Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 was awarded to European Union (EU) “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.”

The Nobel peace prize was awarded to the European Union at a ceremony in Norway’s capital Oslo on December 10, 2012. The EU’s three presidents Herman van Rompuy, José Manuel Barroso and Martin Schulz collected the prize. German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande were given a spontaneous round of applause as they were honored in a speech. The Nobel committee pointed to the reconciliation between Germany and France after the second world war as the beginning of 60 years of European peace.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz

Whereas, during the hour long Nobel ceremony, political peace was stressed and the timing of the prize announcement suggested economic concerns, as the announcement of the peace award in October caused surprise and controversy, in the midst of one of the EU’s worst economic crises, and at a time of deep, albeit non-violent rifts between major member states, the recent Keynote address on 4th December 2012, by the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, at the European Parliament, stressed social and religious peace.

The two ceremonies put together, give us a comprehensive vision of uniting the continent’s more than half a billion people, 40% more than the 314 million in the United States of America, in all aspects of human interaction, social, religious, political and economic.  United States of Europe has the potential to become a bigger and brighter torch for the world, for peace, harmony and mutual goodwill, than North America, USA and Canada put together.

The European commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said: “This is an award for the European project – for the people and the institutions – that day after day, for the last 60 years, have built a new Europe.

“We will honor this prize and we will preserve what has been achieved. It is in the common interest of our citizens. And it will allow Europe to contribute in shaping that ‘better organized world’ in line with the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law that we cherish and believe in.

“The last 60 years have shown that Europe can unite in peace. Over the next 60 years, Europe must lead the global quest for peace,” the Guardian reported in UK.

On 4th December 2012, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Fifth Khalifa, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivered an historic keynote address at the European Parliament in Brussels to a packed audience of more than 350 guests representing 30 countries.

His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad addressing European Parliament

The event was hosted by the newly launched ‘European Parliament Friends of Ahmadiyya Muslims Group,’ whose Chair and Vice-Chairs all took to the stage to welcome His Holiness. Martin Schulz MEP and President of the European Parliament also came to meet with His Holiness.

During his thirty-five minute address, Mirza Masroor Ahmad called on the European Union to preserve its unity; addressed the issue of increased immigration to Western countries; advocated for equality in international relations and spoke at length about Islam’s key teachings in relation to developing world peace.

His Holiness said that in the modern world many people viewed Islam as a religion that promoted violence and extremism and blamed it for many of the conflicts taking place in various parts of the world. He said that such allegations were particularly unjust given that “the very meanings of the word Islam are ‘peace’ and ‘security.’”

His Holiness, the Khalifa of Islam, spoke about widespread concerns over increasing levels of immigration to Western countries. In a detailed analysis, He said the issue was leading to the spread of ‘restlessness and anxiety.’ He blamed both the immigrants and the indigenous people for the state of conflict, whereby many immigrants provoked locals by refusing to integrate, whilst certain segments of the local society were intolerant to outsiders. He said the consequences of such division were far reaching and so he called on all parties to work together to resolve the issues.

Read more about His Holiness’ Keynote address:

Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told the audience that in the current economic crisis “the political framework in which the union is rooted is more important than ever.”

“We must stand together, we have collective responsibility,” he said, warning of a risk of new nationalism in Europe.  Read further in BBC about the Nobel.

In this context the Historic address at the European Parliament by His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community takes on a new and poignant meaning:

Attendees heard the Nobel committee president, Thorbjoern Jagland, praise the EU’s role in transforming a European “continent of war” into a “continent of peace”.

“That should not be taken for granted – we have to struggle for it every day,” he said.

Jagland told how the same prize had been awarded in the 1920s to the foreign ministers of France and Germany, marking post-first world war reconciliation. Then in the 1930s the continent had reverted to conflict and war. But, he said, now was the time to celebrate prolonged peace – and welcome the French and German leaders sitting side by side in Oslo.

The whole of the Nobel ceremony can be watched in Youtube.