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| Philadelphia Ahmadiyya Chapter Imam Bilal Abdus Salam addressing the panel of speakers |
Source/Credit: Philadelphia Weekly | PhillyNow Blog
By Aaron Kase | October 26, 2010
On August 19, former Philadelphian Habib Peer was assassinated in Pakistan when masked gunmen on motorcycles rode up to his car and shot him through the window, instantly ending his life.
According to his brother-in-law Mujeebullah Chaudhary, Peer, who used to run a newsstand in Germantown, was killed because of his religion, a sect of Islam known as the Ahmadiyya movement that rejects jihad and is considered heretical by many mainstream Muslims. “It’s a sad thing,” Chaudhary says. “People call themselves Muslims, but they have deviated from guidance to kill people they call non-believers.”
Ahmadiyya followers worship in relative obscurity in the United States, despite an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 members of the religion nationwide and around 600 in the Philadelphia area. Chaudhary, who is president of the Philadelphia Ahmadiyya chapter as well as a pharmacist and business owner, wants to change that. “We’re Muslims for peace,” he says, promoting a religion that is often persecuted on foreign soils while trying to maintain a foothold in the U.S. “We need to spread the message that we all must work together for peace.”
When Ahmadiyya founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad walked the earth in the nineteenth century, he spoke to leaders of many faiths to inform and refine his own vision of Islam. In the same vein, the Ahmadi community celebrated “Religious Founders’ Day” on Sunday, featuring a panel with representatives from various faiths tackling the topic “Tolerance and Patriotism.” About 80 people, mostly Ahmadis, filled a banquet hall at the 1st District Plaza in University City to hear speakers address the theme from the perspective of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.
Panel speakers took turns explaining how their particular religion fits into the frame of tolerance and patriotism. “Hinduism respects other faiths as different paths to the same ultimate reality,” Suketu Patel told the gathering.
“Does God fall in the way of our allegiance to the government?” asked Victor Gill, representing Christianity. He noted that Bill Clinton, a Christian, sent soldiers to save Muslims in Bosnia.
Chaudhary spoke for the Muslim faith, reading Koran versus to explain that Islam cannot be compelled on non-believers, and that the concept of jihad is obsolete. “The prophet never raised a sword to spread a message,” he told the crowd.
Khalil Malik, public relations officer for the Philadelphia Ahmadiyya chapter, says Religious Founders’ Day has been celebrated for about 20 years in Philadelphia, but is especially important this year given the rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the nation and proclamations like that by would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, who at his sentencing earlier this month warned of a wider war between Islam and the West. Malik stresses that Shahzad doesn’t speak for the Ahmadis. “We want to show that at least this group of Muslims is committed to being trustworthy partners in peace,” he says. “We have to establish a humanistic approach that is kind and compassionate to fellow beings.”
About 70 percent of the Philadelphia Ahmadi congregation is foreign born, Malik says, and indeed the audience on Sunday was dominated by immigrants from the Indian sub-continent. Its foreign flavor notwithstanding, native Philadelphians have also found themselves drawn to the Ahmadiyya community. The Imam of the group’s North Philly mosque, Bilal Abdus Salam, has lived in Philadelphia for 75 year after being born in Florida. Formerly known as Ernest, the Imam converted to Islam in the 60s after questioning aspects of Christian dogma. “I couldn’t believe that Jesus Christ was both God and the son of God,” he says. “It started me to really searching.” A friend of his turned him on to Islam, and he later found the Ahmadis appealing because the teachings matched what he already knew about Christian and Islamic prophecies.
Walli Uhdeen, 61, from Logan, transitioned from standard Islam to Ahamdi 20 years ago because of the freedom of expression he found in the religion. “I felt that I had a voice to speak out here,” he says. “Everybody has their own opinion and their own mind here. We’re free to practice religion and ask questions.”
Ahmadiyya teachings call for all mankind to be united under Islam, and the mosque continues to reach out to Philadelphians through fliers, advertisements, a radio program and events like Founder’s Day. But these Ahmadis say they are still down with other faiths to help the cause. “Regardless of what religion you are, try to spread peace to all,” Bilal said in a speech. “Learn your own religion. Seek and you will find.”
Read original post here: Philadelphia Muslims Celebrate Religious Founders’ Day
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