USA: Pikesville home of new Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque

“People hear the word Muslim and they tend to get nervous. … What they said is that at their core, they are open to interacting with all groups. They want to make friends. They don’t control land in any country and they don’t rule anything.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Baltimore Jewish Times
By Neil Rubin | April 27, 2012

One of the most traveled intersections in the heavily Jewish Upper Park Heights/Pikeville corridor is now the home to a mosque of the small local community of an international Muslim group that preaches universal peace.

The Ahmaddiya Muslims bought the roughly 4-acre property at 7501 Park Heights Ave. — formerly known as Slade Mansion and most recently an assisted living home — earlier last month.

The group’s Baltimore congregation — one of 70 nationwide — has about 40 families, according to Rabbi Andrew Busch of the Baltimore Hebrew congregation, a 1,300 membership unit Reform temple across the street from the mosque site.

The local group is led by Dr. Agha Khan, a neurosurgeon based at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a historically Jewish hospital, and head of Mid-Atlantic Neuro Surgical.

“Right from the beginning, because of his involvement with Sinai, he knew he needed to have some discussions with leadership in the Jewish community,” said Dr. Arthur C. Abramson, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council.

Dr. Khan was traveling in Ghana this week and did not respond to email or telephone messages for this article.

His group, according to its website alislam.org , “is a dynamic, fast growing international revival movement within Islam” that has members in the “tens of millions” in more than 200 countries. Its international headquarters is in the United Kingdom while its U.S. headquarters is in Silver Spring.

Many of the sect’s members come from India, where the branch of Islam was founded in 1889.

The group “categorically rejects terrorism in any form,” the site continues, as well as spreads its “teachings of moderation and restraint in the face of bitter opposition from parts of the Muslim world.” It also “is the only Islamic organization to endorse a separation of mosque and state.”

Rabbi Busch recently welcomed Dr. Khan to his office to meet with him and other congregational officials. Likewise, Dr. Khan has met with BJC officials and leaders of the Pikesville-Greenspring Communication Coalition Community.

“We reached out to them when we heard and they immediately responded,” Rabbi Busch said. “[Dr. Khan] was very open to any questions and clear in his written material that their interest is in peaceful coexistence.”

Dr. Khan told Rabbi Busch and others that he was literally driving by the property one day when he saw a “for sale” sign. Since it is centrally located to his congregation’s members, he began pursuing the purchase.

Dr. Khan has said, according to people with whom he has met, that the group will not make exterior changes to the building, nor will it put on any additions. However, it will pave a small portion of the land to gain further parking.

In the interim, congregants have been invited to use the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation parking lot. The mosque will host Friday afternoon prayers from about 1:30 to 2:15, as well as community events. “It’s all normal usage,” Rabbi Busch said.

He and others are looking forward to interfaith dialogue opportunities.

“People hear the word Muslim and they tend to get nervous. … What they said is that at their core, they are open to interacting with all groups,” Rabbi Busch said. “They want to make friends. They don’t control land in any country and they don’t rule anything.”

He noted that “while there are Muslims in Baltimore ... many people in our congregation have had few contacts with Muslims and they only hear what they hear on the news.”

For his part, Dr. Abramson said, “Very clearly we expect the Jewish community to be very welcoming because that’s what this community should be all about and is about.”

For information about the Ahmadiyya Muslims, visit muslimsforpeace.org and alislam.org .


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