon.

This is when mankind will get anxious and many will be given salvation while many will be destroyed. This will come to pass in the not too distant future and many other dreadful calamities will take place. Some occurring from the skies, others on the earth. This will be because mankind has stopped worshipping God and all attention is focussed on the world. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said had he not come, these calamities may have been slightly delayed, but with his coming the hidden will of God had been made evident, just as God has declared: ‘…We never punish until We have sent a Messenger.’ (17:16). Those who repent will be granted refuge.

A famous quote of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in this regard states: ‘O’ Europe, you too are not in peace and O’ Asia, you too are not safe, and O’ dwellers of the islands no false god will help you. I see cities being demolished and find populated areas desolated. The One and Only God remained silent for a long time while repulsive things were done in front of Him and He said nothing. But now He will manifest His countenance with awe.

Those who have ears to hear may listen that the time is not far. I tried to gather everyone under the refuge of God, but it was certain for what was destined to be fulfilled. I say most truthfully that the turn of this country is also approaching. You will witness the time of Noah and you will see the incident of Lot. But God is lenient in chastisement. Repent, so that you may be given mercy. A person who leaves God is a worm not a man and a person who does not fear Him is dead not alive.’ Hudhur added that this warning is specifically for the region of India and Pakistan.

Hudhur prayed that may God give sense and understanding to the world to recognise one sent from God and is thus spared God’s chastisement. May He also enable us to take the true message of Islam to others and may each difficulty and trouble in this cause strengthen our faith and may we not abandon our task out of fear. May God enable us so.

‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’

The Dark Shame of Pakistan

2010-06-11T07:35:00.000-05:00

Pakistan: A Nation Complicit

COMMENT: Zaair Hussain

We cannot possibly claim, as a country, that we value freedom of speech above all else. If we did so, we would choke on the magnitude of our hypocrisy. When, in human history, has the oppression of a country’s own citizens paid dividends to either the oppressed or the oppressors?

In recent times, we as Pakistanis have developed not an immunity, but a resistance to the mental strain of terrorism. This is a tragedy of the times, and a triumph of our spirit. Recently, however, we encountered a new horror, one that I hope we shall never inure ourselves to: shame.

On May 28, some 100 Pakistani citizens became the victims of deranged and blasphemous sociopaths and bled out into holy ground. This was horrific, but not in itself shocking. There will always be the frighteningly insane, the desperately misguided, the irredeemably hateful who will inflict death and horror upon innocent human beings, shatter families and snuff out lives in some service to an “ideal” that makes a mockery of the word itself.

What was shocking was the aftermath; the heartbreaking sound of silence. As our people vehemently decried Facebook as the root of all human malfeasance and rightly protested the shockingly cavalier attitude of Israel towards international law and the sanctity of human life itself, more than a hundred Pakistanis were brutally murdered upon the soil of their own nation.

Nary a whisper.

We as a people are so quick to take to the streets in protest that it may soon be our official national sport. Where, then, were the wildfire demonstrations against those who wage war on Pakistani citizens; the slogans, screamed with a raw hate reserved for the murderers of innocents; the burning effigies of Taliban leaders?

The victims were Ahmedis.

They were Ahmedis and so, when scores of Pakistanis lay dead and dying, when the inability of our state to protect us was thrown into harshest relief, where there should have been a flood of grief and sympathy from every human heart still capable of sensation, there were sparse smatterings of cold and careful condolences.

One of the most difficult concepts to impress upon the minds of outsiders is that Pakistanis and Muslims are not terrorists; we are the victims of a tiny and fringe group of rabid madmen.

But in these killings, we were complicit.

A banner proclaiming Ahmedis the enemies of Islam has hung, obscenely, right outside the Lahore High Court. Pakistani talk show hosts have made thinly veiled suggestions that members of that community are literally unworthy of life, and were severely punished for their hateful and dangerous comments with precisely zero consequences.

Recently, the major religious parties declared the attacks to be conspiracies in order to provoke debate about the Ahmedi laws. Allow this to sink in for a moment: legitimate political parties in Pakistan, composed of actual adult politicians, are implicitly accusing the Ahmedis of killing a hundred of their own to further a political agenda.

These gut-wrenching incidents are exceptional only in profile; they fit far too neatly into the context of oppression and contempt that we have been party to.

We cannot possibly claim, as a country, that we value freedom of speech above all else. If we did so, we would choke on the magnitude of our hypocrisy. But whereas we had an eruption of full-throated protests from every corner of the country regarding the Facebook fiasco, there were little more than polite murmurs of “steady on now” when full-blown hate speech incited (and continues to incite) people to violence against our own citizens.

Hate speech is not only a weapon, it is a coward’s weapon, urging the desperate and misguided and insane to commit heinous acts that the speaker himself does not have the stomach to commit.

At a time when militant killers rend daily our national fabric, determined to recreate it in their own nightmare vision, at a time when being a Muslim has become a stigma the world over, at the precise moment that we need all the allies and all the goodwill we can garner, we seem hell-bent on the alienation and eventual destruction of a peaceful community that resides within our borders and has never agitated or taken up arms against our state.

When, in human history, has the oppression of a country’s own citizens paid dividends to either the oppressed or the oppressors?

Once the covenant between the state and its citizens break down, it breaks down for everyone. It will not end with the Ahmedis. A haunting quote from Martin Niemöller rings true in today’s Pakistan:

“They came first for the Communists,

and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me,

and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

To intervene for the Ahmedis is not charity, and it is more than common human decency. It is at its core a policy of self-preservation.

If we allow the Ahmedis to be punished for who they are and what they believe, rather than what they do, we have placed our feet upon a blood-slick slope that leads into a frightening place, a place where nobody is ultimately safe because nobody, ultimately, has rights.

Are you so certain you, your friends, your loved ones, your family will not be next? That you will not have to bury your fallen, ringed by the indifference, suspicion and even hatred of your neighbours? That you will not have to barricade your doors at night against a street, a city, an entire country hostile to you?

How certain are you?

I am far from the first voice to speak against this shameful affair, and I pray I am not the last. This is less than the smallest thing we can do for the victims of a staggering crime: to say that they are human, and our countrymen, and that our heart is broken for their incalculable loss.

Even if they are not part of the green they are surely part of the white, part of Jinnah’s Pakistan, more so by a thousand-fold than those that slaughter our people in cold blood.

The majority of Pakistanis are Muslim. With our sensitivity to the systematic violence and oppression in Kashmir, in Gaza, in Gujarat, in a hundred other places, we should know better than most the injustice of being targeted for what we are and what we believe.

For shame.

Zaair Hussain is a Lahore-based freelance writer. He can be reached at zaairhussain@gmail.com

My Take: Most victims of Muslim religious persecution are other Muslims

2010-06-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

Editor's Note: Asma T. Uddin is founder and editor-in-chief of altmuslimah.com and an international law attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

By Asma T. Uddin

Religious persecution in Muslim countries has gotten a lot of ink lately, but what's been mostly overlooked is that Muslims themselves are the most frequent victims of that persecution.

Members of minority religions are hurt disproportionately, owing largely
to the government's failure to prosecute crimes committed against these
individuals. But in terms of sheer numbers, it is Muslims of minority sects or Muslim dissidents who are most consistently victimized. The recently released annual report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) makes this abundantly clear.

Shiites are usually the main victims, given that they're the minority sect in Islam and are also often associated with an Iranian political threat.

In Saudi Arabia, Shiites constitute 10 to 15 percent of the populace but occupy very few top government positions. Members of Ismailism, a Shiite sect, often face apostasy and blasphemy charges; Hadi Al-Mutif, an Ismaili, was sentenced to death in 1994 for apostasy and is still in prison today - despite the fact that he says he is a Muslim.

Blasphemy laws are also a huge problem in Pakistan, where they're used to exact revenge on business or personal rivals. Because these laws do not penalize false allegations nor require proof of intent or evidence beyond allegations, extremists use blasphemy allegations to intimidate minority groups, including Shi'as and members of the Ahmadiyya sect, who consider themselves Muslim.

Similarly, Egypt's blasphemy laws are wielded against Shiites and Koranists, as well as dissident Muslims from the majority Sunni population.

The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, is an illegal organization in Egypt
and its members are routinely tortured or detained for long periods of time, without any evidence of violence or incitement to violence. The Egyptian government persecutes the Brotherhood because of its socio-political influence in Egyptian society and across the Muslim world.

The group, which seeks to overthrow the current secular government and implement Islamic law in Egypt, did fairly well in recent parliamentary elections - despite government repression during the voting process.

In Iran, meanwhile, senior religious leaders who oppose the government's
religious and political practices are subject to house arrest, detention
without charges, and torture. Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri, once the designated successor to Khomeini, died in December 2009 after years of imprisonment and persistent harassment because of his strong opposition to Iranian clerical rule.

Two patterns emerge in these cases.

First, the use of blasphemy laws to protect a state-sponsored definition
of Islam. Second, state control of religion politicizes religion.

Blasphemy laws presuppose a single version of a given faith that is "right" and that all other interpretations are necessarily wrong. Stultifying debate by freezing religious interpretations is extremely dangerous-not just because it robs religious groups and individuals of the ability to define their religion for themselves, but because it prevents the type of reform and revival of faith that make it relevant to changing times.

Suppressing social activism under the pretext of blasphemy is even more
dangerous. It takes away people's right to express these elements in a peaceful and productive way, driving them underground instead. With the public square sealed off, they run to the mosque as the only free space. Social activism ends up taking on religious overtones and becomes radicalized against the government. The result is often terrorism.

The way forward? The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's report recommends that the U.S. government fill the vacancy for the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

While various government working groups have been established on inter-religious dialogue, the report says that these groups give mere passing reference to religious freedom. Religious freedom programs must be funded, and U.S. government agencies interacting with religious actors abroad need to make religious freedom a central component of these efforts.

Faith is central to most of the world's inhabitants. When they are oppressed on account of it, instability ensues - and the world becomes unsafe for everyone. If only out of self-interest, the U.S. would do well to pay more attention to religious freedom.

The Ahmadiyya Position.Ahmadiyya teachings prohibit protests, demonstrations,

2010-06-11T06:58:00.000-05:00

The Ahmadiyya Position.Ahmadiyya teachings prohibit protests, demonstrations, industrial strikes and agitations
Posted on June 10th, 2010

Dr. Ifthikhar Ahmad Ayaz, OBE

1.(Officer of the Excellent Order of the British Empire)
2. Consul General of Tuvalu Island in the United Kingdom
3. Senator World Nations Congress
4. Ambassador of Peace appointed Universal Peace Foundation
5. Recipient of International Peace Prize
6. Member UN Human Rights Council Committee in the Rights of
Minorities – Rights of Woman / Rights of Children
7. Member World Poverty Alleviation Forum

8. Honored as the 2010 Man of the Year in Human Rights.

9. An eminent member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam.

The Ahmadiyya Muslims are now a well recognised and a well respected community in the world. They are known to be law abiding, peace loving and completely non violent. Their teachings prohibit protests, demonstrations, industrial strikes and agitations. They have shown great dignity in enduring the pangs of persecution in Pakistan and elsewhere. Just end of May over a hundred of their members while offering the weekly Friday prayers in the two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, were barbarically massacred but they have sustained this catastrophic tragedy in silence. They are also unique being a community of over 200 million people representing all races, nations, cultures and languages heralding from over 190 countries of the world but solemnly united under one spiritual leader divinely designated as ‘Khalifa’. The community was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India, who claimed to be the Promised Messiah.

The present khalifa, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth Successor of the founder of the community, was compelled to reside in London, U.K. because of the legislation passed by the Government of Pakistan prohibiting Ahmadis to practice as Muslims in Pakistan.

In this brief article it is my intention to review the services of the Ahmadiyya community to humanity in general and to Pakistan in particular. The founder of the community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, clearly stated the importance of good relationships with fellow human beings. He said:

“I admonish you to adhere to two primary principles- Keep your affairs with Allah on the straight path and treat the human beings with sympathy and good manners.”

(Malfoozat, Volume 9, page 35)

The Ahmadi Muslims strongly supported and struggled for the creation of Pakistan and along with other Muslims migrated from Qadian, their headquarters in India. The editor of the Newspaper “Rangin,” Mr. Arjan Singh, writes in his book, Sair-i-Qadian:

“So far as our information goes we could say with confidence that the Ahmaddiya community is a strong supporter of the activities of the Muslim League. It is well known that they have besides contributing thousands of rupees, devoted their efforts for the success of the Muslim League.”

The Ahmadi Muslims were at the forefront of safeguarding the Muslim Political Rights during the Montague- Chelmsford Reforms of 1917, when the British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith had recognised the increasing demand for India’s self-rule. The then Imam of the Ahmaddiya Muslims, Mirza Bashirudeen Mahmood Ahmad, was invited by the Governor General of India, Lord Frederick, to address the special conference on the subject which was held in Delhi on 13th November 1917. Subsequently, the Ahmadiyya Community played a prominent role in the political developments leading on to the creation and formation of Pakistan.

An eminent Ahmadi leader, Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, also played a key role in the politcal negotiations representing the Muslims of India at the Round Table Conference. Sir Zafrullah was the President of the All India Muslim League in 1931-1932. Khawaja Hasan Nizami of Delhi in the Urdu Newspaper ‘Munadi,’ writes in its 24th October 1934 issue about Sir Zafrullah:

“His political sagacity is greater than any Muslim in India. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for India, the Viceroy, and all British politicians admire his ability and Hindu leaders too, though reluctantly, acknowledge that this man is their rival- a very able, effective and accomplished rival. During the Round Table Conference, every Hindu, Muslim and Englishman acknowledged Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan’s merit and confessed that amongst the Muslims, Chaudhry Zafrullah is a person who has full command over the complexities of politics. Zafrullah is faultless and his character is irreproachable.”

History speaks for itself and there is no room in this brief exposure to go into detail. However, it is evident that from the very inception of the All India Muslim League in the Punjab in 1907, to the partition of the subcontinent in 1947- for forty long years- the Ahmadiyya community and its eminent members faithfully and persistently rendered crucial and outstanding services towards the freedom movement which culminated in the creation of Pakistan.

Sir Zafrullah Khan also had the distinguished honour of being the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan and in that capacity he eminently served the cause of the Muslims in Kashmir and Palestine. After the most disgusting legislation of 1974, when Bhutto declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims and then the shameful Ordinance passed by General Zia ul Haq in 1984, the wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, had this to say as reported in the Daily Dawn, Karachi, July 10th 1985:

“During the past one year, Newspapers have reported murders of Ahmadi notables in mysterious circumstances. More recently, hundreds of arrests have been made of members of this peace loving Community. Those arrested have been reportedly subjected to physical torture, while the charge against them is usually that of wearing Kalima Tayabba badges. This situation deserves to be condemned forthrightly without any reservations. It is known history that while the Ahmadiyya Community supported the cause of Pakistan, most of Mullah Community, their present persecutors, opposed the creation of Pakistan tooth and nail. The two great Quaids, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, appreciated the contribution of Ahmadis towards the Muslim cause and recognised it by appointing Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullah Khan as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan. In those great days, Pakistan had not been reduced to a theocratic State, and not only Muslims, regardless of the auxiliary beliefs, but even Hindus, were given Cabinet posts. The rights of minorities and small groups were not paid just lip service, but were protected with deliberate effort.” (Daily Dawn, Karachi, July 10th 1985)

Alhumdullilah! The Furqan Force Battalion

Soon after the formation of Pakistan, the Ahmadiyya community raised a voluntary ‘Furqan Force Battalion’ for deployment on the Kashmir border. The Battalion was placed at the disposal of the Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army on 10th July 1948. Some of the Army Officers in this Ahmadi unit were Major Waqiuz-Zaman, Major Hamidullah and Capt. Nehmatullah Sharif. The entire cost of maintaining Furqan Force Battalion at the Kashmir front was borne by the Amadiyya community. The Furqan Force Battalion established a high reputation for discipline, courage, bravery and an eager spirit of service and sacrifice.

The Ahmadiyya community has always been at the forefront of services in the cause of the freedom of Muslims, particularly the Palestinian Arabs. This was acknowledged by the ‘Nawa-e-Waqt’ Magazine of 6th March 1982. It stated:“In their struggle to win their freedom, the Arab nations were fully represented by Zafrullah Khan at the International Forum of the UN General Assembly.”

Appreciating the Ahmadiyya community’s services to the Muslims of Tunisia, Morocco, Iran, Egypt and Jordan, the famous Egyptian leader Al Sayad Mustafa Momin stated in an interview to the Associated Press of Pakistan published in various Pakistani Newspapers of 24th and 25th March 1952: “Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullah Khan holds an enviable position in the world of Islam. He is looked upon as a top most Statesman in the Middle East in general and in Egypt and other Arab countries in particular. By his forceful support of Tunisia, Morocco, Iran and Egypt at the United Nations, he has served the cause of Islam in a way no other leader has been able to do so.”

Of the many Ahmadis who have rendered selfless sacrifices to the nation of Pakistan, the eminent one is Dr. Abdus Salam who was a world renowned nuclear physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Nuclear Physics. His significant contributions towards the development of scientific research in Nuclear Physics have been universally acknowledged.

Commending Dr Salam’s services, Mr. Ishrat Usmani once the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, said:

“Most of the scientific effort in Pakistan is in a large measure due to Salam’s imagination and the weight of his personality. Salam is a symbol of the pride and prestige of our nation in the world of science.”

General Ayub Khan appointed Dr. Salam as Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of Pakistan (1961-1974). Dr. Salam was also the founder and Chairman of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Committee (1961-1964).

Dr. Abdus Salam served as a Scientific Secretary at the first Atoms for Peace Conference convened by the UN in Geneva, Switzerland. Later, he also served the cause of world science as the Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.

In recognition of his unique services, in addition to the Nobel Prize, Dr. Salam was awarded several other prizes from 19 different nations.

It is very unfortunate for Pakistan that on account of submission to Islamic extremism, fanaticism, and Mullah hatred against Ahmadis, Pakistan, by passing legislation in 1974 declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims , lost the unique services to the country of its two distinguished sons, Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullah Khan and Dr. Abdus Salam.

The prejudice against Ahmadis was so strong, that even after the demise of Dr. Abdus Salam, the Government removed the word ‘Muslim’ engraved on his epitaph. What a disgrace and what a shame!However, such acts of animosity and ruthless discrimination have never deterred Ahmadis from serving and sacrificing for Pakistan.

The Ahmadiyya community offered to the Pakistan Army 15000 soldiers and 199 Officers who were well trained in the battlefield during the Second World War. They offered unique sacrifices in the cause of the motherland. In this article, only a sampling of their valiant and splendid services can be mentioned.

Major Gen. Akhtar Hussain Malik’s extraordinary planning and speedy execution put the rival troops to flight in the Chamb Sector during the 1965 War with India. Brigadier Abdul Ali Malik stood like a rock in the path of the heaviest armoured advance of the elite Indian War machine.

Squadron Leader Khalifa Muniruddin Ahmad served in the Air Force with great distinction. Thousands of Ahmadi officers and ranks in the Armed Forces of Pakistan helped in the defence of the motherland. The names of Major Munir Ahmad and Major Qazi Bashir also stand out prominently. There are countless examples of the valour and the dauntless courage of many Ahmadi soldiers standing tall with their comrades in arms. Other Ahmadis whose loyalty and devotion were inspiration included Gen. Chaudhry Ahmad, Gen. Iftikhar Janjua and Air Marshall Nasir Zafar Chaudhry.

Today, the Ahmadiyya Muslims are doing all that they can to appease the suffering of humanity, to appease poverty, and provide health facilities, education, clean drinking water, alternative energy sources and training in skills leading to economic development in Africa, Asia, the Far East, the Pacific and other Regions of the world. They have established a special unit, Humanity First, to respond to all such needs and also to natural disasters and catastrophes. For the moral and spiritual education of the world they run a Satellite Television Station (MTA), which broadcasts in seven languages around the clock every single day.

Such is this community, with love for all and hatred for none, serving Islam and humanity devotedly with the determination to raise the banner of Islam and the dignity of humanity all over the world and do whatever it can for the welfare and wellbeing of all, without any discrimination whatsoever.

The Ahmadiyya Muslims have won respect and admiration from all sections of the world community for their loyalty and peace loving practices. They have a golden heart for humanity. They have a track record of people who are honest, hardworking, innovative, reliable, responsible, and with high morals. They are a treasure for the nation wherever they are, but unfortunately Pakistan has shelved this treasure of human resources on account of sheer, meaningless, damaging religious prejudice, extremism and hatred by passing deliberate legislation and ordinances against Ahmadis.

Alas! Pakistan would open its eyes at this very critical juncture in its history and get the Ahmadiyya Muslims on board to extinguish the rising flames of terrorism, corruption and devastating situation of law and order in the country.

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community talks with Press and Media

2010-06-11T06:52:00.000-05:00

mtaOnline1 — April 11, 2009 — Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community talks with Press and Media regarding various matters including political and social instability currently engulfing Pakistan.
© Copyright MTA International

Phenomenon of satanic forces and God's chosen people

2010-06-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

Phenomenon of satanic forces and God's chosen people

Summary of Friday Sermon

Delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ^at, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

May 28 ^th, 2010

NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon

Hudhur recited verses 72 – 75 of Surah Sad, the translation reads: ‘When thy Lord said to the angels, ‘I am about to create man from clay, ‘And so when I have fashioned him in perfection, and have breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in submission to him.’ So the angels submitted, all of them together. But Iblis did not. He behaved proudly, and was of those who disbelieved.’ And delivered a Friday Sermon on the phenomenon of satanic forces and God’s chosen people, His Prophets helped by hosts of angels.

Hudhur said from the beginning of time Satan and man have been contending with each other. In religious account God’s love for Adam (on whom be peace) caused Satan to declare war with him with much ferocity. This enmity was repeated in the era of each Prophet of God and indeed is still being repeated. Prophets of God guide to ways leading to God and Satan has always tried to spoil this process and continues to do so. He frightens and misleads people with all manner of pretext, greed and terror. The Holy Qur’an cites in many places that from the creation of Adam (on whom be peace) Satan started using ploys. From Surah Al Fatiha to Surah Al Nas, God has mentioned Satan to alert believers from his attacks, and has commanded to protect themselves from him through prayer.

The aforementioned verses declare the creation of God’s beloved and His command to angels to completely submit to man and the arrogance of Satan in declining to submit to one who was, in his view, created from lesser matter. When God created man, He put the capacity in him to imbue Divine qualities and thus attain nearness to God, and go on to attain a high point in this nearness where angels would be commissioned to serve him. God sends His Prophets who attain the greatest nearness to Him and as a result the entire system of angels arises to help and support them. God’s special decree comes into action for this purpose. God created man as the most eminent of all creation and pressed the entire creation in his service. When man is granted prophethood he becomes the Adam of his age, imagine the support and succour he would receive in such instance.

During the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) he and the believers were bitterly persecuted and the pagans of Makkah marshalled aggression in order to eliminate Islam. In the Battle of Badr it was God’s angels whose help turned the tide in favour of the Muslims. There are several other instances from the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) which illustrate that an army of angels was always with him and the believers. Indeed, the Muslims lost their lives as well as suffered from loss of property etc. however; the mob of Iblees (Satan) could never achieve their objective. Those who follow Satan try their utmost to create doubts and suspicions in people’s hearts through murder and mayhem, financial loss, both overtly and covertly putting terror in people’s hearts. Opponents of good fall into the control of Satan because of their arrogance. Their argument is that those who claim prophethood and who call to God are in fact poor and lowly and it is them who are knowledgeable and conversant, how could they then take their bai’at? Hudhur said it is again arrogance of those who do not accept the Imam of the age that is preventing them from accepting him.

When God commanded angels to prostrate to man it was not a literal command for only God is worthy of prostration. This command meant that one who is commissioned by God should be perfectly obeyed and Satan should not be allowed to succeed in his objectives against him. It meant that the Prophet should be helped in making Satan unsuccessful and an awareness of the message of the Prophet and God’s help and succour for him should be inspired in pious-natured people so that they may recognise the truth and join the community of the Prophet. These people would then go through spiritual enhancement and experience God’s help and succour, as a result their life on this earth and their Hereafter is accomplished and they become the recipients of God’s Paradise. The hearts of pious-natured people are enthused and this is when angels declare: ‘So the angels submitted, all of them together…’ Meanwhile the works of Prophet is blessed in extraordinary ways and one can observe the ‘submission’ of pious-natured people and it is this obedience and submission that is the ‘prostration’ to carry the mission of the Prophet further. By becoming most excellent helpers they take his work forward.

Hudhur said in this age it is the true and ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), the Promised Messiah, who has been addressed as ‘Adam’ by God. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that to affront one commissioned by God is to affront God. Hudhur said today those who oppose the community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in fact are contending with God. It was revealed to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace): ‘I determined on the appointment of a Vicegerent and so created Adam, the Vicegerent of Allah the Sultan’ (Tadhkirah p.369). Hudhur said our Khilafat is spiritual rather than temporal and this status was granted to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) because of his subservience to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Having granted the status, God commanded angels to submit to him, that is, submit to the special human who had been chosen for faith. In another revelation God thus assured the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace): ‘…I shall stand with My Messenger and angels will help him…’ (Tadhkirah p. 453). Hudhur explained that this ‘help of God’ is not a tale of yore. We witness to this day that Satan is at work and so are the angels. Our opponents oppress us with their persecution in one place and the community grows in many new places.

Hudhur said he read in Al Fazl recently how Hilmi Shafi sahib accepted Ahmadiyyat and how God inclined him. Mustapha Thabit sahib, who was an Ahmadi, lived worked in Sana desert with Hilmi Shafi sahib. Hilmi sahib would watch the then young man as different from the rest and regular in Salat. Gradually they became friends and while discussing Islam Thabit sahib would present reasoning and argument to which neither Hilmi sahib had the answers to nor could his religious leaders help with. When they parted way, Hilmi sahib kept some of Thabit sahib’s books, including the Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Qur’an. Having read the books, he would, as is the way of people outside our community, try and find objections within. Hudhur said these days it seems to be a trend in Pakistan to look for objections in our books where it clearly demonstrates that the ‘objection’ is actually borne out of the lack of knowledge of the objector. So, Hilmi sahib too would try and find fault and when he sought assurance from religious scholars he could not get any. When he read the book ‘Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam’ it excited him. He showed the book to his father and asked what sort of a person could have written it. His father said, ‘certainly a waliAllah’ (friend of God). Hilmi sahib asked his father what if such a person is claiming to be the Messiah. His father replied he could not object to him, only one very close to God could have written it. However, he added he was old and could not accept him. Hilmi sahib’s heart changed and he accepted the truth and took his bai’at.

Hudhur said such incidents take place even now. Many people are given the message of Ahmadiyyat through dreams. All this is the commotion created by angels in help of one commissioned by God which leads pious-natured people turn to the truth. On the other hand, those who follow Satan, exceed in their opposition and create impediments backed by arrogance. It is their arrogance that persuades them to rebellion and to follow Satan. Whereas God’s people try and become a reflection of Divine attributes and enhance their spirituality.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that arrogance is an evil that does not give up chasing man. He said arrogance comes from Satan and unless one distances from Satan, one cannot accept the message of truth and cannot avail of Divine beneficence. Unless and until man purifies himself of conceit he cannot win God’s pleasure. It was conceit that led Satan imagine he was superior to Adam and was thus accursed by God. However, when one attains Divine knowledge one comes into the guardianship of God. Hudhur explained that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that his opponents may prostrate in his opposition, make cursing prostrations in the process and rub their noses to the ground, their noses would rot but no loss would come to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

Hudhur said news are coming in the today, many must have heard it, seen it on TV, severe attacks have been made on two [of our] mosques in Lahore, one in Model Town and the other Darul Zikr. Similarly, rallies have been taken out in Kunri. Likewise, in other places in the world, in various countries, opposition is carried out by following the mullah. Can this opposition finish Ahmadiyyat? Did Ahmadiyyat ever come to an end after earlier opposition? Most certainly not, and it never will, of course it will definitely make those who oppose us the target of God’s chastisement and reprove.

Advising us, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that prayer is such that when Adam and Satan contended with each other no other scheme availed but prayer. In the latter-days, again, triumph will come about through prayer. The first Adam was triumphant through prayers and the second Adam too, who will fight Satan in the latter-days, will be triumphant in this way.

Hudhur said enmity against us is increasing greatly. There is tremendous need for us to turn to prayer. Indeed, our community is also progressing and growing in spite of Satan waylaying at every corner. Pious-natured people continue to enter the community.

Hudhur said we need to pay attention to the Quranic prayer: ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves; and if Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, we shall surely be of the lost’ (7:24) to gather blessings and for protection against satanic attacks, both on an individual as well as communal level.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that in His wisdom God made Adam with two connections: one connection was with God Himself ‘And so when I have fashioned him in perfection, and have breathed into him of My Spirit, (38:73). This verse proves that by breathing His Spirit in Adam, God created a connection with him so that mankind too could have that connection. On the other hand, He created a natural connection in man with the rest of mankind. Hudhur said it is our responsibility to develop this connection. If this connection of ours is correct, the nature of Adam will become a part of our nature. We will be drawn to pay the dues of mankind and will take the mission of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) forward.

Hudhur said the situation regarding the attacks at the mosques in Lahore is not quite clear yet, however there have been many martyrdoms and many have been injured, some of whom are in a critical condition. The situation in Darul Zikr is not clear yet. The number of martyrdoms could increase as people had come there for Jummah, we will know more when the details will come in. May God elevate the stations of all the martyrs. Pray for the injured, some are critically wounded. This was an aim by the opponents to inflict communal loss. Certainly, God has the power to retaliate. Through which source will He demonstrate His decree, how will He seize those who create disorder and persecute, He alone knows. However, may He make those a cautionary sign, who challenge God’s sense of honour again and again and are exceeding all limits in oppression and InshaAllah this will come to pass.

Hudhur reiterated that Ahmadis should enhance compassion in their prayers. May God demolish the arrogance and conceit of our opponents and their presumption of power by demonstrating a manifestation of His Power. May we ever increase in our faith and belief and may this trial never become a cause of weakness for us. All Ahmadis should pray for Pakistani Ahmadis these days. The circumstances there are most adverse. Similarly, pray for the Ahmadis who are imprisoned in Egypt, may God facilitate their speedy release. In Kerala, India, some Ahmadis have also been wrongly imprisoned, remember them in your prayers. In accordance with His promise, God will never let the sacrifices of those who are imprisoned and the injured and the martyrs go to waste. InshaAllah. Satan and his mob will never be successful. May God have mercy on us and keep us safe from every trial in future.

Patience and prayers on great sacrifices of the Lahore martyrs

2010-06-11T06:43:00.000-05:00

Patience and prayers on great sacrifices of the Lahore martyrs

Summary of Friday Sermon

Delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ^at, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

June 4 ^th, 2010

NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon

Hudhur recited verses 31 – 33 of Surah Ha Mim Al Sajdah, the translation reads:

‘As for those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then remain steadfast, the angels descend on them, saying: ‘Fear ye not, nor grieve; and rejoice in the Garden that you were promised.

‘We are your friends in this life and in the Hereafter. Therein you will have all that your souls will desire, and therein you will have all that you will ask for —

‘An entertainment from the Most Forgiving, the Merciful.’ (41:31 – 33).

Explaining Hudhur said each week he receives thousands of letters asking for prayers regarding illnesses, prayers for dear ones, letters including Hudhur in the joy of marriages, letters asking prayers regarding anxiety over finding matrimonial matches, prayers for blessings in employment, businesses or problems relating to them, prayers for success in examinations, in short many other subjects. However, last week Hudhur received thousands more letters than is usual and the subject of all of them revolved around the great sacrifices of the Shaheeds (martyrs) of Lahore. There was expression of grief and pain and anger, but the anger transformed in the very next sentence in patience and prayers. Every one forgot their own problems. These letters came from Pakistan, India, Australia and the island, from Europe, America and Africa. These were not just the emotions of Ahmadis of Pakistani descent. Rather, person of every ethnicity who has been enabled to come into the bai’at of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has been expressing anguish as if it were their close, blood relations who had been victims of the cruelty. As for those whose close relations were martyred, they have been consoling Hudhur in their letters on the martyrdom of their sons, fathers, brothers and husbands. It is a great account of patience and steadfastness. Hudhur personally telephoned the families of all the martyrs to pay his condolences. Hudhur said he should be informed if any family has been missed. In each family that Hudhur rang, he found children, wives, mother and fathers submitting to the will of God. Hudhur said letters can conceal emotions but he clearly heard their resolute voices on the telephone expressing in light of the Quranic injunction: …‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.’ (2:157). Hudhur said they said what they said in full awareness and with complete perception of attaining God’s pleasure that they submitted to the will of God. One or two sacrifices were nothing for them, they were prepared to spill the last drops of their blood for the community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) because today it is their blood alone which will demonstrate the status of the Holy Prophet as Khatumun Nabiyeen and the chief of all Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). They are those who will revive the model of the earlier-ones, they keep the great example of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) in view. Hudhur said having read all these letters he feels unable to express his own emotions. However, they have further strengthen his belief that most certainly God granted these beloved people to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in order to accomplish his high objectives. These are the great people who are patient and steadfast, whose departed ones also demonstrated models of steadfastness as they met their God and thus verified the Quranic statement of: ‘And say not of those who are killed in the cause of Allah that they are dead; nay, they are living; only you perceive not.’ (2:155). They demonstrated to the world that while they have attained the pleasure of God they have also become a source that shall flourish faith. Every single drop of their spilt blood will bear great fruits. Angels will have embraced them and they would not have felt anything as they gave their lives; how the bullet hit them or the shrapnel from the grenade struck them. These embodiments of steadfastness who offered their lives for faith lay injured in their blood for hours and recited Durud. If any one of them uttered a sound out of pain, the other injured said to him, ‘be patient, people give their lives without any cause, you are going to sacrifice yourself for a great cause.’ And then, the one who uttered the sound recited Durud till he breathed his last and thus assured that he was fulfilling his promise made to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

Hudhur said he has seen a most heartbreaking video recorded by an injured person which is most moving. God indeed took sacrifices of these people but His angels showered tranquillity on them and they waited patiently for hours without groaning and instead prayed. A 19 year old was hit by several bullets but he waited patiently for hours in one position and prayed. If the police had arrived on time many precious lives would have been saved but where the entire system is full of disorder what else can be expected? One young man caught the terrorist’s grenade wanting to throw it back, but the grenade detonated. He thus gave his life and saved many. An elderly person also offered his life as he ran towards the assailant thus taking all the bullets on his body. Hudhur said the IG of the police is boasting that the police captured two terrorists. This is what happens when the entire system, from top to bottom, is reeks of untruth. Indeed, the two terrorists who were held were held by our own. One was held by a young man who is slim of build but was full of faith. He held the terrorist with one hand on his neck and the other preventing him to detonate his suicide belt.

Hudhur said the terrorists were men in their late teens early twenties of deprived backgrounds. Due to poverty these people are taken in childhood by criminals who brainwash them, give him false hopes of Paradise and make them carry out suicide attacks whereas such death incurs God’s displeasure. We never see the ring-leaders of terrorist, we never seen them sacrificing their own children. It is the children of the deprived who lose their lives.

Hudhur said while the descent of angels is apparent on the injured God has also placed it on those who lost their loved ones. It is due to their faith in the Imam of the age. God commanded the angels to console them as they are engaged in prayers. Hudhur said he saw the same outlook in every home and was amazed at the calibre of people God has given to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), each one appears a personification of ‘…I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah…’(12:87) and this indeed is the glory of a believer. God has reminded believers to be patient: ‘And seek help with patience and Prayer…’ (2:46). A servant of the Gracious God will only submit to God rather than raise a clamour, take out rallies and take the law in his own hands. He shifts his emotions to patience and prayers and that is when he is worthy of glad-tiding. God has foretold us that: ‘And We will try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives, and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient’ (2:156).

Hudhur said the verses recited at the beginning cite people such as the martyrs and those who live their lives to seek the pleasure of God. Angels console people such as these. Life and property of believers as well as honour is attacked and at times it appears as if the doors of God’s help have closed from all directions. When believers exercise patience and steadfastness in such trials they garner God’s grace and come in His refuge. Door to success are opened for them and God demonstrates wonders for them. Thus, steadfastness is the condition. Blessed are the Ahmadis of Lahore who have displayed steadfastness, those who have departed as well as those who are left behind. God is True to His promises, He will fulfil all His promises. Currently the tranquillity of hearts is a sign of the fulfilment of His promises.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said angels descend on those who say our Lord is Allah and who are steadfast. God is their Friend in this world and in the Hereafter. Most excellent steadfastness is when one is engulfed in misfortunes from all directions and there is no assurance. When, as a trial, Allah even does not show consolation through dreams etc. If one does not display cowardice and there is no lessening in steadfastness and dedication and one does not rely on anyone for support, rather is firm and resolute by oneself and does not flinch at God’s decree and does not show any impatience or restlessness until the trial is over. This is the steadfastness through which one finds God and the fragrance of which can still be smelt from the dust of the Prophets, the truthful and the martyrs.

Hudhur said today the dust of our martyrs too gives off this fragrance and it is making us fragrant and is telling us not to let go of the patience that we have held on to. God is True to His promises, our resolve should not waver due to the length of the trial and no word of ingratitude should be uttered. Hudhur said many have seen good dreams of the Lahore martyrs in Paradise being awarded medals.

Our sorrow and our grief is only expressed to God and there should be no lessening in that. Addressing the Ahmadis of Lahore Hudhur said they are those about whom the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had a revelation:

‘There are our pure members in Lahore’ (Tadhkirah p. 482). Hudhur said this is their honour and they should try and uphold it as there is immense glad-tiding in this connection. Fortunate are you, Hudhur said, that the Promised Messiah has given a glad tiding about your city. Hudhur said in his view the enemy did not carry out these attacks only to incur loss of life. They wished to create fear. In their assumption they wanted to alienate the weak Ahmadis and create restlessness among the youth. They did not know that these are the sons of mothers in whose milk runs the pledge to sacrifice one’s life, property, time and children. Who themselves possessed the fervour to honour loyalty. The enemy had assumed Ahmadis will not be able to bear this huge loss and will take out violent rallies which would give the government the chance to impose its will on them. And by exaggerating any such reaction to the rest of the world Ahmadis could be disgraced. What they did not know was that Ahmadis are those who seek God’s help with patience and Prayer and who come in His refuge, who gather under the banner of Khilafat and will therefore never react in such a manner.

Hudhur said when such a reaction was not forthcoming and the outside world raised concerns and the media too exposed these people, then late in the night, they too thought of issuing statements of sympathy. Hudhur said it is astonishing that they still do not realise what sort of people Ahmadis are. Even a history of 120 years has not opened their eyes that these people rise and sit on the voice of one Imam. They are the followers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who came to establish the teaching of his master the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him); teaching that had brutes transform into righteous men. Now that we have left the state of brute-like existence and aspire to be godly people, how could we take out rallies and react in a violent way? We said ‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return’ and left our matter with God and we await His decree. You keep your brutality and your violence that you perpetrated in the name of God on God’s beloved people and with which you appear to take the masses back to the brutality of 1500 years ago. Some say there is no need for a reformer, the Shariah of the Holy Qur’an is sufficient. Are these acts in line with the Shariah then?

Hudhur said, ‘You are unsuccessfully trying to bring the name of my master, benefactor of mankind, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in disrepute.’ Hudhur said on the Day of Judgement the Kalima (declaration of Islamic faith) will seize every single one of them and hurl them to their bad ending. Our task is to be patient; not only are the others amazed at our steadfastness rather they are inclined towards Ahmadiyyat and have expressed the wish to take bai’at. Thus their brutality has resulted in blessings for us.

Hudhur said he had thought that he would relate some incidents but some of them are so heartbreaking that Hudhur feared he would overcome with emotion. However, Hudhur related a few:

One worshipper at the funeral Prayer said, ‘ I have received one more blessing, I am now a father of a martyr. My resolve and courage is high.’ One Ahmadi was informed that his brother had been martyred he should go to such and such hospital. His reply was, ‘the one who has departed has gone. I will stay here, Ahmadi brothers may need my blood donation.’ One mother said, ‘I have placed my youth son from my lap onto God’s lap, he was God’s trust’. Shad sahib, our martyred missionary of Model Town who was delivering Friday sermon at the time of attack, continued to recite Durud and prayers and also said Allaho Akbar aloud. He had mentioned earlier Ahmadi martyrdoms at Fajr on the day. About 200 Ahmadis took shelter under the staircase outside. One terrorist came to the edge of the courtyard. Had he come outside, the 200 Ahmadis would not have remained. A 65 year old Ahmadi ran towards him and took his bullets on his chest. The terrorist was delayed in coming out and as a result many Ahmadis ran to safety. When it was all over and they came out, they saw many martyrs lay on the staircase.

One Ahmadi who was visiting from Japan went to funeral Prayers. He says that these funeral Prayers evoked memory of the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Such were the models of steadfastness that it is difficult to put them in words. He met an elderly person and asked him how did he know the martyr? His reply was, ‘he was my son’. The narrator says his heart sank but the father of the martyr said, ‘Alhamdolillah, it was God’s will’. There were resolute faces all around. A lady has related that her young children had gone for Friday Prayers, God saved them. When the incident was shown on the TV the lady’s neighbouring women flocked to her house assuming she would be wailing. However, she told them our matter is with God. She told them she was not concerned about her children; everyone [in the mosque] was her relative. If her children were martyred they would gain nearness to God, if they survived they would be Ghazi (one who has been in a conflict for Islam). One mother lost her only son, her other children are daughters, she is exhibiting extreme patience and steadfastness. An Ahmadi from Syria was visiting and was in the mosque and got injured. He relates that he has never quite seen anything like this ever before. There was no panic, no chaos, no fear. Everyone was doing their duties, obeying instructions even when firing was going on.

Hudhur said these are those people, those mothers who the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has created in his community and who have established great models of sacrifices. They are not only concerned about their own children, their hearts pain for the entire Jama’at. Hudhur said, ‘O Ahmadi mothers, never allow these virtuous, pure emotions to die. As long as they remain, no enemy can harm even an iota of the Jama’at.’

Moving the coffins of the martyrs in ambulances one young man remarked that the last coffin was his father’s. Rather than leave with the coffin in the ambulance, he went back to his duty in the mosque. Hudhur said these are the great people of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who only show their emotions to God. Hudhur said there were scores of other incidents which will be all collated and written down at a later time. Every one says while the terrorists were in the mosque there was no sense of panic. As long as they were alive, the murrabi sahib, the office holders gave out instructions and they were followed. Even afterwards everyone remained organised. One elderly person stayed in prostration posture. Hudhur said these are illustrations of true faith.

Hudhur said he has been receiving many letters with reference to verse 24 of Surah Al Ahzab: ‘Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. There are some of them who have fulfilled their vow, and some who still wait, and they have not changed their condition in the least; (33:24) and these people are giving Hudhur assurance of their own pledge and allegiance. The enemy thought he would weaken us, will break our strength. He assumed urban Ahmadis probably did not have faith. He did not know the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has infused the energy of faith in his community. Doubtless they are involved in worldly matters but they are not their objectives, when they are called for faith, they are always forthcoming. Rather than brutality, they are the champions of humanity. Hudhur said after all Ahmadis also belong to the same nation/ethnicity, however, after accepting the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) these people sacrifice their lives for religion in the manner instructed by God.

Hudhur said may God reward the Pakistani press for their just coverage of the incidents and may He always enable them to say the truth and not go back to the old ways. Hudhur said many countries have sent messages of condolences; here some MPs have also expressed sympathy. May God reward them all. What is more, even the Khatm e Nabuwat appear to have said this was a bad deed. Hudhur remarked, if this is so, what about those hate-filled posters and banners? Those which are displayed under the name plates of High Court judges? Who has plastered them? It is they alone who incite the foolish. Now that they see the course of the world has changed so they have joined in. The real reason for this atrocity is the rancour and spite that the so-called mullah exhibits against us. The Chief Justice of Pakistan takes notice of every small matter by going to press. Did he not ever think of taking notice of this huge atrocity, the banners, the posters? Should he not take action against these mullahs who incite to hatred? Is his standard of justice limited to his choice? Our sorrow and grief is to God alone, we do not expect anything from him. Hudhur said he was only pointing out his standards. Indeed after every trial our perception of sacrifice for God and attainment of His pleasure increases. People can neither harm us nor can they give us anything.

Hudhur said indeed there is a lot of terrorism in Pakistan but when perpetrated against the Ahmadis, it has the protection of law. The perpetrators of Mong [an atrocity committed in an Ahmadi mosque a few years ago] are roaming the street free. Ahmadis do not expect anything from these people. Allah is our Lord and He alone is our Helper. He will continue to help us. We do not expect any good from them in future, therefore Ahmadis need to stay alert. We should recite the prayers: ‘O Allah, we make You a shield against the enemy and we seek Your protection against their evil designs.’ And ‘ O’ Lord, everything is subservient to You. O’ Lord protect us, help us and have mercy on us.’ Hudhur said say many other prayers, pray for them to get their just deserts. Hudhur said we now have one more martyr as a Dr. Imran sahib, who was injured in the incident has passed away.

Hudhur said Ahmadi played a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan more than those who are today posing as the care-takers of the country. Pray a lot for the country, that it is saved from their evil and the evil of those create disorder, may He keep each Ahmadi safe from all evil. Someone wrote to Hudhur that the enemy has rolled our diamonds in dust. Hudhur said this is incorrect. The enemy has tried but God gathered these diamonds and embraced them. Every single one of these diamonds has further strengthened the diamonds left behind and they are decorated on the horizon of Islam, Ahmadiyyat and they have created a new constellation and each of these stars is a guiding light for us. None of our enemies can ever be successful. May God elevate the station of these martyrs and continue to grant us steadfastness.

Hudhur said he would mention the martyrs another time. He announced leading their funeral Prayer after Jummah. Following these atrocities an Ahmadi was martyred in Narowal district Pakistan while he slept in his house. His son was injured in the attack, may God grant him healing and elevate the station of the deceased, who leaves behind a widow, three daughters and three sons. The murderer belonged to the Tahafuz e Khatm e Nabuwat group and confessed that he had carried out the act in light of the statement of a mullah following the Lahore incidents.

Hudhur prayed that may God keep each Ahmadi safe from every evil. Hudhur said pray profusely; also pray for the injured that may God grant them perfect healing.

Pakistan, A Fool's Paradise

2010-06-11T06:34:00.000-05:00

KARACHI: Businessmen and industrialists have rubbished the Global Peace Index released by the US State Department, which declared Pakistan the fifth most unstable country in the world.

Pakistanis live in denial:

Shahji said that the government would have to work hard towards improving its image and that can only be done by good governance.

President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Sultan Ahmed Chawla was of the opinion that the report is not likely to affect business environment in any way in the country.

He pointed out that as the economy continues to be firm, which is a major reflection of how stable the country is, the report can be considered irrelevant.

He added that tourism is one of the sectors likely to be impacted due to the report as travel advisories would stop foreigners from visiting the country. However, he went on to say, tourism had never been the main driver of the economy and so the impact on the overall economy is going to be insignificant.

Chairman of SITE Association of Trade and Industry, Saleem Parekh said that while the report may cast an adverse impact on those people who do not have much information about Pakistan, the industrial sector is unlikely to suffer as foreign businessmen are aware of the opportunities of investing in this country.

“Countries like ours, which are emerging, underdeveloped and poor are where you can actually make more money as high risk means high profits,” he said.

Elaborating, he said that Pakistan’s economy is diversified and as yet unsaturated and therefore investment opportunities are high here. He also said that a large population means more cheap labour.

Nevertheless, Parekh did admit that as an exporter he has to face many issues for meeting the deadlines for orders. “I can never tell my foreign clients that we have problems of strikes or terror attacks or the various infrastructure concerns, as they will switch to some competitor,” he said.

Chairman of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), Razzak Hashim Paracha said that he is not concerned about the report as ground realities are quite different from what has been said in the report.

He said that such reports were usually made for political interests as despite being termed gravely unstable; the economy of Pakistan is far more stable than those nations which have been listed among the safest countries. Giving the example of the US and Greece, he said that the two countries were developed and stable, and yet the financial institutions of the two countries had collapsed.

Paracha said that though the index was referring to peace in relation to war, even then the people residing in Pakistan could give evidence that the entire country could not be termed ‘unstable’.

On the contrary, the Head of Research at Capital Equities, Faisal Shahji said that poor governance and political risks had led to Pakistan being termed unstable. He said that economic indicators had been declining over the years which indicated that the country was in trouble.

Referring to the positive stock exchange, he said that it had been “mutilated by foreign investors” as a cartel had the hold over the bourse which moved the market at their will.

Shahji said that the government would have to work hard towards improving its image and that can only be done by good governance.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2010.

Torture A Way of Life in Pakistan

2010-06-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

A check on torture

Dawn Editorial
Wednesday, 09 Jun, 2010

Torture is commonplace in Pakistan, with the police and security agencies using it as an instrument of policy. The police normally extract confessions through torture while those picked up by intelligence outfits also receive deplorable treatment. Dawn.com

The ratification by Pakistan of the Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture must be welcomed. It is hoped these international instruments, particularly the convention against torture, will help check the increasingly brutal trends that are prevalent in society.

However, merely signing or ratifying treaties is not enough. The government must demonstrate it has the will to implement the spirit of this convention. Torture is commonplace in Pakistan, with the police and security agencies using it as an instrument of policy. The police normally extract confessions through torture while those picked up by intelligence outfits also receive deplorable treatment.

But it is not just organs of the state that are indulging in torture. Women and children are easy targets for abuse in this society, while corporal punishment in schools and madressahs, domestic violence and abuse of household staff also fall within the broad definition of torture.Torture is already prohibited by Article 14 of the constitution. Signing the convention should force the rulers to take practical steps to eliminate this evil practice. The government should harmonise the protocols of the convention with the country’s laws. But ending torture in Pakistan is an uphill task. The mindsets that encourage brutality have to change first before there can be any significant improvement. It is the state’s obligation to change the culture of brutality; only then can citizens be expected to behave differently.

It must be noted that Article II of the convention says that under “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever” can torture be justified. This includes “war, internal political instability or any other public emergency”. Considering the state is at war with militants, it is increasingly important that these guidelines be followed. If the government is serious about implementing the convention, then ‘forced disappearances’ and other such unsavoury practices must end. It is imperative that action is taken against those who use terror as a tactic. But even in these testing times the civil and human rights of all — including suspected militants — must be respected and legal channels must be used to bring the guilty to justice.

Christian Persecution in Pakistan

2010-06-11T06:24:00.000-05:00

06/10/2010 18:30
PAKISTAN
In "Talibanized" Pakistan Christians are victims of yet more attacks. In Punjab a group of Muslims attack a Protestant pastor and his pregnant wife, injuring her in the stomach. In the province 250 Christian families have fled their homes, because they reported sexual abuse against women. Christian couple accused of blasphemy in Karachi.

Khanewal (AsiaNews / Agencies) – There are still cases of religious persecution in Pakistan, a large majority Muslim nation where religious minorities are often victims of abuse and violence. In Punjab a group of 14 Muslims attacked a Protestant pastor and his wife who was expecting a baby. In a district of the same province, the Muslim village chief has ordered 250 Christian families to flee their homes because "Christian women and girls have reported repeated sexual abuse." In Sindh province, finally, a couple was indicted for blasphemy and threatened with the death penalty.

International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that on 3 June in Sahiwal, Punjab, 14 Muslims attacked a Protestant pastor, his pregnant wife and his brother. At the base of the attack were charges of "evangelizing" against Mumtaz Masih, pastor of the Full Gospel Church of Pakistan and his wife Noreen. Imam Ahmed Maqsood led the punitive expedition, injuring the man's legs, and his wife in the stomach and hand. His brother was assaulted while trying to help his relatives. The couple complained to the police, but the police do not want to open an investigation.

Jonathan Racho, ICC chief for South Asia, strongly condemns "the violence against pastor Mumtaz and his family." He adds that Pakistani Christians are victims of assault "because they express their faith in Christ", but the faithful want to stay "with vigour" in their homeland "despite the persecution."

In Khanewal district, also in Punjab, the chief of a village with a Muslim majority has ordered 250 Christian families to leave the area because "they are too vigorously denouncing sexual violence by Muslims against women and girls”. Most Christians in the area are labourers on Muslim owned land and the women domestic servants in homes. The abuses were occurring in homes, almost "daily." "Christians - denounce the displaced - are totally at the mercy of the will of Muslims."

Finally in the town of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, a suburb of Karachi (Sindh), two Christians couples must answer charges of blasphemy. A crowd of Muslims ransacked the garbage of the four, saying they had found torn pages of the Koran. The court issued an arrest warrant and the police started searches. The two pairs of Christians have abandoned the rented house and are still at large. Christian sources complain that officials have threatened the family, to reveal the place where the four are hidden. In Pakistan the crime of blasphemy carries life imprisonment or even death.

Taliban owns Pakistan

2010-06-11T06:20:00.000-05:00

Taliban owns Pakistan and soldiers abusing millions , says Amnesty International

Survey of North-West tribal belt by rights group says militants torturing and killing women, aid workers and beardless men

Pakistani soldiers monitor their side of the Afghan border in the tribal belt of North Waziristan. Photograph: Matthew Pennington/AP

Nearly 4 million Pakistanis live under Taliban rule in the north-western tribal belt, where they suffer human rights abuses from both militants and the army, Amnesty International said today.

As if Hell Fell on Me, a report based on interviews with nearly 300 people, says millions live in a "human rights free zone" where militants torture and kill women, aid workers and men without beards.

Soldiers have also committed serious violations, including indiscriminate artillery fire and extrajudicial executions, as the army swept across the tribal belt over the past year, it said.

"The Taliban have been able to assert their ideology through a combination of violence and fear," said Sam Zarifi, one of the authors. "Meanwhile the army seems focused on killing the enemy and not on protecting its own citizens."

At least 1,300 civilians died during conflict in 2009 in north-western Pakistan, an area that spans the seven agencies of the tribal belt and Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, formerly known as North-West Frontier province.

In total, 8,500 people, including soldiers and militants, were killed – a level of bloodshed comparable with Afghanistan. Another 1 million people have been displaced by the conflict. Scattered across towns and camps, their plight was being "largely ignored", Amnesty said.

The report comes days after the Taliban executed a man on a football pitch in North Waziristan, the main hub of militant activity in the tribal belt. The man had been sentenced to death for killing his two brothers in an argument.

The public show of justice was a reminder of Taliban authority in an area dominated by the al-Qaida linked warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, and where government soldiers are largely confined to their bases.

The US wants Pakistan to extend its its anti-militant offensive to North Waziristan.

The government and its western allies must urgently devise a co-ordinated strategy that includes development and political reform, he said.

"They have to put something in place that signals to the people that they haven't been abandoned," he said.

The tribal areas have the worst social indicators of any region in Pakistan – just 3% of women are educated, by some estimates – while the area is still ruled using a draconian, colonial-era law known as the frontier crimes regulations (FCR).

The turmoil presents a rare opportunity to reform or abolish the century-old FCR, Zarifi said, partly because many of the pro-government elders who underpin the system have been killed or forced to flee.

"We need to get away from the idea that this is a crazy area with a litany of horrors, and that we need to wash our hands of it. This is the moment to act."

The report is also critical of the government's reliance on tribal militias in the Swat valley, where the army cleared the Taliban last year. The militias have little accountability and engage in extrajudicial killings, sometimes to settle old scores, it said.

Visiting Peshawar today, the British development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, announced an £8m education programme for the north-west region. He said Pakistan was facing an "education emergency", where two-thirds of women were illiterate.

Under the scheme, 300,000 schoolgirls will be paid an allowance to attend school, and more than 3 million children will receive free textbooks.

Times Square Bomber the Antithesis of Ahmadi-Muslims

2010-06-11T05:59:00.000-05:00

Times Square Bomber the Antithesis of Ahmadi-Muslims

By allisonkhan

It's hard to know what to say when the extremists who try to bomb America repeatedly turn out to be Muslim.

Well, if you are a Muslim in America, it puts you in the hot seat! And, to top it off, the bomber, this time, turns out to be from my husband's native country--Pakistan.

So it is quite understandable that Americans look at Muslims in general with an air of mistrust. Are you an extremist, the look says? Can you be trusted?

Every morning when I pledged allegiance to the flag at Hillgrove high school in Cobb county, I could feel all the students watching me. I added "Ameen," after my pledge, which means "so be it." Some students didn't bother to stand, but no one was worried about them.

Unfortunately, some Americans decide all Muslims cannot be trusted. Many Americans feel that Muslims are hypocrites.Yes, they want us to practice our religion freely in America, but they don't want to get bombed. Understandable.

Allow me to fill you in on some little known historical data that may ease your mind.

In Pakistan, there are many sects of Islam. Since 1953, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been terrorized by Muslim extremists. The American government has been aware of this terrorism and they chose not to do anything to help.

Khalifatul Masih the IV, the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, told the government of Pakistan to stop the bloodshed or they would soon find all the sects engaging in this terrorism.

No one listened. Nothing was done.

The bloodshed did spread to other sects and it continues to spread. In 1974, Ahmadi-Muslims were the only sect to be declared non-Muslim in all of Pakistan, and there are over seventy three sects.

Ahmadi-Muslims left Pakistan for America or Canada if they could. The alternative motivated emigration...beatings, burning the house down or shooting.As a result, there are over 10,000 Ahmadi-Muslims in America at presen.

When someone like this extremist tries to blow up his car in Times Square and he is from Pakistan and he is a Muslim, people want to know --"so what's the difference between you and him?"

They would like to know that there is a difference.

Naseem Madhi recently became the National Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in America. FoxNews interviewed him regarding the Times Square Bomber and he had some refreshingly simple advice for Muslims in America: "if you have divided loyalties, go home."

He is drawing a line in the sand. He is telling America that Ahmadi-Muslims are loyal. We are happy to be here, enjoining our freedom to practise our religion. We pledge allegiance to the flag and we mean it.

Investigators suspect police of helping Ahmedis’ attackers

2010-06-11T05:54:00.000-05:00

* Terrorists carrying weapons bypass police to reach targets

By Shahnawaz Khan

LAHORE: Investigations into the Garhi Shahu and Model Town attacks have taken an important turn after information gathered during the interrogation of the arrested terrorist, Muaaz, and clues from various sources, Daily Times has learnt.

Sources said following the information, investigators now suspect police officials and officers deputed at both worship places of the Ahmedis and have started monitoring them as well. Investigators believe certain police officials are acting as facilitators to the terrorists, which is the reason they have been moving around with such ease during the recent attacks.

They said during interrogation, Muaaz revealed that their high command had directed them to work under one Rana, adding that Rana was the one who had led them during the Friday attacks.

Muaaz further revealed that Rana left him and his accomplices a few yards from the worship place in Model Town and told them he will return soon. He said Rana returned in less than 10 minutes and was carrying two sacks full of weapons on his motorcycle, which he handed over to them with the directions to start the operation.

The sources added that during investigation, it was also ascertained that a man named Hafeez had dropped the terrorists at the Garhi Shahu worship place and gave directions the same way, however, Hafeez returned with weapons after more than 20 minutes.

The sources question the role of police officials, considering that the terrorists commuted to and from the target places in such a less time and with such ease, bypassing several police pickets on their way.

The investigation also revealed that during the Jinnah Hospital attack, terrorists used only one entrance to barge in the ICU – one that opened in front of the hospital’s SDO’s office, the sources said. It was also revealed that as soon as the terrorists entered the ICU, they started firing indiscriminately, while a nurse switched off the lights and hid under a bed and informed the police.

Darkness misguided the terrorists, however, security guards accompanying a politician present in the hospital retaliated, due to which one of the terrorists received a bullet injury in his leg.

After the “action”, the terrorists fled from the same entrance they had entered from. Two of the four terrorists, including the injured one, left the hospital from the main gate, while the remaining jumped over the hospital’s iron bars and fled. The sources added that the investigators are also trying to ascertain who had washed the bloodstains of the injured terrorist from the road.

We decide whether you're Muslim or not

2010-06-11T05:52:00.000-05:00

Banyan's notebook

State persecution and Pakistan's Ahmadi sect

We decide whether you're Muslim or not

Jun 10th 2010, 8:26 by Banyan

ON MAY 28th, during Friday prayers, two squads of gunmen entered a pair of mosques belonging to the Ahmadis, a minority Islamic sect, in Pakistan’s south-eastern city of Lahore. Methodically, they emptied AK-47s into the assembled worshippers, lobbed grenades and exploded suicide vests. Their rampage has claimed 95 lives to date. Our Pakistan correspondent writes about the perpetrators, the Punjabi Taliban.

The deaths were shocking, but so was the response by officialdom, the media and the public. Yes, the attacks aroused a deal of concern in Pakistan. Lahore, after all, is the Punjabi capital and Pakistan’s cultural heart, a place of sophistication far removed from the country’s lawless frontiers, where extremism tends to have its breeding ground.

Yet the concern was palpably not for the Ahmadi victims. Politicians have shunned the bereaved. Punjab’s chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, has not shown his face at either mosque, despite living down the road from them. Admittedly, an admirable trio of women in parliament pushed through a motion abhorring the attacks, but it only just squeaked through, and that because it was hitched to another motion condemning Israel’s deadly commando raid on the Gaza aid convoy.

On television, pundits have failed to call for solidarity with the beleagured Ahmadi community, who number 4m-odd in Pakistan. At street protests called in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, meagre numbers showed up. To understand better what a fellow journalist, Declan Walsh of the Guardian, calls a conspiracy of silence, I joined the Ahmadis for their Friday prayers exactly a week after the attacks, at the Darul Zikr mosque that bore the brunt of the violence.

I had been invited by Shahid Ata-ullah, an active Ahmadi elder with the pep and twinkling energy that comes with being a retired Pakistani military man. I had met his daughter earlier that week at dinner in Islamabad. She told me how sick with worry about her father she and her family had been, as the story of the attacks unfolded live on television. But a week later Mr Ata-ullah could chuckle about it. “When I came out and checked my phone, I had 103 voice messages! Could be something of a record, eh?”

At the mosque most evidence of the carnage had been cleaned up. There remained only a few pockmarks on pillars and a pile of mangled metal in the courtyard, the remains of a door by which an attacker had detonated his vest. By the look of things, nothing much might have happened.

Most striking was the community’s outward calm. Young Ahmadis frisked the worshippers, admittedly more thoroughly than usual, as they entered the mosque. A dozen men stood silent guard about the compound, armed with submachine guns against repeat attacks; every one of the guards had lost a father, brother or son. Mr Ata-ullah embraced one young man without a word exchanged, the son of the late leader of Lahore’s Ahmadis, Munir Ahmad Sheikh, who had been shot as he led the prayers. Just a few months ago Mr Sheikh had sat down with one of my colleagues and explained how anti-Ahmadi thuggery was on the rise. Very quickly it was clear to me that this was a community not just used to persecution, but determined to continue their faith in the face of it.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded by a 19th-century cleric, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed divine revelation in restoring a corrupted Islam to a purer form. His revivalist teachings were an eclectic mix of Sufism and other Islamic and Christian elements. His claim to be a prophet sent by god, albeit not a "law-bearing" prophet, has enraged more orthodox Muslims. Ahmad was also convinced that Jesus survived his ordeal on the cross to die at a ripe old age—in Kashmir. This also challenges orthodox Islam, which holds that Jesus was raised alive to heaven.

Reasonable men ought to be able to differ. (I confess, so strike me god, that my early Roman Catholic catechism of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection seems no less implausible than the Kashmiri version.) But from the start, of all Islam’s many sects, Ahmadis have been singled out for persecution.

Worse, from the 1970s the Pakistani state has officially sanctioned it. In response to anti-Ahmadi riots in 1974 parliament passed a constitutional amendment to define what it was to be Muslim. Ahmadis were pointedly excluded. Then in 1984 General Zia ul Haq, Pakistan’s Sunni dictator, amended the laws again. Henceforth Ahmadis were prohibited from professing their faith, and banned from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim”. In other words, even saying asalaam aleikum was out of bounds, though Pakistan has no other common greeting.

Ahmadis henceforth could not call the faithful to prayer. They could not display Koranic inscriptions. They could not build new mosques, repair old ones or even refer to their "mosques" as such—they were now “places of worship”, if you please. Indeed belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad itself was blasphemous, because it defiled the name of the Prophet Muhammad—a capital crime.

Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch points out that while the government persecutes Ahmadi—some 400 Ahmadis have been charged in the past decade—it rarely brings cases against the perpetrators of anti-Ahmadi violence. In Lahore when I was there, banners flew from some of main thoroughfares proclaiming death to the “Qadianis”, a derogatory term for Ahmadis. The Punjab government of Mr Sharif refuses to pull them down, on the grounds that removing them might generate an “adverse reaction”.

Mr Ata-ullah and colleagues—gentle, cultured men—can laugh at what they call the “mischief of the law”, the multiple absurdities of their persecution. Mr Ata-ullah points to an engraving of the Kalima that the government has crudely boarded over. Anywhere else, he says, covering up that profession of the Muslim faith would be a shocking act. The Ahmadis maintain thick volumes that keep a tally of the persecution. In one instance, the entire Ahmadi population of nearby Rabwah town, about 60,000 people, was booked for dressing up smartly and distributing sweets to children on the centenary of the community’s founding.

During the first Friday prayers after the massacre, there was no sign of anger at the perpetrators, nor of self-pity. But as the worshippers knelt with their heads to the ground, a low keening like the sound of a rushing wind ran through the mosque, and shoulders suddenly shook in grief. “In our prayers we always weep,” Mr Ata-ullah said afterwards. “The milk does not rise in the mother’s breast until the baby cries. Before Allah we must cry like babies if we want his blessing. We cry like a whole pot on the boil.”

Massacre at Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque; Random act of violence or State Sanctioned Terrorism

2010-06-11T05:44:00.000-05:00

The Holy Quran says; “If God did not repel some people by means of others, there would surely have been destroyed cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated” (22:41). In a true Islamic state, the minorities enjoy freedom to practice and preach their religion without fearing for their lives. It is the state’s responsibility to not only protect the lives and mosques of its Muslim constituents but also protect the places of worship of other faiths.

This is not the case in Pakistan, which claims to be an Islamic state and was founded 63 years ago on the basic principles of equality and freedom for all. Instead, it is a country whose name and the word “terrorism” are today often mentioned in the same sentence. Today, Pakistan has laws written in its books which prohibit a large group of Muslims from practicing their faith and they are made to endure a life full of fear and hardships due to their belief on the Messiah of the later days as prophesied by Islam’s prophet, Mohammad (May peace be with him).

In 1974, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then President of Pakistan, proclaimed Ahmadis “non Muslims” but allowed them to practice their religion. To further satisfy the unabated appetite of fanatics in the country, in 1984, the government of General Zia ul Haq further tightened the law and with one ordinance snatched the basic human rights from Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Furthermore, they tried to break the spirits of Ahmadi Muslims by taking away their identity and barred them from using the word “Muslim” for themselves.

Ahmadis today are prohibited from calling their religion Islam, their places of worship mosques, making the call for prayer “Adhaan” or even making the most basic proclamation of faith which states that “God is One and Mohammad is His messenger”. In an arrogant gesture, the government tried to erase all Muslim words and phrases from Ahmadi lexicon which were built into the soul and daily life of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

General Zia ul Haq (left), a public flogging during his reign (right), Ahmadis were persecuted even more during Haq's rule.

While I have been greeted many times in America by non-Muslims with the words “Assalamo Alaikum” (may peace be with you), as an Ahmadi Muslim one can be thrown in jail for using the same greeting in Pakistan.

There are hundreds of Ahmadi Muslims languishing in jails for the crime of sending peace to their fellow Muslims. On a daily basis Ahmadi Muslims face discrimination in jobs, schools and military for the crime of believing in the Messiah.

This state sanctioned persecution has encouraged the fanatic elements in the Pakistani society to make the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community a constant target of threats and attacks. Target killing of community leaders and attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques have become a norm and rarely attracts attention or condemnation from the government. These fanatic elements encourage and incite masses to kill Ahmadis, in plain sight on state sanctioned events and in media. Driving through the main roads of Lahore, a culturally bustling city, one can see banners and graffiti on the walls with incendiary slogans against Ahmadis.

The brutal attacks and massacre in two Ahmadiyya mosques on May 28^th are a culmination of years of government policies and an insincere, half hearted effort to control the extremist elements in Pakistan. This heinous attack by Pakistani Taliban has resulted in the death of 95 Ahmadis, while more than 150 are critically injured. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community strictly follows the policy of “Love for All, Hatred for None”. Unlike other religious groups, Ahmadis will not retaliate, they will not raise arms, and they will not come out on the streets to protest or destroy public property. Their 120 year history is filled with patience, tolerance, and non violence. These brutal attacks have however, raised some questions.

How can Ahmadis trust the motives of Pakistan government with the above track record? How can any minority feel protected in a state that has seen Ahmadis literally thrown under the bus over and over again? How can any Pakistani citizen sleep soundly at night with a corrupt government in charge? And how can we Americans trust the motives and sincerity of Pakistan as an ally in this war on terrorism?

- Op-Ed Article Contributed By: Aziza Faruqi

Al Nur (The Light)

2009-12-10T08:06:00.000-06:00

Divine attribute of Al Nur (The Light)

Summary of Friday Sermon delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ^at, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community December 4 ^th, 2009

Huzur Aqdas began by reciting verse 258 of Surah Al Baqarah and gave a discourse on the Divine attribute of Al Nur (The Light) in his Friday sermon today. The translation of the verse is:

‘Allah is the friend of those who believe: He brings them out of every kind of darkness into light. And those who disbelieve, their friends are the transgressors who bring them out of light into every kind of darkness. These are the inmates of the Fire; therein shall they abide.’ (2:258)

Huzur said according to lexicon Nur is one of the Divine attributes and is that Being through Whose light a physically blind person sees and a person who has gone astray finds guidance from wisdom that is bestowed by Him. It is that Being Who is apparent and through Whom all things are manifested. His Being is apparent in Himself and makes things evident for others.

It is stated in the explanation of part of verse 36 of Surah Al Nur, ‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth…’ that it is God alone Who guides those in the heavens and in the earth. Nur is the light which is capable of being spread and helps in the sighting of things, it is of two kinds: worldly and of the Hereafter.

The worldly Nur is also twofold; one that is perceived through insight and can be found in the light of God. In explaining the meanings lexicon refers to some Quranic verses: ‘…There has come to you indeed from Allah a Light and a clear Book. (5:16) as well as: ‘…We gave him life and made for him a light whereby he walks among men, be like him whose condition is that he is in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth?...’ (6:123).

Reciting verse 36 of Surah Al Nur:

‘Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a glittering star. It is lit from a blessed tree — an olive — neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would well-nigh glow forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He will. And Allah sets forth parables to men, and Allah knows all things full well. (24:36)

Huzur said he had explained this verse in light of the writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) a short while ago but it was with reference to a different subject-matter. He said today he would present a summary of the writings. Huzur said some may think that the light the above verse mentions is limited to the person of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Doubtless, the light of God is dominant over everything. The first aspect the verse declares is that because God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, everything gets beneficence from His light, indeed can only get beneficence from it. He dispenses the light as He wills. How is it that God is the Light? It is because it is He Who created the heavens and the earth and He alone gives the light, whether it is physical light or spiritual. As it is stated in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth …’ (14:33).

Huzur said the true Light is God which can be perceived in everything by those with insight. However, one who is devoid of spiritual sight cannot see it. A believer is firm on the belief that the universe that can be sighted as well as the universe that cannot be sighted is created by God. In order to give an understanding of this Light God sends His chosen people who spread the nur, which comes down from the heavens, in the world.

Huzur said verse 24:36 elucidates such nur. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) set the most excellent example and highest standard of nur, one which will continue till the Day of Judgement and which was established as a reflection of the Light of God. He spread this nur in his life time and it continues to spread today. The verse 24:36 describes this nur as a niche, an elevated place, which is the breast of the Prophet. Within the niche is a lamp and this lamp is Divine revelation.

The lamp is within a globe of glass and this glass is the heart of the Prophet, which is sparklingly clean and free from any blemish. This glass is as resplendent and illuminating as a star; indeed just as the internal light of the Prophet’s heart most liberally spread externally. This lamp is alight with the blessed olive tree and this tree is a simile for the person of the Prophet, which will be established till the Day of Judgement because it was him alone who was declared as the perfect man and there can be none other like him till the Day of Judgement. The reference in the verse of nur belonging neither to the east nor to the west signifies the teaching of Islam which does not incline to any one side. Neither to Communism nor Socialism nor Capitalism, rather, it is a teaching of moderation which establishes human rights and world peace.

The reference to

‘whose oil would well-nigh glow forth’ signifies that exquisite wisdom of the Prophet and all his lofty morals. Light upon light connotes that when God poured forth His Light, i.e. revelation on the perfect man, it created a peerless nur in the spiritual world.

True nur is only through the Shariah that was revealed to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him) and from his blessed model. It is this teaching alone that is the nur that can bring about the beneficence of the Nur of God.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) elucidated it thus:

‘That light of high degree that was bestowed on perfect man was not in angels, was not in stars, was not in the moon, was not in the sun, was not in the oceans and the rivers, was not in rubies or emeralds, or sapphires, or pearls; in short, it was not in any earthly or heavenly object. It was only in perfect man whose highest and loftiest and most perfect example was our lord and master, the Chief of the Prophets, the Chief of all living ones, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him. That light was bestowed on this man and, according to their ranks, upon all those who bore the same colour to some degree.... This dignity was found in its highest and most perfect form in our lord and master and our guide, the immaculate Prophet, the righteous one, testified to by the righteous, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him.’(Ayenae Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol.5, pp. 160-162).

The lofty station of nur that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was granted was from the Light of God and he conveyed it onto his Companions and established excellent morals among them so much so that he likened them to stars. The blessed Companions partook of a measure of God’s Light to such an extent that they attained the honour of [the salutation] of raziAllah unho (may Allah be pleased with them). The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has written that the Companions were so absorbed in the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that his nur transferred onto them through their complete obedience of him and it annihilated all else but God from their hearts. A Hadith relates, ‘my Companions have Allah and Allah alone in their hearts.’

Huzur said God did not cease dispensing this nur, rather the nur that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) received from God is an ever-continuing fountain of beneficence as the Islamic Shariah will continue till the Day of Judgement. In this age, through his ardent and true love of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) God sent the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) with the nur of spirituality that descends from heavens.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote that he did not know what act of his had attracted Divine bestowment. He said he was only aware of his natural inclination towards God which was borne out of compelling sincerity. He once dreamed that an elderly esteemed person signalled to him to replicate the Sunnah of Prophets of God and keep fasts. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) decided to fast without letting everyone know, so he moved to the outwardly room of the house. He also ate in that room and would distribute most of his food among orphans and would eat very little himself. Through the wonders of such fasting, exquisite visions were disclosed to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) where he had meetings with past Prophets of God and high-ranking saints. Once in full wakefulness he saw the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and his grandsons, Hadhrat Ali and Hadhrat Fatima (may Allah be pleased with them both). He also experienced Divine lights metaphorically appear in a most beautiful manner. He saw columns of lights in red, green and brilliant white reaching up the heavens, seeing them gave him a pleasure and ecstasy of such a degree that he said he could not articulate it. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) explained that some of the light [of the columns] came from his heart and some came from the heavens and together the lights formed the shape of a column. Huzur said this blessing was bestowed on the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) because of his perfect obedience of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him).

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) also wrote, ‘once [I] had a revelation the meanings of which were that the higher angels are in commotion. That is, the will of God is aroused to revive faith. However, the appointment of the ‘one who will bestow life to the dead’ revivalist has not yet been revealed to the higher angels. That is the reason why there is conflict. At that moment I saw in dream that people are looking around for a revivalist and a person comes in front of this humble person and signals to him that this is the man who loves the Prophet of God and the meanings of these words were that the highest condition of this office is love of Prophet and that is certainly verified in this person.’

Huzur said after the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) the reflection of God’s Light was the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and this was in complete subordination of his master. The spiritual knowledge and cognisance of the revelations that was sent to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) were disclosed to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) so that he could tell the world. Indeed, he did not desire renown, but when God’s Light fell on him, the renown followed suit so that he could spread the message in the world. God revealed to him, ‘You have proceeded from Him and He has chosen you out of the whole world. You are the light of the world. You are God's dignity and He will not forsake you…O Ye people, the light of God has come to you, so do not reject it.’ (Tadhkirah 2007 edition, pp. 379-280).

Huzur said not only God filled the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) with the nur that was first sent down 1,400 years ago, He also granted him the station to spread this nur. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote that no one knew him and God compelled him out of his solitude and told him that He would bestow honour and renown to him all over the world. It is the way of God that when He adorns someone with nur, He manifests it to the world. When the worldly light has the capacity to spread, how can the light of God stay hidden?

If one connects with the special people of God He illuminates one’s heart even if one’s ‘niche’ is small and one’s ‘glass globe’ is small. Yet one who is connected will be able to further spread the nur. When the true light of God reaches believers and blesses them, it invariably goes on to bless others. In order to maximise our chances to partake of this blessing we should try and adopt the blessed model of the beloved of God in complete obedience.

Indeed God declared it thus: ‘Say, ‘If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you…’ (3:32). It was such love that the Companions had for the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him) that also illumined them and it was the same love that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had for the Prophet in this age which gave him the honour of spreading the light in the world. If one claims to love God and the Prophet then it is essential for them to follow the Promised Messiah for this is the commandment of God and His Prophet. It is because of this connection that our Community is linked to Khilafat and is being blessed with the nur of which the greatest measure was given to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and in this age his ardent devotee and servant revived it.

The peace of this world is also associated with the Promised Messiah who fulfilled the statement [of the Prophet] that he would call the world to love, affection and peace, will establish the dues of God and will illuminate the world with God’s light and will be a source of the peace of the world. It was predicted that in his age there would be an end to wars. In light of this, the eternal succession of Khilafat is going to going to carry it onwards. Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that three aspects are required to disperse nur: Divinity, Prophethood and Khilafat and as long as believers keep faith and do good works the progression of this nur will continue.

May God so enable us that we continue to be blessed with this nur and are never deprived of it. If the Muslims, our brothers, understood this reality the others would not dare to create the furore that they time and again raise against Islam. There is strength in unity and for this the Promised Messiah was sent. Recently uproar has been raised in Switzerland against minarets. Their churches also have spires, what harm do minarets bring? In any case, uproar has been raised; it is part of the anti-Islamic stance and appears to be a substantial conspiracy, further demands will be made.

May God, with His grace, protect us from all evil. We should pray that God makes each conspiracy of the enemies of Islam fail and be unsuccessful.

Holy Qur'an is The Word of God

2009-12-10T07:57:00.000-06:00

Ramadhan Mubarak 2009

2009-08-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

Excellence of fasting during Ramadan

Summary of Friday Sermon delivered by the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

September 14^th, 2007

Huzur delivered his Friday Sermon from Bait ul Futuh, Morden, England and gave a discourse on the excellence of fasting during Ramadan.

Citing verse 184 of Surah Al Baqarah (2:184) Huzur said that with the grace of Allah we are once again enabled to experience the most excellent arrangement for spiritual development, that is, fasting for the few days of Ramadan.

Each Ahmadi should make their best endeavours to develop in taqwa (righteousness), to seek Divine nearness, attain acceptance to one’s prayer, and develop in religious, moral and spiritual ways.

Remarking on the significance of the commandment to fast Huzur said it was also made obligatory on the followers of the earlier prophets of God for the purification of soul and among them only those became the recipient of blessings who abided by the commandment without any protest, who put the teaching in practice and excelled in taqwa. However, when they rejected the teachings, they lost their worldly glory as well as their standards of spirituality plummeted. Huzur said indeed when Allah enjoins the followers of prophets of God to adopt taqwa, He declares that it would lead them to the blessings of this world and the Hereafter, as it is stated in verse 47 of Surah Al Rahman (55:47). Huzur said it is vital for each Ahmadi to recognise the lofty station of God in order to develop in taqwa and to be the recipient of His blessings and this, he added, will come to pass when His commandments are followed with sincerity of purpose. One of these commandments is to fast.

We are fortunate that we are the adherents of the perfect Book, are the adherents of the Shariah which is promised to continue till the end, are the adherents of the last law-bearing Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) who was granted excellence over all the other prophets by being given the title of Khatam un Nabiyyeen (Seal of all the prophets). He brought us the message of Qur’an to enable us to stay firm on taqwa, a message that is still fresh today and shall always remain so. Huzur asked what do the commandments of this last law-bearing Book expect of us? Explaining, he said they expect us to endeavour for the attainment of the blessing that this Book mentions, to assume the undertaking for which God and His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) have shown us the way.

Citing verse 70 of Surah Al Ankabut (29:70) Huzur said it is indeed God’s promise that He guides those to Him who come towards Him with absolute sincerity, He runs to those who at least walk towards Him. A great source to attain nearness to God is fasting. A Hadith relates that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that Allah puts a distance of more than 70 years (Arabic idiom meaning a great deal) between the face of a person who fasts in the way of Allah seeking His blessings and fire. Huzur said indeed it is vital to fast in the quest of Allah’s grace and if the attainment of His pleasure is the sole objective, He not only saves one from the fire but also grants the paradise of His pleasure, in this world and the Hereafter.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that one who makes a solemn endeavour to seek Allah never fails. He said that if we can feel compassion for a student who works hard for school exams how could God not have mercy and compassion to allow one who endeavours to seek him to come near Him? Certainly not.

Recounting a Hadith e Qudsi Huzur said Allah declares that each act of man is for himself, apart for fasting. Fasting is for Allah and Allah alone is its reward. Another Hadith reiterates this point that fasting is done for Allah and only Allah knows the real reward of a person who fasts.

Huzur explained that just as Allah’s attributes are countless so is the extent of His reward, however, He has set some limitations for the attainment of His reward. For example during fasting one is not required to merely starve oneself, rather one has to make an endeavour to shun all sorts of worldly and carnal desires, only then it may be deemed that fasting is for Allah alone. Similarly the avoidance from the ills is not to be temporary and brief, rather it has to be a permanent effort.

Indeed Allah knows what is in one’s heart, is aware of the intention behind each deed, has knowledge of what is apparent and what is hidden, if a person fasts with Allah’s attributes in mind, that fasting would be rewarded.

Huzur further said that when a person who is fasting responds to an abuse by saying that as they are fasting they will not respond in kind, it does not mean that after breaking the fast they are at liberty to retaliate, not at all. Huzur said fasting is a training process during which one is trained to eschew bad habits for good, that is the reason why a Hadith relates that when a person who fast sincerely meets his Maker he will be happy. It is not just thirty days’ effort that will give him happiness, rather he will be happy because he would have had an opportunity to make an endeavour to avoid bad habits and that person would thus greet each Ramadan of his life until he attains the station where he will be the recipient of Allah’s pleasure.

Elucidating a Hadith that terms fasting as a shield, Huzur said the important thing is to be able to utilise this ‘shield’ to protect oneself from the attacks of the Satan, the most dangerous of all enemies. A believer can be safe by means of this ‘shield’ through worship of God and by staying firm on His commandments.

Huzur said the teaching of the earlier prophets was temporary, it was for a temporary period of time. With the teaching diminished its freshness and taqwa. The teaching of the Holy Qur’an is eternal. Worldly desires crept into the fasting of other religions. We need to constantly make endeavours to keep the standards of our taqwa high. Each one of us should try to the best of his/her ability or capacity to attain the lofty standards. By calling us Khair e Ummah (best among the Ummah) Allah has shown us all the ways and we can only justifiably called Khair e Ummah when we can attain these standards. Huzur said the acts that are done to seek the pleasure of Allah are indeed what taqwa is all about.

Huzur prayed that may Allah enable us to make solemn endeavour to attain taqwa. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that fasting is about forsaking one kind of nourishment (food) to seek the other kind of nourishment which is for the soul. Allah opens up ways of guidance and spiritual discernment for those who seek Him with truthfulness of heart.

May Allah enable us that we fast while making the attainment of His pleasure our objective, may we attain spiritual discernment which becomes a lasting part of our lives and which enhances us in taqwa each moment.