Because the community claims the second coming of Christ has occurred, they face persecution and sometimes threats from other Muslims.
Source/Credit: CKOM News Talk 650
By Lasia Kretzel | August 10, 2014
More than 3,000 Ahmadiyya Muslims gathered in Saskatoon for their annual conference
More than 3,000 Ahmadiyya Muslims from around Western Canada descended on Saskatoon this weekend to celebrate their faith and listen to leaders talk about how to spread a message of peace and harmony.
Prayers and poems echoed through the Soccer Centre as faithful men and women packed into separate, partitioned sides of the building to take part in the 35th annual Jalsa Salana Western Canada conference for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC).
“Our objective is to generate passion and love for our country. We have been blessed to be in Canada. This is a country which allows us to profess and proclaim what we think is right in a nice way,” AMC missionary in charge and senior vice president, Mubarak Nazir said.
Ahmadiyya is a sect of Islam founded in India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed. Ahmadiyya claimed to be the Mujaddid – divine reformer – and second coming of Jesus Christ. He advocated a peaceful spread of Islam and denounced violence.
Western Canada is home to around 7,500 Ahmadiyya Muslims, but because they are spread out between Winnipeg and Vancouver, the conference changes locations every year. Saskatoon is home to about 250 Ahmadiyya families.
Nazir was Saturday evening’s keynote speaker on world conflict and how to peacefully spread the religion.
“I'm talking of peace and the third world war is looming,” Nazir said, referring to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East including Israel, Palestine and Syria. “If the prophet comes to this world now, he would never recognize these Muslims, what they're doing in Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Pakistan and other countries. This is not what the prophet taught ... It's our duty to go back to the fundamentals of these religions and see that all these religions teach peace."
Volunteers with metal detectors scanned attendees before they were allowed to enter. Because the community claims the second coming of Christ has occurred, they face persecution and sometimes threats from other Muslims.
Inside, the majority of speeches, prayers and poems occur on the male side while on the other side of the partition, women take part in their own female-led seminars and watch male keynote speakers on a large projection screen.
Amtul Noor Daud is the national president for the AMC women’s association. The association provides education, training and leisure activities for women. She spoke to the women on how to reform themselves to be a good person.
“To gain the love of God, we need to become a self-reformed person and keep ourselves away from all kinds of evil,” she said.
The conference is open to the general public and men and women may sit together on the men’s side if they do not wish to practice segregation.
Daud and Nazir encourage the public to come in order to break down the negative stereotypes of Islam.
“We make our message as palatable as possible. If it appeals to common sense, people will adopt it.” Nazir said. “Swords and bombs can win territories. They can bend your head, but they can’t bend your heart. We are not in the business of winning territories. We are in the business of winning hearts.”
lkretzel@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @lkretzel
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