A guest session on Aug. 15, themed “religion, Freedom and Peace,” included Rep. Mike Honda of California, who was among this year’s recipients of the community’s Humanitarian Award.
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| Nusrat Qadir (R) with the First Lady of Pennsylvania, Frances Wolf (2-R) and National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women Association USA, Saliha Malik (3-R) during the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s 67th annual conference in Harrisburg, PA. Photo: Daily Record/Nusrat Qadir |
Source/Credit: Morris County Daily Record
By William Westhoven | August 30, 2015
Pursuing their holy mission to “end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and re-institute morality, justice and peace,” members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community — including hundreds from North Jersey — descended on Harrisburg, Pa. for their 67th annual Jalsa Salana convention.
The three-day conference, which began on Aug. 14, drew thousands of Ahmadiyya Muslims to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, where the faithful, along with interfaith speakers and politicians, discussed the current ideological climate and how to solve the extremist threat.
“It kicked off with Friday prayers, and that sermon is always one that reminds of us of why we come,” said Nusrat J. Qadir, a Morristown resident and neonatal nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital who attended the conference along with about 250 members of the mosque she belongs to in Clifton. “It really starts the mindset that you’re really here to recommit yourself to God and humanity. It brings to mind how we are supposed to be with one another, and taking that and extending it back to our neighborhood and community. That kind of excites me.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community, founded in 1889, is an international reformist movement within Islam, claiming membership in excess of 10 million. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, founded in 1920, is among the first American-Muslim organizations.
After Friday prayers, Qadir said, she was able to mingle during lunch with some 8,000 people from as far away as Guatemala, followed by individual sessions and speeches, many focusing on current issues in the world.
The Aug. 15 sessions included a women’s-only session among members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which is known for championing the empowerment and education of women.
A guest session on Aug. 15, themed “religion, Freedom and Peace,” included Rep. Mike Honda of California, who was among this year’s recipients of the community’s Humanitarian Award.
“It was a great honor to receive the annual humanitarian award and participate in America's oldest and longest-running Muslim convention,” Honda said. “It was a time to celebrate the beautiful practices of the Ahmadiyya and our collective commitment to religion, freedom and peace.”
“Extremists are trying to ruin Islam’s name,” said Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, senior vice president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. “This guest session is a great way to begin a dialogue to show people that true Islam is a religion of peace.”
“One thing that interfaith dialogue allows is most people don’t know us,” Qadir said. “Most Americans don’t know Islam. This gives people a chance to talk to us in a setting that is open and welcoming to others.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also attended the event on Friday with his wife. Other guests included Dr. Robert George, chairman of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Bill Ayres, founder of World Hunger Year.
“I happened to be in the right place at the right time to get to meet (Wolf and his wife),” Qadir said. “That was really exciting. I got to speak with Mrs. Wolf. She and her husband were very down-to-earth. It seemed as if they really wanted to reach out, get to know the community, get to know who we are and what it is we’re trying to do to increase dialogue.”
She also praised Honda, who “literally spent the whole day with us on Saturday. He was a part of every effort and event. That was very comforting. To spend the time with these elected officials, who really wanted to get to know us and help us make a positive difference, I found that to be another highlight of the session.”
Qadir grew up as a Ahmadiyya Muslim but was encouraged by her mother to explore the religions of her peers. As a teenager, she experienced other Muslim communities and attended synagogues and Catholic churches before “coming home” to her original faith.
“I just wanted to see where my heart found peace, and I found peace with this community,” she said. “It really works well for me. My faith is very similar to other faiths. It requires us to be obedient to God, and to be part of humanity. We’re not to be separated. We’re to be united. Unity is required.”
Morris County Sheriff Edward Rochford, Parsippany Mayor James Barberio and other local leaders attended the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of New Jersey’s “Stop the Crisis” event in April at the Villa at Mountain Lakes. They are expected to return to the same venue on Sept. 10 for another AMCNJ event, “Muslims for Peace and Loyalty.”
For more information on the Sept. 10 event, visit Saifulla Chaudhary at Saifulla.chaudhary@gmail.com or Ahmed Khawaja at a.khawaja@icloud.com.
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.
Read original post here: USA: Morristown represented at annual Ahmadiyya Muslim conference in Harrisburg, Pa
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