Head Of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat At Houses Of UK Parliament

HEAD OF AHMADIYYA MUSLIM JAMAAT MAKES HISTORIC ADDRESS
AT HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

Khilafat Centenary celebrations continue as UK Member of Parliament hosts
celebratory event at Westminster

In an historic event at the Houses of Parliament, the Head of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was yesterday invited to
address a number of senior members of Government, Parliamentarians and
Ambassadors as Justine Greening MP, hosted a reception in celebration of the
Khilafat Centenary, which is the system of spiritual leadership that unites
Ahmadi Muslims around the world.

The event was attended by over 30 MPs including Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP,
Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government; Dominic Grieve MP,
the Shadow Home Secretary; Simon Hughes MP, the President of the Liberal
Democrats; Gillian Merron MP, the Foreign Office Minister and Lord Eric
Avebury who gave the vote of thanks. The event was sponsored by Justine
Greening MP, in whose constituency the first Ahmadi Mosque built in the UK,
the ‘Fazl Mosque’, is based.
During her welcome address, Justine Greening MP, spoke of how the Fazl
Mosque had played a key and vital role in the local community ever since it
was built back in 1924. She said that it was indeed a privilege for her that the
Headquarters of the Jamaat was based in her constituency. Her comments
were echoed by Gillian Merron MP, the newly appointed Foreign Office
Minister. She said it was a great honour to meet with the Head of the Jamaat
and to be able to mark the Centenary of Khilafat. She said that the work of the
Jamaat was crucial because it ‘gave a voice to those who are marginalised’.
Commenting upon the continued persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in various
countries she singled out Pakistan and Indonesia as countries where the
situation appeared to be worsening. She said that the Foreign Office was
committed to effecting the safeguarding of Human Rights in all countries.
Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat,
used his address to speak about a number of contemporary issues that were
affecting the peace of society both in the UK and the world at large. He also
spoke about the role of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat which he said was as
the ‘standard bearer and true representative of Islam’. He said members of the
Jamaat who lived in the UK were all completely loyal to the country because
this was the teaching of the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him).
His Holiness began his address by speaking of the great conflict that divided
the world today. Wars were being fought in different parts of the world. He
worried of even greater problems. He said:
“It is my fear that in view of the direction in which things are moving today,
the political and economic dynamics of the countries of the world may lead to
world war… Therefore, it is the duty of the superpowers to sit down and find
a solution to save humanity from the brink of disaster.”
He said that the only way to avert further hostilities and disputes was for all
Governments to act justly with their own people and in their dealings with
other countries. He congratulated the British Government for having shown
such qualities of fairness in its recent history. He cited its rule of pre‐partition
India as an example of its quality of fairness. Only if similar policies were
adopted throughout the world could catastrophe be averted.
Turning towards ‘terrorism’ he said that no form of terror or violence was
sanctioned in Islam and thus those who justified their heinous acts in its name
were causing for the world to be distrustful and even hateful of the religion of
Islam. As a consequence of this hate, certain non‐Muslim groups or individuals
had taken it upon themselves to attack Islam by defaming the character of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Holy Qur’an. Such acts
he stated could never be right and that a mutual respect for all religions and
beliefs was necessary for true peace to emerge.
His Holiness then discussed crime in society. He said Islam’s true teachings
were to try and reform those who had done wrong. Revenge and retribution
ought never to enter into the equation when debating the punishment of
criminals or prisoners of war. Crime also had to be fought at its root cause
which was the development of an unjust society. Thus countries had to be free
to develop and cultivate their own natural resources without the fear of other
more powerful nations exploiting them and this was just as true at an
individual level. This was the way forward. He said:
“Those countries that have been endowed with mineral resources should be
allowed to develop and trade at fair prices and under open skies and one
country should benefit from the resources of the other country. So, this would
be the right way, the way that is preferred by God Almighty.”
Finally, His Holiness spoke of the current economic crisis that engulfed the
entire world. He said the ‘credit crunch’ ought to be taken as a warning that
the western system of interest based capitalism was wholly incompatible with
a fair and just society. He said that though interest could appear to increase a
person’s capital, in the long term this was never true.
Following the keynote address of His Holiness various other MPs took to the
stage. Hazel Blears MP spoke of how she had greatly admired the keynote
address which she had found to be ‘pertinent, contemporary and challenging’.
She said that the speech that had just been delivered was the type of speech
that was rarely delivered by politicians because it was so cogent and clear to
the point. The Jamaat’s message of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ was as
important as it was simple because it was a message that led to unity rather
than division. She further mentioned how she brought with her the best
wishes of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who had personally sent her to
attend the event.
A regular at events hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Dominic Grieve
MP, said he took great pleasure at finally being able to host the Jamaat. He
praised the Jamaat for its ‘wonderful contribution in all aspects of life’ which he
said was due to its policy of integration rather than exclusion. He too said that
he took great pride in the fact that the Headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Jamaat were in London. Simon Hughes MP said that the plight of the Jamaat in
various countries illustrated the point that religious freedom had not yet been
achieved and that the Government had to work towards bringing about such
freedoms in all countries.
The event was concluded by a vote of thanks given by Lord Eric Avebury who
spoke of how the keynote address had ‘underlined the moral dimension that
we must all follow’. This His Holiness had done by speaking of both conflict
prevention and conflict solution. Lord Avebury then spoke of the continued
persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan and said that organisations such as
Khatme‐Nabuwat perpetrated hatred against Ahmadis in such a way that
people here in the UK could never understand. He concluded by thanking His
Holiness for his ‘wise words of wisdom’.
Following the event Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was given a guided tour of
the Houses of Parliament and held private audiences with Nick Clegg MP, the
Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Lord Bishop Nazir Ali.
End of Report