Canada: Ahmadiyya Muslim youth denounce violence

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“The reason we do this in Canada is because we are actually persecuted in other countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.”

Photo: Scott Dunn/The Sun Times, Owen Sound

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Sun Times, Owen Sound
By Scott Dunn | February 27, 2016

OWEN SOUND - Members of a moderate Muslim youth association prayed at the end of their lightly attended open house in the Owen Sound public library auditorium Saturday afternoon.

Young men visiting from the Maple area, north of Toronto, stood five abreast, along with one local man, and were led by another young Muslim, Adnan Ahmed, in prayer. They faced northeast toward Mecca and Ahmed periodically sang in a soft voice “Allah-hu-Akbar,” God is the greatest.

That's what terrorists shouted when they slayed 130 people and injured almost 400 more in a series of attacks in Paris in November. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility.

But the young men visiting Owen Sound hoped to help debunk the view held by some that Islam is an extremist ideology. The event is part of a national campaign called Demystify Islam, organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association.

“You know what is happening in the east is not Islam. Islam is peace, justice and tolerance,” said Jalees Khokhar, in an interview after the event wrapped up. Just four people came to the open house but they talked for about three hours about issues raised by the visitors, he said.

The latest campaign began in December in response to the Paris terror attacks, which followed the Paris Charlie Hebdo newspaper massacre in January of 2015. Other members of that group visited Owen Sound on the same mission last February in the wake of the Hebdo attacks.

Khokhar said he has found people know the Muslim religion is not represented by the violence committed by the Islamic State and other extremists. He thinks a lack of education about Islam and poverty explain how people justify violence with what they are told are Islamic beliefs. The group has another campaign to help educate young Muslims by holding symposiums and events like the one in Owen Sound.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is one of dozens of branches of Islam.There are 25,000 Ahmad followers among Canada's roughly one million Muslims, by the estimate of on imam who visited Owen Sound last year on a similar outreach initiative.

“The reason we do this in Canada is because we are actually persecuted in other countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia,” Khokhar said. His family moved to Canada 25 years ago and the 22-year-old was born and raised in the Toronto area. He's a fourth-year York University information technology student.

“When someone tells me, well go back to your own country, that's one thing that completely disheartens me,” he said. “When someone says defend your nation, Canada is my nation so I am going to defend Canada.”

Ahmad, who founded the Ahmadiyya community in 1889 in India, called for people to be loyal to the British after siding against a revolt to overthrow the British East India Company which governed India.

That prompted some Muslims to view Ahmad, who was raised within British institutions established in India, as the creation of the British to encourage division among already divided people of Muslim faith, Imam Ansar Raza said on a visit to Owen Sound last year.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community is not itself accepted by some other Muslims for religious reasons.

Khokhar said. He highlighted a major division: Ahmadiyya followers believe Jesus, though a prophet, wasn't the son of God and he did not die on the cross but instead died a natural death in Kashmir, India.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association is hosting more than 135 open houses and making more than 270 visits to more than 35 towns across Canada.



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