The Khalifa’s Friday sermon on May 10th was broadcast live from the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino, and all over the world, tens of millions of Ahmadis in 202 countries listened to the Urdu broadcast or a translation in one of twelve major languages.
-with-Dr.-Hamidur-Rahman-(L)-and-Imam-Shamshad-Nasir-(R).jpg)
Source/Credit: Baitul Hameed Mosque
By Press Release | May 21q, 2013
Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Khalifa of Islam Ahmadiyya and the 5th successor to the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, visited the west coast of the U.S. from May 4th to the 15th, staying at the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino. His main purpose in coming to Southern California was to meet with local members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the denomination of Islam he has headed since April 2003 when he was elected to the lifelong position of Khalifa or spiritual leader.
His Holiness Khalifatul Masih the 5th spent the better part of a week conducting 550 private meetings with families, conversing with around 2,200 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Most of the Ahmadis who met with His Holiness live in southern California, but a sizable portion came from central and northern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and half a dozen other states from the mid-west to the eastern seaboard. Some members traveled from Canada and others came from as far away as the UK, Norway and Pakistan. All were eager to spend even a few minutes with their Khalifa, and all tried their best to make it for the five daily prayers, which His Holiness personally led. Having the Khalifa on the mosque premises for 12 days was an amazing blessing and a spiritually revitalizing experience for everyone, said Imam Shamshad A. Nasir, the Chino Mosque’s prayer leader and southwest regional missionary for the Ahmadiyya Community in the U.S. It was the Khalifa’s first trip to the west coast, and Ahmadis came from far and wide just to be able to meet with him for a couple of minutes and have pictures taken with him.
Imam Shamshad summed up the overall feeling of Ahmadis in the presence of their spiritual leader: “There are millions of Ahmadi Muslims who have never been able to meet the Khalifa, so to have him come to Southern California and stay right here at the Mosque and to have him lead the five daily prayers, which he does with complete attention and focus, well, that’s something we will remember and treasure for the rest of our lives.”
The Khalifa’s Friday sermon on May 10th was broadcast live from the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino, and all over the world, tens of millions of Ahmadis in 202 countries listened to the Urdu broadcast or a translation in one of twelve major languages.
The Khalifa’s sermon focused on the need to spread Islam to the Hispanic population by printing more Spanish books and literature, and training Spanish-speaking missionaries to convey to the Hispanic people the message of Islam and its revival through the Ahmadiyya Community. After the sermon, the Khalifa conducted an emotional re-initiation ceremony for members that was televised live and participated in around the world.
On May 11th, His Holiness gave the keynote address at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills before an “Invitation-only” audience of 300 people composed of civic and academic leaders, the media, law enforcement officials, sheriff Lee Baca, L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and members of the California state assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, including Nancy Pelosi and Gloria Negrete McCloud.
His Holiness started by condemning the recent Boston Marathon terrorist attack as well as all acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam or by so-called Muslims. He stated that because Islam forbids terrorism and requires Muslims to seek peace and be peaceful, it was factually incorrect to say that terrorism in any form is commanded or sanctioned by Islamic teachings. The Khalifa then outlined the Islamic solutions for world peace, based on the fundamental need for true justice between people and nations. [ His entire address can be read online at: http://alislam.org/e/2261 ]
What makes the Ahmadiyya Khalifa unique is that His Holiness openly claims to be the Khalifa appointed by God for the spiritual and moral reformation of the Muslims, and that the return of the glory days of Islam will never occur through political or military means but only when Muslims return to the true Islam of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). This was promised to be re-established in the world with the advent of the Imam Mahdi, who Ahmadi Muslims believe came in the latter part of the 19th century (of the Christian era) in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835-1908). Ahmadis believe that he also fulfills the Second Coming of Jesus (pbuh) for the Christians and the Muslims.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community -- which has always stood by the claims of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, that he was the Imam Mahdi and Promised Messiah -- has been blessed with a continuous succession of Khalifas following the demise of Ahmad in May of 1908.
The present Khalifa normally resides in London, where he governs the largest unified body of Muslims in the world. Every Friday, his hour-long sermon -- broadcast live via satellite and the Internet -- reaches tens of millions of Ahmadis across six continents. The sermon is done in Urdu with translations into German, French, Arabic, Bengali, English and many other languages.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s main website, Alislam.org, can also be viewed in more than 30 languages, and the Community has led the Muslim world in the translation of the Holy Quran into more than 70 languages, being the first Muslims to translate the Quran into English in the early 20th century. Prior to that, all European language translations of the Quran were done by non-Muslims who were either openly hostile to Islam or largely ignorant of Arabic or the teachings and history of Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
-- USA: Ahmadiyya Khalifa makes historic first visit to Southern California
-- Ahmadiyya Times
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