The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, which was established in 1921, has about 18,000 members, including 3,000 in Southern California.
Source/Credit: Orange County Register
By Deepa Bharath | October 6, 2017
When disaster erupts and devastates a community, members of one lesser-known Islamic sect often are among those who are quick to show up.
This week, after the Las Vegas shooting, dozens of Ahmadiyya Muslims came together to help organize blood drives and join in vigils.
The response was nothing new for Chicago-based imam, Azam Akram, Rizwan Ahmad of Milwaukee, and other members of the group, founded 128 years ago by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Followers consider it part of their duty to appear wherever social strife and tragedy strikes, be it riots in response to alleged police misconduct in Ferguson, Missouri, or the San Bernardino and Orlando terror attacks.
Akram said he and Ahmad arrived in Las Vegas Monday afternoon — hours after the shooting that left 58 victims dead — and organized about 70 members of the local Ahmadiyya community to participate in blood drives and several vigils held in different parts of the city.
“When we have the opportunity to come out, show support and help, we should do that,” he said. “We are Americans too. We are as hurt and as heartbroken as everyone else.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, which was established in 1921, has about 18,000 members, including 3,000 in Southern California.
Soon after the San Bernardino terror attack, Ahmadiyya Muslims launched a True Islam campaign nationwide to counter Islamophobia and educate the public that it is a religion that rejects violence and terrorism and one that values peace, tolerance and human connection.
Akram said the vigils he and others attended Monday night were particularly emotional.
“People were singing hymns, lighting candles,” he said. “Many broke down crying.”
Those who saw them at the vigils were startled at first, but some walked up and gave them hugs. Many said “thank you,” Akram said.
“It’s heartening to see people in these situations always respond with love and openness,” he said. “Our inhibitions disappear when we look at each other as human beings. Unfortunately, sometimes, it takes a tragedy to unite us.”
Akram said he was concerned after ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, although FBI officials have said there is no evidence to support that claim.
“We want to make sure it didn’t become an opportunity for people to spin their own narratives or create divides,” he said.
He described Vegas as “unusually quiet and empty” on the day after the attack when he arrived. He said there were more media than public on the streets.
Despite the cloud of gloom that hung over Las Vegas Monday, people were consoling, helping and cheering up one another, he said.
The stories of generosity and heroism that emerge from such tragedies are a silver lining, Akram said.
“Regardless of the tragedy, the healing process seems to be the same,” he said. “Ultimately, we all need to stand together in solidarity.”
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Read original post here: USA: Ahmadiyya Muslim group in Las Vegas responds to massacre
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