Love for all, hatred for none
ACROSS Northampton and beyond, many communities are united by faith and their desire to bring harmony to the world.
One group you might not have heard of is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, a small but growing organisation which recently held a conference in Northampton to promote its message of peace and further its links with other community groups and their leaders.
The burgeoning community has about 40 members in Northampton while further afield, there are Ahmadiyya Muslims in about 200 countries across the world, with a global following of 160 million.
In the UK, the Ahmadiyya community was founded in 1913 and is well known in other cities and towns, but people are less aware of it in Northampton.
Its motto is “love for all, hatred for none” – a message its community hopes to spread across Northampton.
“We want to create a very peaceful environment,” said Dr Naveed Zafar, the president of the Ahmadiyya community in Northampton. “We want to engage with people on a one-to-one basis.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community was established in 1889 by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who told followers he was the Messiah and said he would lay the foundation for peace through the removal of the gap between God and humans. The Ahmadiyya have faced persecution around the world by Muslims who believe the Messiah is still to come, because of this message.
“Other groups do not accept us but we believe it’s only God who can make that decision.
“Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s message was to bring mankind back to the right path. The portrayal in the media isn’t what Islam is and we’re trying to say to people these are what the teachings are and there have been deviations from it. The Koran is all peace, love your neighbour, love God.”
Regular fundraising events are held across the country to raise money for charities such as Cancer Research UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital, and doctors in the community have been to disaster zones on self-funded excursions to provide help to those in need. A big part of Ahmadiyya funds goes to projects in Africa.
The difference between the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and other branches of Islam is that the former believe the Messiah has come. “He came to revive the religion because people had drifted away from Islam.
“We are a very peaceful community, we believe in peace, harmony and brotherhood and respecting each other’s point of view. The Holy Koran says we shouldn’t be fighting.” Some Muslims, he says, have drifted away from the book’s message and now believe in violence.
“We have a lot of tolerance, we respect the Bible and other holy scriptures.
“The message is love for all, hatred for none.”
Don’t take this the wrong way, I say, but it sounds like the hippy branch of Islam.
Dr Zafar and his wife Amber laugh. She puts her fingers into peace signs and says she understands what made me think that.
“One of the things is if you love the creator, you must love the creation,” Amber adds. “How can you love God if you don’t love everything he created? If you honour any of God’s personal creations, how can he be displeased with you?
“Just because you’re Muslim doesn’t mean you’re going to heaven.”
She explains other Muslims don’t believe in the Ahmadiyya message, which they perceive as “soft”.
Her husband explains it’s for God to decide who goes to heaven, leading to a conversation about whether non-Muslims who have lived a good life should be automatically excluded from the afterlife because they did not practise the faith.
“We have to keep trying to spread the message, it’s an ongoing effort.
“We have great respect for each other.
“Humanity comes first and, as a human being, I respect you. In the end, religion is a personal matter. At the end of the day I want to please my God. We leave everything to God. Even if we’re persecuted, everything is left to God.”
Promoting harmony:
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association is not one of the best known religious groups in Northampton.
Last month it held a peace conference to promote the message of harmony the association says is in the Koran.
The event, which also took place last year, will be annual and will add to the calendar of Ahmadiyya conferences, which includes a national meeting.
“It was about respect for other people,” says Ahmadiyya Muslim Amber Zafar. “A lot of MPs come to the national conference because they really enjoy it.
“I think we have to keep saying it so there’s not so much negativity. Two police officers came and they were really surprised when they talked to me, so they came back this year. One said ‘you opened my eyes and I want to come back’.
“We had both Northampton’s MPs come to the conference and both gave little addresses. The assistant chief constable came and so did lots of councillors and lots of neighbours. I think everybody really enjoyed it and we had positive feedback.”
There were also representatives of other faiths who sent messages of peace to the conference, which focused on the Koran and the meaning and message of it for Muslims and other religions, in the hope of creating a better understanding of the religion.
The town’s Ahmadiyya community also wants to tackle the preconceptions and negative views which exist towards Islam, of the radicals and violence which dogs the press.
Charity work is very important to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and there is a focus on Africa, where money has been used to build 500 schools and 100 hospitals.
“We support a lot of charities if they do good for the community,” said community president Dr Naveed Zafar.
“We are always there for good causes. I feel it’s our duty to try to at least talk, as human beings and members of society. We are patriotic citizens and charity work is a chance to do something for the community.”
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Comments
There are 11 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
justanotherhuman
Monday, November 22, 2010 at 09:11 PMit is quite nice to see a group of muslims who actually want to integrate with the rest of society. seems to me that they are just a bunch of normal people with peaceful views, which they're being shunned for...how does that even make sense? still, kudos to them for trying very hard to be a part of the community, which is good to see. at least maybe now we can all try to learn to get along and coexist in peace.
ayeshaminhas
Friday, November 5, 2010 at 08:25 PM"I am glad that the contents of the article points us towards the true meaning of Islam. Ahmadiyya Muslim community has been actively arranging interfaith symposium for the same purpose of clarifying the true meaning of Islam. Like nowadays it is thought that Islam is another name of violence but instead Islam teaches us peace and how to Love God and it's creations. To understand the true meaning of Islam please visit our website www.alislam.org "
a.ullah
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10:12 PMi believe that this community can make a huge difference in most people's lives, because the Ahmadi's show that they are very peaceful and do take into account everyone's views on the religion but also stand by their own beliefs. it also teaches you a valuable lesson which is their motto ' love for all, hatred for none'.
northampton-girl
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10:03 PMi agree with "balckand white", how refreshing to see a community who want to co-exist with the rest of society but within the realms of their own beliefs. i am very open to that, i believe it can only enrich all our lives to live ina truly multi-cultural serene environment. good on you ahmadiyya community, keep up the good work.
northampton-girl
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 09:18 PMi agree with "balckand white", how refreshing to see a community who want to co-exist with the rest of society but within the realms of their own beliefs. i am very open to that, i believe it can only enrich all our lives to live ina truly multi-cultural serene environment. good on you ahmadiyya community, keep up the good work.
northampton-girl
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 09:18 PMi agree with "balckand white", how refreshing to see a community who want to co-exist with the rest of society but within the realms of their own beliefs. i am very open to that, i believe it can only enrich all our lives to live ina truly multi-cultural serene environment. good on you ahmadiyya community, keep up the good work.
jari.khan
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 04:43 AMI agree with the content of the article. Ahmadiyya Muslim community is arranging interfaith events all over the world, where it is legal. But unfortunately in Pakistan where it is needed, it is not permissible to talk about any other religion other than mainstream Islam. go to www.alislam.org for more details.
jbdoc
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 01:23 AMThe Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the only Islamic organization to believe that the long-awaited messiah has come in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) of Qadian. Ahmad claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide, whose advent was foretold by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that God sent Ahmad, like Jesus, to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace. Ahmad’s advent has brought about an unprecedented era of Islamic revival. He divested Islam of fanatical beliefs and practices by vigorously championing Islam’s true and essential teachings. He also recognized the noble teachings of the great religious founders and saints, including Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu and Guru Nanak, and explained how such teachings converged into the one true Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the leading Islamic organization to categorically reject terrorism in any form. Over a century ago, Ahmad emphatically declared that an aggressive “jihad by the sword” has no place in Islam. In its place, he taught his followers to wage a bloodless, intellectual “jihad of the pen” to defend Islam. To this end, Ahmad penned over 80 books and tens of thousands of letters, delivered hundreds of lectures, and engaged in scores of public debates. His rigorous and rational defenses of Islam unsettled conventional Muslim thinking. As part of its effort to revive Islam, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community continues to spread Ahmad’s teachings of moderation and restraint in the face of bitter opposition from the Muslim world. Similarly, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the only Islamic organization to endorse a separation of mosque and state. Over a century ago, Ahmad taught his followers to protect the sanctity of both religion and government by becoming righteous souls as well as loyal citizens. He cautioned against irrational interpretations of Quranic pronouncements and misapplications of Islamic law. He continually voiced his concerns over protecting the rights of God’s creatures. Today, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community continues to be an advocate for universal human rights and protections for religious and other minorities. It champions the empowerment and education of women. Its members are among the most law-abiding, educated, and engaged Muslims in the world. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the foremost Islamic organization with a central spiritual leader. Over a century ago, Ahmad reminded his followers of God’s promise to safeguard the message of Islam through khilafat (the spiritual institution of successorship to prophethood). The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that only spiritual successorship can uphold the true values of Islam and unite humanity. Five spiritual leaders have succeeded Ahmad since his demise in 1908. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s fifth and current spiritual head, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, resides in the United Kingdom. Under the leadership of its spiritual successors, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has now built over 15,000 mosques, over 500 schools, and over 30 hospitals. It has translated the Holy Quran into over 60 languages. It propagates the true teachings of Islam and the message of peace and tolerance through a twenty-four hour satellite television channel (MTA), the Internet (alislam.org) and print (Islam International Publications). It has been at the forefront of disaster relief in the United States and worldwide through an independent charitable organization, Humanity First.
jbdoc
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 01:21 AMStart typing your comment here:
jbdoc
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 01:21 AMStart typing your comment here:
Shalom
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 09:47 AMAhmadiyya is a hopeful development. To be at peace with your host community whilst maintaining your faith integrity , is a difficult balancing act. As a christian myself, I am often at odds with certain aspects of our current culture. But the answer is never violence , as Jesus told peter even when violent men were arresting him with the purpose of crucifying him. Matthew 26v51
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