Last night, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Fifth Khalifa, spoke at length about the perilous state of the world and the impending threat of a nuclear war.

Whilst addressing the 9 ^th Annual Peace Symposium, held at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden and organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the UK, His Holiness also sent a message of congratulations and prayers to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II upon the Diamond Jubilee.

The event attracted an audience of more than 1,000 people, including Government Ministers, Ambassadors of State, Members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Mayor of London and various other dignitaries and guests from all walks of life. The theme of this year’s Symposium was ‘International Peace’.

In his welcome address, Rafiq Hayat, the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the UK said that under the leadership of its Khalifa, the Ahmadiyya Community was constantly engaged in promoting values of peace, tolerance and loyalty to one’s country.

Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham & Morden and Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, said that though progress had been made, there was still a much to achieve in terms of making sure that all people around the world were granted religious freedom.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, thanked the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat for ‘contributing in so many ways’ towards promoting peace and tolerance in London and bringing people together. He pledged to always support the Jamaat and its charitable work.

Rt Hon Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, said that Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was a ‘ great leader for peace’. He also spoke about the risk of climate change and its effects on food and water security in the world.

Stephen Hammond MP, read out a message from Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in which he praised the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat for promoting tolerance throughout Britain’s communities.

Andrew Stunnell OBE MP, said the UK Government very much appreciated the efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat towards promoting charitable works and community cohesion. He said it was his first visit to the Baitul Futuh Mosque and found it to be a ‘ very impressive building’ .

Councillor Stephen Alambritis, Leader of Merton Council, said that the Council was ‘proud of the Ahmadiyya Mosque and proud of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’ .

Lord Eric Avebury said that not enough was being done to prevent wars and conflicts. He said to simply walk away from such challenges would be ‘ morally wrong’. He said that despite being a victim of persecution in a number of countries, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was leading the way in striving for peace throughout the world.

The 3 ^rd Annual ‘Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace’ was presented by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad to the charity ‘SOS Children’s Villages UK’ in recognition of its continued efforts to alleviating the suffering of orphaned and abandoned children around the world and towards fulfilling its vision of ‘a loving home for every child’. Accepting the award on behalf of the charity was its UK President, Dame Mary Richardson DBE, who said it was essential to always put the welfare of children first.

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