{"id":92601,"date":"2019-08-25T16:37:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-25T23:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=92601"},"modified":"2019-08-25T16:37:27","modified_gmt":"2019-08-25T23:37:27","slug":"khalifa-of-islam-briefs-u-k-convention-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/08\/25\/khalifa-of-islam-briefs-u-k-convention-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Khalifa of Islam briefs U.K. Convention \u2013 2019."},"content":{"rendered":"

A. Abdul Aziz,by Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama\u2019at \u2013 Sri Lanka.<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

(Given below is an excerpt of the Friday Sermons of Hazrat Mirza\nMasroor Ahmad, Supreme Head of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in\nIslam, delivered recently at: \u2018Baithul Futhuh\u2019, London, U.K. gave a discourse\non recently concluded Ahmadiyya International Convention in United Kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to thank all the men and women who worked in any\ndepartment and in any capacity in the Jalsa. All workers, from helpers to\nofficers, men, women, children, young and old, everyone performed their duties\ndiligently and selflessly. They presented the true picture of Isl\u0101m for the\nnonMuslim guests. Particular gratitude is due to the workers who volunteered in\nlarge numbers to serve the guests of the Promised Messiah (May peace be upon\nhim), and they are the ones who do the real work. May All\u0101h bless them all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Holiness cited the feedback of foreign guests who attended the\nConvention (Jalsa Salana). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malay Yaqoob Sahib, President of the Muslim Community in Benin\nparticipated in the Convention for the first time and gave his impressions as\nfollows: “I have performed Hajj more than twenty times but I have never\nseen such excellent arrangements as at this Jalsa Salana. The atmosphere of the\nConvention was such that I have never experienced it anywhere else. From the\nairport to the residence, everything was so well taken care of that it seemed\nlike home. In the Convention, I met people from every walk of life, doctors,\nprofessors, eminent scholars, and yet everyone served us with humility. The\nKhal\u012bfa gave us the true message of Isl\u0101m, and this is the message that the\nMuslim world needs so that people\u2019s misperceptions about Isl\u0101m can be\ncorrected. I have learnt much by coming here that Ahmadiyyat is the true Isl\u0101m.\nIt is only Ahmad\u012bs who are making the true status of the Holy Prophet (May\nAll\u0101h\u2019s Blessings be upon him) known to the world.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Simeon Sawadogo, Minister of State and Religious affairs from\nBurkina Faso, said: As a minister for religious affairs, I honour all\nreligions. I found answers to many of my questions with my participation in the\nConvention. I even got answers for the questions I did not ask. I was given\nevery assistance. It is the first time I have participated in the Jalsa and the\nholy thoughts and pure atmosphere have spiritually uplifted me. It is only by\nfollowing the principles of love and morality that we can live together in\nharmony. I saw volunteers in the Convention cleaning toilets and washing\ndishes, and I saw small children serving drinking water, and all this is not\npossible without selfless devotion. The zeal to serve others was extraordinary.\nThe International Initiation Ceremony (Bai\u2019at \u2013 Oath of allegiance) \u2013 a unique\nfeature of the Convention – was like a chain of sincerity, devotion and\nobedience. It should serve as an example for the world to follow. People do not\ntry to understand what the Khal\u012bfa is saying and are instead running after\nmaterialism and are suffering consequently. The Khal\u012bfa in his address gave\nguidelines for the betterment of society.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Yoshida Nichiko, Chief Priest of a Buddhist Temple in Japan,\nvisited the Convention. He said, I found true peace in the atmosphere of the\nJalsa. Everyone is checked and body searched by security and yet I did not see\nanyone quarrelling. All arrangements, from food to the speeches, were very well\norganised. The Khal\u012bfa\u2019s address with regard to religion was very timely. It is\nindeed necessary to tell the world today that the high moral standards taught\nby religion can help us fulfil our obligations to one another. The Japanese\nsociety is also facing the problem of estrangement between parents and children\nand we are unable to deal with it despite all efforts. We can use Ahmadiyya\nKhalifa guidance for the betterment of our society as well. I did not have a\nnegative impression of Isl\u0101m even prior to this, but, having witnessed the\natmosphere of this Convevtion, when it came time for the International\nInitiation Ceremony – Bai’at, I could not hold back and decided that I have to\noffer my hand to yours for the establishment of peace in the world and for a\nharmonious and loving society. So I participated in this Ceremony – Bai\u2019at. I\naccept your leadership and promise to be with you in all your efforts to bring\npeace to the world\u201d, he said. Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: This does not mean that\nhe has pledged the Bai’at but that he is with us in our aim of establishing\npeace in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lady guest from Argentina attended the Jalsa. Her husband accepted\nAhmadiyyat ten months ago but she is a Christian. She says, I am a lawyer by\nprofession. My favourite speech of the Convention was the address of the Im\u0101m\n(Khalifa) of Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahmadiyya in which he beautifully and comprehensively shed\nlight on how the teachings of Isl\u0101m uphold human rights. Prior to coming to the\nJalsa, I was a bit apprehensive. I thought that when so many people are\ngathered, there is bound to be some unpleasantness. But your gathering was very\ndifferent from our gatherings. Despite the crowding and the huge number of\npeople, the atmosphere was full of love and harmony and there were smiles\neverywhere. I was apprehensive that I might be pressurised to conform to the\nIsl\u0101mic veil while I was here, but from beginning to end I remained comfortably\nwithout veil and men and women treated me with great courtesy, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A minister from Liberia attended the Convention. He said, All the\nprograms were so beautifully organized that I did not find any flaw. Various\ndepartments such as the kitchen, public relations and all others were working\nin coordination. What is most surprising is that all this work was being done\nby teams of volunteers who worked with each other in a brotherly atmosphere.\nNever in my life have I seen such commitment to one\u2019s duty as I did among these\nvolunteers. The participants treated each other with respect and affection. It\nwas astonishing for me that a program catering for 39,000 went smoothly without\nany unpleasantness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lady guest from Uruguay said: For over thirty years I have been\nstudying Isl\u0101mic countries and organisations. There are two distinctive\nfeatures of this Convention that I have not witnessed anywhere else. The first\nis your being united under one leader that is something unparalleled. Each and\nevery individual has an extraordinary relationship of sincerity and devotion\nwith the Khal\u012bfa.\u201d Here, Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: This is what causes envy among\nour opponents and they try to create hurdles for us, and it is this that we\nhave to safeguard through prayers and through our actions. She continued, The\nother distinction of your community is that there is no racial or national\nprejudice among you.\u201d Ahmadiyya Supreme Head said: This is not something that\nwe should demonstrate for a few days, rather we should always uphold this\nprinciple. That was the last message the Holy Prophet (May All\u0101h\u2019s Blessings be\nupon him) gave us that: The white person has no superiority over black, nor\nany black over white; and no Arab has any superiority over nonArab, nor any\nNon-Arab over an Arab.\u201d Thus as humans, all are equal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Prime Minister of Gabon also attended the Convention. He\nsaid: To witness thousands of people from over a hundred different countries\nin one place was a unique experience for me. The volunteers worked day and\nnight and there was no unpleasantness whatsoever. I got to know a lot from\nvarious speeches during the Jalsa about Isl\u0101m and Ahmadiyyat in particular.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An advisor to the President of the Central African Republic said: The\narrangements were excellent. All the volunteers of Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahmadiyya, including\nchildren, young and old, made the best arrangements with obedience to their\nKhal\u012bfa.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retired judge from Bangladesh attended the Jalsa. He said, I am not\nan Ahmad\u012b but I know that Ahmad\u012bs are Muslims. Ahmad\u012bs have been persecuted in\nmany countries for a long time. Being a human rights activist, I support\nAhmad\u012bs on the basis of humanity. Everyone has the right to propagate their\nbeliefs. I was impressed by the discipline of Ahmad\u012bs and their love for the\nKhal\u012bfa and their thirst for knowledge. I listened to all the speeches\nattentively and many of my misconceptions were removed. Ahmad\u012bs should speak up\nmore so that the misunderstandings about them are corrected. I had previously\nthought that Ahmad\u012bs do not believe the Holy Prophet (May All\u0101h\u2019s Blessings be\nupon him) to be Khatam-un-Nabiyyin (seal of prophets), but after coming here I\nhave found that this is not so. In short, I have learnt a lot from this Convention.\nI thank you all and particularly the Im\u0101m of Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahmadiyya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: Now I will present a report regarding press\nand media coverage about the Convention . 183 media reports have been published\nso far which have conveyed our message to more than 173 million people. Many TV\nchannels covered this Convention. 19 channels covered the event through MTA\nAfrica. According to the impressions of non-Ahmad\u012bs, they were very much\nimpressed by what they saw and heard. May All\u0101h make this Convention (Jalsa) a\nsource of spiritual progress for all the participants. May we be able to act\nupon what we have learnt and may people\u2019s hearts be inspired by what they have\nheard. Am\u012bn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full address \u2013 the link of which is as below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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