USA: Ambassador Haqqani hosts interfaith Iftar-dinner at Pakistan Embassy

Ahmadiyya Times Editor's Note: Dubbing Ambassador Husain Haqqani as the 'hardest working man in DC,' Jeffrey Goldberg of Bloomberg News wrote not too long ago: “The ambassador with the hardest job in Washington is undoubtedly Pakistan’s Husain Haqqani, a skilled and wily diplomat…”  Goldberg wasn’t overstating. Ambassador has done tremendous work to close gaps; be those political, diplomatic or religious. This event of Interfaith Iftar-dinner is one such example of the Ambassador Haqqani’s efforts.

Interfaith leaders attend Iftar-dinner at Pak Embassy

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Pakistan Embassy | Washington, DC
By Amb. Husain Haqqani | August 18, 2011

The following is the transcript of the address by His Excellency, Ambassador Hassan Haqqani at interfaith Iftar-dinner served at Pakistan embassy, Washington DC.

Excellencies, Ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, officials of the U.S. government, members of clergy of different faiths, Ladies and Gentlemen. It’s my pleasure to welcome you all in the holy month of Ramadan to this interfaith iftar. 

Ramadan, as you know, has a very special place in the annual calendar of Muslims. It’s the month about which our holy book, the Quran, says that it’s a month in which the revelation of the Quran started and it is the month in which Muslims have been given the gift of fasting and prayer, all of which is aimed at creating greater piety. But there is no piety if people do not respect each other’s religions and faiths. In recent years we have seen a lot of violence and a lot of anger in the name of Islam. But at the same time there are people who want to keep alive a tradition of Muslims breaking fasts with member of other faiths, of Muslims when we became divided into various denominations to actually respect each other’s denominations and break bread together. And at the Embassy of Pakistan, for the last three years that I have been Ambassador we have tried to keep this tradition alive.

Today’s interfaith iftar is particularly special for us because today we have here members of the Jewish Christian, Muslim, Ahmadi^*, Hindu, Buddhist and Sing Tao religions. And among Christians we have Catholics, we have Protestants, amongst Muslims we have all the various denominations as I said earlier and so it’s important for us, on this occasion, to dedicate this evening to the vision of a Pakistan in which sectarianism and bigotry will no longer be identified with Pakistan. A Pakistan in which nobody will be killed because of their faith, nobody will be persecuted because of their faith, nobody will be told what to call themselves in terms of faith, nobody will be marginalized because of their religion. 

The President of Pakistan on the 11th of August, which was declared religious minorities day, pledged that the government will, in a phased manner, roll back all those laws, all those ordinances that have represented not the best in the Muslim tradition and certainly not the best in the Pakistani Muslim tradition but in some ways the worst of the anger and the denominational exclusivity that was brought into Pakistan during the period of dictatorship. Inclusiveness is how all faiths grow. Everybody who is here from different faiths, they will not lose their faith by sitting together and joining their Muslim brethren in the observance of the holy month of Ramadan. If anything, everybody will go back feeling more human, feeling more connected to human beings because after all what is the purpose of faith if it is not to bring human beings to a higher level of humanity. 

So ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this occasion. Dinner will be served shortly. Try and make this an occasion on which you pray, according to your own faiths, for the prosperity of the United States of America, for the prosperity of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, for the prosperity of all the countries that are represented here, all the nations of the word but above all for the community to which each one of us belongs not withstanding what our nationality is, irrespective of our religions and that is the community of humanity. Thank you all and welcome again to the Embassy.

*-- Ahmadiyya Times Editor's [2nd.] Note: As an Ahmadi Muslim this Editor respectfully asserts to His Excellency, Ambassador Husain Haqqani  that 'Ahmadi' is NOT a seperate religion. Ahmadis profess to be Muslims and followers of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) including the Holy Prophet (saw)'s prophesy about a Promised Messiah and Mehdi for the latter days. While all Muslims believe in the said prophesy, Ahmadi Muslims believe that the prophesy has been fulfilled and the Promised Messiah and Mehdi has already come in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. 

Read original post here: AMBASSADOR HAQQANI’S SPEECH AT THE INTERFAITH IFTAR DINNER AT THE EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN