“Muslims have a deep love for Canada and we remember and honour those members of the Armed Forces that have served to protect all Canadians."
Source/Credit: York Region / Vaughan Citizen
By Tim Kelly | November 7, 2013
Members of Vaughan’s Ahmadiyya community are seen above during last year’s poppy campaign at Baitul Islam Mosque in Maple.
In the lead-up to Remembrance Day, Vaughan’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at community wants you to know they stand up proudly for Canada, their “home and native land”.
Members of the community will be out in force Friday selling poppies in honour of veterans for Remembrance Day in front of their mosque at 10610 Jane St., in Maple.
JT Lone, the community’s national media co-ordinator, said they participate every Remembrance Day and send volunteers to Union Station in Toronto or to local GO Stations.
“This year we’re concentating on mosques or prayer centres,” he said.
It is important for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at community to reinforce the point to the wider Canadian public, Mr. Lone said.
“One of the fundamental concepts of Islam is loyalty to your country. We don’t like to beat around the bush on this topic,” he added. “We preach this from the pulpit, your loyalty to your country, your rights that your country has over you, trump your religious beliefs.”
That loyalty to one’s country is in line with all those in uniform who are putting their lives on the line now and who put their lives on the line in the past, he added.
“We want to make sure our voices are loud and clear.We stand up and take part in these events, especially Remembrance Day.
“It’s a big thing for us. Every year we do similar campaigns across the country wherever we have mosques and prayer centres. We make sure our youth and our demographic, in particular, are all involved in this. We donate toward the poppy appeal.”
Mr. Lone said he is aware of several young men serving in the reserves.
“We’re encouraging them to get involved in the Canadian military,” he said. “Our community is quite young in Canada. The bulk of our community started arriving here in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. So this is something that is quite new to us, but it is something we’re encouraging. It would be a source of honour for us when and if our members can get involved in active military duty in Canada.”
Lal Khan Malik, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada, said:
“We honour those who have given their lives serving Canadians and helping people of other nations. Peace is a fundamental concept in Islamic thought. However, Muslims realize that a nation must protect its borders and protect others and, as such, Canadian Muslims serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, police, fire and emergency services.
“Muslims have a deep love for Canada and we remember and honour those members of the Armed Forces that have served to protect all Canadians.
“The poppy is a symbol of remembrance. By wearing the poppy, we show thanks to all soldiers, past and present, Canadian and other, who have sacrificed their lives to protect the values we all hold so dear.
“Between Nov. 8-11, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama`at will actively take part in the Canadian Muslim Poppy Appeal. At all prayer centres across Canada, volunteers will collect donations for the Royal Canadian Legion, Canada’s largest veterans and community services organization. Please show your support and donate generously.”
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