Courtesty: CNN
US Road Trip-20 mosques in 20 days during Ramadan
Day 12
Missouri
08/13/2011
Source: 30mosques.com
Promised Messiah and Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)
Conversations and Cornbread
by Aman Ali
My knowledge of what Ahmadiyya Muslims believe is limited. But off the bat, let’s clarify some misconceptions you might have about them. Yes, they pray five times a day, believe in Prophet Muhammad, fast during Ramadan and follow many other fundamentals of Islam. No, they don’t eat babies for breakfast.
I’ve never been to an Ahmadi mosque and know very few of them in general. But when talking about the history of Muslims in this country, their contributions to society are often swept under the rug. For that reason, we went to St. Louis to visit the Ahmadis, a Muslim community that has been in the area since the 1920s.
The basic difference between Ahmadis and mainstream Sunni Muslims deals with the death of Jesus. Muslims believe Jesus is currently in heaven and his return as The Messiah to signal the Day of Judgment. Ahmadis believe a man named in India named Mirza Gullam Ahmed in the 1800s was actually The Messiah.
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This is an excellent idea and a great way to document Muslim Heritage in USA provided that is one of the goals. The overall reception from this duo may have been surprisingly positive maybe because they are followed by CNN crew. They hardly reported any negative incidents whereas we know so many Muslims continue to be under unfair scrutiny about their loyalty.
The real changes in US Muslim landscape are brought out by the Muslim for Peace, Muslim for Loyalty and now Muslim for Life campaign (www.muslimsforlife.org).
Categories: Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim Heritage, United States
Someone left a comment on http://30mosques.com/2011/08/conversation-and-cornbread/ worth repeating/ worth our reflection.
“Rayan 4 days ago
I disagree with Ahmadis on many topics, but I will say that Ahmadis and Ismailis are the best organized and most dynamic Muslim communities in the world. They help each other more than anybody else, they build the nicest mosques with the most ambitious mandate, and they maintain the best relationships with the external community. Their buildings become landmarks, their people become powerful, and they are very charitable.
Even if you do disagree with them as I do, there is so much to learn from them. One can only dream that there was even one Sunni community in North America that operates at even half the effectiveness of a Ahmadi or Ismaili community.”