Australia: Imam Wadood Janud of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Victoria addresses gathering at St. Mark’s Uniting Church Mornington

---

“Understanding fundamentals of Islam can be divided into two categories, the Five Articles of Faith, which essentially define a Muslim’s belief and the Five Pillars of Islam; which are the implementation of the philosophy mentioned in articles of faith.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AMA Victoria, Australia
By Press Release | March 14, 2015

“There is No Compulsion in Religion” -- (The Holy Quran – Ch.2:V.256)

On Wednesday 11th of March 2015, Imam Janud of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Victoria delivered a lecture on Islam, its basic beliefs, history and contemporary issues followed by a question and answer session at St. Mark’s Uniting Church in Mornington.

Dr. David Price, OAM, member of the church in Mornington and chairperson, opened the session with warm welcome and prayers. In his brief introduction to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Victoria, Peter Orton, Chairman of Peninsula Voice said, “I recently attended Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s annual Australia Day celebrations dinner in their beautiful ‘Bait-ul-Salam’ mosque in Langwarrin and for the first time I came to know that there was a strong connection between love of one’s country and Islamic teachings.” He said all I know about Ahmadiyya is that this community means love and harmony and their mosque is a place of peace.

In his opening remarks, Imam Janud said,

“I am currently serving as a missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Victoria. I received my degree in ‘Islamic Theology and Comparative Religions’ in May 2013 from the ‘Ahmadiyya Institute of Islamic Studies’, located in Maple, ON, Canada.”

Ahmadiyya theological institute is formally known as ‘Jamia Ahmadiyya’ and it has branches in more than seven countries including United Kingdom, Germany and Ghana.
Speaking on Islam’s basic teachings and fundamentals, Imam Janud said,

“Understanding fundamentals of Islam can be divided into two categories, the Five Articles of Faith, which essentially define a Muslim’s belief and the Five Pillars of Islam; which are the implementation of the philosophy mentioned in articles of faith.”

About Islam’s unique teachings of a Universal God, he said,

“One of the most beautiful and unique teachings of Islam is acceptance of a universal God who has sent his beloved prophets to all people throughout time. Islam tells us that no one has any monopoly over God; therefore God has sent his prophets and messengers to all nations throughout time. Consequently, a Muslim essentially becomes a Muslim only after he becomes a Hindu first, by believing in prophet Krishna as a person of God. A Muslim becomes a Zoroaster first, by believing in the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster and a Jew by believing in Moses and a Christian by believing in Jesus. And only at the end when he believes in Muhammad (peace be upon him) he becomes a Muslim.”

Imam Janud concluded his presentation by saying that Islam has been misrepresented by a small group of so-called Muslims. He said,

“A book cannot be judged by its cover. Let me assure you that this does not represent the voice of Islam. It does not represent the voice of nearly 2 billion Muslims. Such radicalism and extremism are completely alien to the teaching of Quran and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).”

After the speech, members of the audience had the opportunity to engage in a question and answer session. Imam Janud answered several questions on topics ranging from terrorism, integration, persecution and Sharia Law, among many others.

Answering to a question whether Muslims enforce Sharia Law in Western countries, Imam Janud said,

“When the Holy Prophet of Islam and early Muslims migrated to Abysinnia, the King granted them refuge in his land. They lived under his rule, and did not

enforce Sharia in his land. Faith is between you and God. Islam does not say anywhere that you enforce your way of life.”

Members were welcomed with a generous serving of breakfast and juices. In the end, Imam Janud thanked the members of the church for their warm hospitality and extended his invitation to the Ahmadiyya mosque in Langwarrin. He said only such sessions can remove misconceptions about our religion and can bring our people closer.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a dynamic, reformist and fast-growing international revival movement within Islam. Founded in 1889, the Community spans more than 210 countries with membership exceeding tens of millions. More information can be obtained from the official website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at www.alislam.org.


  --  Australia: Imam Wadood Janud of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Victoria addresses gathering at St. Mark’s Uniting Church Mornington


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times. Ahmadiyya Times is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.