Source: Kincardine News –

While the essence of Scottish culture was echoing through Kincardine this past weekend, I was saturating myself in knowledge gained as a guest of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) at Mississauga’s International Centre and their Mosque in Maple, Ont.

I was one of over 1,000 guests invited to listen, learn and experience the 36th Annual Canada Ahmadiyya Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) July 7-8. I was as just one of many from media agencies, municipal governments, religious denominations and general public, but what I took away from the event was a profound respect for this sect of Islam, persecuted as “Non-Muslim” by others in their religion and outlawed in Pakistan where so many Ahmadis originate.

These are the same Muslims that have partnered with Canadian Blood Services to volunteer and help operate a Blood Donor Clinic at the Kincardine Davidson Centre Wednesday (July 11) from 1-8 p.m. as part of their humanitarian efforts.

The most significant factor at the event, and one of great excitement to my hosts, was the presence of the head of the international Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth elected to the position of Khalifa (Successor to the Messiah). A speaker who inspires and unites his people so greatly that sharing words in his presence can bring followers to tears, His Holiness is the sects only leader who unites tens of millions of Ahmadis around the world, including tens of thousands in Canada. His position, or that of his great-grandfather, the founder of Ahmadiyya Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India in 1889, and recognizing him as the ‘Promised Messiah’ is the biggest point of contention for other Muslims, who don’t consider Ahmadis among their own. They don’t believe Ahmadiyya’s founder is the Promised Messiah and because of this, Pakistan has implemented a ‘blaspheme’ law preventing them from calling their places of worship ‘mosques’ and even calling themselves Muslims. Although laws protect them in Canada, they face the same negativity, hate and aggressiveness from others Muslims here and worldwide, which is why His Holiness was exiled from Pakistan and now resides in Great Britain, where the Ahmadi headquarters is based, with his sermons broadcast weekly via satellite.

Their volunteer pool of over 4,000 at the event was staggering, both as an example of the strength and commitment of the community, but also their dedication to the success of the event as prescribed by the Khalifa. From the food, parking, security, transportation of visitors, computer graphics and poster design, audio video and sound, I can’t say I’ve ever seen such a massively efficient, fluid and disciplined volunteer movement and likely never will again. My hosts took me to meet members of their media, security, volunteer pool, senior management and cooking staff (who served over 100,000 people over the weekend, most notably upwards of 8,000 people in 40-minute windows). I must have shook upwards of 100 people’s hands I was introduced to, all smiling, overly friendly and interested in where I came from, our newspaper and what I thought of the event.

Many times I had to stop and think of how such a coordinated effort could be possible, and steadily growing each year, and it goes back to the Ahmadiyya lifestyle.
We toured their mosque, in Maple, Ont. near Canada’s Wonderland, Saturday afternoon. It’s surrounded by 300 town homes for Ahmadis in what is called the ‘Peace Village’ and designed specifically for their Muslim lifestyles, along with another 200 homes in the general area. This Wednesday, they dedicate a new gymnasium, college area, library, administrative offices and community centre built next to the mosque for $16 million; not a cent provided outside of the Ahmadiyya community. Some people sold their homes to donate money for the building, just as an example of how dedicated they are to seeing that their community thrives in this corner of the Greater Toronto Area. The concept of building something that large, strictly on community fundraising, is staggering. It would be like completing the Kincardine hospital addition without business or government support, which seems like complete absurdity. But the Ahmadis now have a pristine mosque and community centre on their 10 acres of land they are quickly growing out of.

As a person raised in the presence of only Christianity, with a bit of vague knowledge of Judaism, Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, Hindus and the various Christian denominations, this was a lot to soak in over two of the three days of the convention. So I picked the brains of the youth missionaries on Islam’s Holy Quran, their clothing, their customs, both cultural and in the religion itself, so I could gain a better understanding of a faith that’s image is portrayed as an evil and sinister character of itself in the mainstream media. Ahmadis pride themselves on practicing the “true nature of Islam”, which was the exact goal I had to better understand what I knew so little about.

My hosts, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association’s executive director Rizwan Rabbani, his brother and missionaries Faran Rabbani, Noman Khalil and Aleem Farooqui, told me when I arrived that as a guest, I was to be treated as if I was a personal guest of His Holiness himself. And I received nothing less than that and with the perma-smile I develop when I’m either nervous or amazed, I wandered through what was over 18,000 people at this event, each day, soaking in a culture that was completely alien to me up until this point. But these gentlemen were receptive to all of my questions, interpretations and viewpoints, often providing detailed and meaningful background to allow me to better understand what they have been taught over the same many years as I.

As an open book, I asked every question I could think of and the answers I received from my hosts were logical, detailed and easily understood. The best way I see it is that so many modern fundamentalist Muslims, whether theocracies (which are against Islam), or Muslims that use the religion in a mandatory or political sense, have all bastardized their own faith by pulling out what they want from the Quran, twisting it to their needs and changing the interpretation to allow themselves to justify violence, hatred of other religions, control over women and entire nations as we see in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt. Dictators and extremists have in a sense hijacked the Quran and turned it into a monster book that so many ignorant, uneducated or just misunderstood westerners look upon as evil.

Absolutely nothing I saw, read or heard from the Ahmadiyya speakers, literature, banners or pamphlets could even be interpreted as aggressive, oppressive or ‘evil.’ As the Khalifa and his successors have taught, nothing in Islam is to be forced on its followers, its community or the nations they call home. As any religion should be, the guidelines set out in their faith are not compulsory, those who choose to live differently are not to be looked down upon the separation of religion and state is essential to operate a just society. What is ‘evil’ to them according to Faran, who is soon to graduate as a missionary scholar, are drugs, alcohol, interest gained or earned on borrowed money, violence and passing judgement of people or other faiths; all of which they educate their community to avoid. The evidence of this is a healthy, strong, educated, family and community-oriented group of Canadians, that want to live in peace, enjoy life, help the disadvantaged, and improve the image of Islam so it is better understood in the dark times it has seen since 9/11 warped the world view on Muslims.

Their promotion of peace, by handing out flyers in Kincardine, their involvement in disaster relief through their group ‘Humanity First’, their community food banks, blood drive partnerships are a model for how any community should operate, religious or not. The Ahmadi people like my hosts, who came to Canada as children and are are now 25 to 30, are heartbroken at what Pakistan has become and maintain a pride for their homeland. But as Aleem put it, being a Muslim their dedication is to their home, to Canada, as their place of refuge, where they feel fortunate for the freedoms, education and healthcare all Canadians enjoy.

Even after discussing it with my hosts I think the most unfortunate, but significant, point of friction I see between Ahmadiyya and the traditional mainstream Canadian upbringing, is the group’s separation of men and women. Whether it be at the mosque, events like Jalsa Salana, which used twin halls, stages, book areas, security details, food courts, or in their specially-designed homes, Faran said while mixing of genders is a right fought for by Canadian women in the recent past and even today, their sect views gender-mixing as a distraction from prayer, and an unnecessary temptation for men. Their faith looks down upon dating, fornication and women exposing their bodies in public, instead encouraging (again, not compelling) the use of headscarves as a sign of humility. There is no doubt I can see how the segregation of sexes would prevent the wandering of eyes (no different than all-boys or all-girls schools), or distraction during prayer, but there’s no doubt it will continue to be viewed upon as submissive, or oppressive religious guideline put upon their people by both male and female non-Muslims. And this is unfortunate because there was no doubt of my hosts’ respect for women during my visit. But they way I see it, gender-mixing is something both men and women must show restraint on when it comes to flirting, ogling, or dressing provocatively. But since the western world celebrates the beauty of women in so many forms, I feel this is a defining factor that will in many cases hinder the time it takes for mainstream Canadians to accept or adapt to the differences in religions like Ahmadiyya. During the convention they celebrated those women who achieved higher education, outnumbering the men’s 40-plus recipients with over 70 of their own. Faran also explained how women are looked upon as the front-line educators, the nurturers, and the head of the household. Much of this is derived from the Quran’s chapter on Mary, Jesus Christ’s mother, who they said is the only woman mentioned by name in the text. Both Faran’s and his brother’s wife choose to work in professional careers, but he said any woman in the Ahmadi community has a choice to stay at home if they please. But when it comes to the males, they are expected to support the family financially regardless of the woman’s choice.

I felt a close kinship with my hosts after spending so much time with them over the two days, but although I both see and understand how the separation of sexes works in their community, it differs so greatly that it leaves just one row of bricks between us. It’s significant only in the fact that the majority of my closest friends are women, my professional mentors have almost all been women and in general, enjoying social time with women seems to be a barrier their religion has built that denies them a .social pleasure most of us couldn’t live without. But Faran reminded me once again that nothing in Islam is compulsory and if women chose to live differently, especially in Canada, it’s their absolute right. When I asked him if these religious guidelines may change as future generations are born in Canada and Faran said the views they derive from the Quran will remain unchanged, as it has for 1,400 years, but it’s up to those in the community to choose how closely they follow the Ahmadiyya teachings, as they focus their spirituality.  And realistically, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having those differences. Although it does create a divide, it’s one that can be overlooked. People have to realize it’s their choice to live differently and as citizens of a free country, we all have the right to choose how we live and respect the choices of others.

Setting religion aside for a time, I described to them the beauty they may not have seen when they visited Kincardine to hand out their ‘Message of Peace’, or for the numerous open houses they’ve held at the Kincardine Library on Sharia Law, the Mother Mary and the Holy Quran. I described the Scottish Festival they were missing, the Saturday Night Parades, haggis and many other traditions that would be alien to them until they have the opportunity to see them first-hand. And they should. Describing haggis to someone isn’t the most appetizing, (and I saw the looks on their faces) but for those who enjoy it, it’s a delicacy. You never know unless you taste it, smell it, or do something out of your comfort zone.

I think that’s the biggest problem some Canadians have, with some viewing our nation as a melting pot, while others respect and accommodate the differences of a multicultural nation. Across this entire country, which is more than half a continent, being able to live together as different people is why we’re a model to the world.
I realized this profoundly, unfortunately enough, when I shared with a number of my friends, my excitement about my plan to attend the convention. Some asked “why?”, others gave me odd, silent and questioning looks. The fact that I had to explain I wanted to learn about these people is evidence enough Ahmadiyya is setting an example that all religions have to put out an olive branch to their communities, to the media and the public and take time to educate people, break down their beliefs into digestible segments and not be afraid of people asking questions, or even questioning their faith.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a model ethic community for Canada in this age where we should expect an ever-increasing diversity of immigrants from around the world. All religions should open a dialogue with Ahmadiyya, which I have no doubt would be willing to share their knowledge and experience to improve relations between all religions in Canada.

Sadly, back-room racism, ignorance and prejudice is still rampant in this great nation and it’s a parasite that can only be cured through tolerance and understanding passed on to our children.

Whether in urban or rural areas like Kincardine, some members of the public and churches feel threatened by open and overly-friendly groups like the Ahmadis. So many are asking, “What’s the catch?”

There is no catch and no drive to convert people, only the promotion of mutual respect between people and their faiths.

If it doesn’t sound like a very ‘Muslim’ way of doing things, you’re just one of the millions that needs to open up their minds and re-learn what mainstream media has taught the Western world about Islam since 9/11.

Somehow, Ahmadiyya is breaking those barriers to promote peace in the simplest of ways: A piece of paper with a message and a willingness to talk and respect one another.