by a Canadian Student:
This past weekend, I spent some time in Haifa. While I was there, I had that opportunity to learn about something that I had never thought about before.
I had the privilege of meeting a member of the Ahmadiyyat Muslim community. Prior to meeting him, I had no knowledge of the Ahmadis even though I had taken a number of courses on Islam. I learned that the Ahmadis arrived in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1927 and found a home in the suburb, then village, of Kababir in Haifa in 1928. In many ways, they reminded me of the protestant reformation because rather than following the clerical literature of Islam, they adhere only to the text of the Quran and to the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. They encourage self-learning and the idea of personal experience with God. The Ahmadis are a minority in Israel and in the world and have been persecuted in many countries. Many Islamic countries have deemed the Ahmadis as heretic and actively persecute them. Israel; however, is one of the few nations in the Middle East that guarantees their safety to practice their religion and therefore, the community has been able to expand and recently built a community centre in the area.
I have been to Haifa a number of times, but this is the first time that I had ever heard about them, and I count myself lucky to have met them.
Reference:
http://www.truthincontext.com/real-israel/andrew-lee-a-weekend-in-haifa/
Editors Note:
Andrew, there is a large Ahmadiyya Community in Canada and you may like to know them closer to home:
http://www.alislam.org/gallery2/v/mosques/aad.jpg.html