USA: Ahmadi Muslims celebrate community at annual convention

"For me, this convention’s flavor is different. It’s about recognizing that, though there were some among us that we lost, that’s just brought us closer together." [Tamara Rodney]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source & Credit: WAMU | NPR | Washington
By Jessica Gould | July 18, 2010
Edited by Ahmadiyya Times for timing relevance

Thousands of Ahmadi Muslims converged on Chantilly, Virginia, where the group held its annual convention.


Tamara Rodney traveled from St. Louis, Missouri to attend this year’s convention, which members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community call Jalsa.

"When you say Jalsa, you think gathering," she says. "You think strength or strengthening. You think rejuvenating."


She says she always looks forward to the event. But this year, she says, the convention has special meaning. In May, gunmen attacked two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, killing more than 80 people.

"For me, this convention’s flavor is different," she says. "It’s about recognizing that, though there were some among us that we lost, that’s just brought us closer together."

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believe the messiah has already come in the form of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who preached peace, justice and the separation of mosque and state.

The group has millions of members in more than 195 countries across the world.

Read original post here: Ahmadi Muslims Celebrate Community At Annual Convention


Courtesy: WS/ISM