For the Muslims Times by Abdul Alim

By the Grace of Allah, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Philippines was able to hold three seminars on several topics related to peace and Islam during the third week of October 2014. The key note speaker was Dr. Ayaz OBE of UK, a prominent human rights and refugee rights activist globally and a well known scholar of Islam.

The first seminar was held in Makati City, Manila on Islam, Democracy and Human rights. This addressed contemporary issues in the country related to the situation in the South and the on going efforts to bring peace to a very long conflict. Several questions were asked at the end of the key note address which ranged from the position Islam takes on secularism and pluralism and the concept of Jihad to Islam and economic justice. Twenty guests attended this seminar which was held in a local prominent hotel. It was accompanied by a beautiful exhibition of posters on Islamic teachings on Peace from the Qur’an.

Watch here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Below is the invitation sent out earlier to all invitees.

The second seminar was on Islam and Human rights in a local college in a town called Antipolo near Manila. The audience mainly consisted of youth and teachers numbering 150. This was well received and has led to further interest from other educational institutions in and around Manila.

The third and final seminar was held in the southern city of Zamboanga, a city which was a victim of militancy by some misguided Muslims last year. Here the topic was Islam and Unity of Muslims. This was held in a local prestigious hotel and was attended by faculty and other professionals from the local university. About 35 guests participated and asked questions.

In the run up to this seminar series, the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, may Allah strengthen his hands, wrote letters to the President and the members of his cabinet last year. These were accompanied by his book ‘The Current World Crisis and Pathways to Peace”.

The Philippines Ahmadiyya Community has now been asked to run a seminar series for all the campuses of Philippines Polytechnic University – one of the largest universities in the Philippines. Please pray that Allah grant knowledge and resources to the Ahmadiyya community Philippines, to carry the peaceful message of Islam-Ahmadiyyat in all parts of this beautiful country successfully.

As a followup for further programmes:

A letter has been sent to the PUP President with the following message:

A brief Introduction of Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement and its Efforts to Establish Peace

( A Proposal for Philippines Poly Technic University for Seminar Programme)

 1-      The Ahmadiyya Muslim Vision and Mission: A Divinely Blessed effort for Global Peace

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a  global religious reform movement, with branches in 206 countries. It is the most dynamic denomination of Islam in modern history, with an estimated membership of 160 million worldwide. It was founded in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) of Qadian, India. He claimed to be the expected reformer of the latter days and the awaited one of all the world’s religions (the Promised Messiah of the latter days).

The Community is a living embodiment of the benevolent and universal message of Islam in its pristine purity that promises inclusivity, universal salvation, peace and universal brotherhood based on a belief in the Gracious and Ever-Merciful God.

With this conviction, within a century, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has expanded globally and it endeavours to practice the peaceful teachings of Islam by raising charities, building schools and hospitals open to all and by encouraging learning through interfaith dialogue.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Philippines has been established since year 1950s, and registered in the Office of SEC on 2 September 1985 under the SEC Registration No. 128382. Since then The Ahmadiyya Community in the Philippines actively engages in promoting peace, harmony, interfaith dialogue and cooperation among religions.

In the words of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS): “The task for which God has appointed me is that I should remove the malaise that afflict the relationship between God and His creatures and restore the relationship of love and sincerity between them. Through the proclamation of truth and by putting an end to religious conflicts, I should bring about peace and manifest the Divine verities that have become hidden from the eyes of the world.” (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khazain vol. 20, page 180)

In His Present Khalifa’s words: “The Promised Messiah came to enlighten the world about the true beauty of Islam. He came to do a Jihad against every single form of cruelty, oppression and all forms of compulsion. He came to teach mankind the need to fulfill each other’s due rights. He came to spread love and compassion and to transform the world into a haven of peace, unity and mutual brotherhood. This was his mission and this was his message.” (26^th September 2014, inauguration of the Maryam Mosque (Mosque of Mary) in Galway, Ireland.

2-      True Islamic and Democratic Secular Caliphate: The Ahmadiyya Muslim Leadership:

The Ahmadiyya Community is led by the institution of Caliphate (Khilafat), a democratic process of succession since the demise of its founder in 1908. Unlike a Prophet, the Caliph (Khalifa) is elected by the believers through an electoral college (which is formed from majority of elected representatives), and once elected the Khalifa will hold his position up till his death. The Ahmadiyya Community is now led by the Fifth Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. The Present Head, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is a foremost authority and a well-known global Ambassador for universal Peace. He has taken this peaceful message of Islam to parliaments of Europe, the USA, New Zealand among other countries and has extensive publications on how to restore peace in the World.

A Caliphate based on Peace and Love and not Hatred and Disorder: The Ahmadiyya Caliphate vs. ISIS

The Ahmadiyya “Khilafat (Caliphate) has no relation to government or politics. When Ahmadiyyat spreads far and wide the Khilafat will play no role in government and will never interfere with matters of State. We have no political ambitions or desires. We believe entirely in a separation of religion and matters of State.” [28 September 2013, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, His Holiness and Fifth Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Taha Mosque, Singapore]

“Let me make it clear that the institution of Khilafat leading the Ahmadiyya Community has no interest in power or government. Rest assured that true Khilafat has no worldly or political objectives. The sole concern of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat is that the people of the world come to recognize their Creator and bow down before the One God.” [13 June 2014, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad 39th Annual Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Germany]

3-      The Ahmadiyya Muslim Motto: Love for All and Hatred for None.

This is Ahmadiyya Islam in a nutshell. Islam means ‘Peace and surrender to the will of Allah. The community believes in this peaceful Islam and condemns all acts of terrorism, extremism, killings or violence in the name of religion in keeping with the teaching of the Holy Quran which states unequivocally that: “there should be no compulsion in matters of religion. In the words of its current divinely appointed leadership the concept of Jihad that the community follows “is of self-reformation and improvement” [24 September 2014, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad the National Parliament of Ireland, the ‘Oireachtas’ at Leinster House in Dublin]

4-      Peace in Practice: Some of  the Ahmadiyya Community Global Activities

A: Serving Humanity without any discrimination distinguishes Ahmadiyya Community from all others

1- Active engagement in social welfare and in meeting the medical and educational needs. The Community has opened up many medical clinics and hospitals. Especially in African countries.

2-Active in assisting the victims of wars and natural disasters like in India, Indonesia, Kobe, Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo including the victims of Bagyong Ondoy and Yolanda here in the Philippines through its charity organization Humanity First Philippines.

B: Spreading the True and Peaceful Message of Islam globally

1- Translate and publish literature that provides a better understanding of Islam and promotes positive and peaceful inter faith dialogue. Our Project translation of the Holy Quran into 100 languages is in progress and around 70 languages have been published. The purpose is to give an easy access to those who want to know the real teachings of Islam in the Holy Quran.

2-Holding International Conventions, Symposiums and Seminars to promote inter faith dialogues, mutual understanding, cooperation and sense of community. One of the most important of these is the Annual Gatherings. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community holds annual gathering for its member to enhance their understanding of religion and to strengthen fraternal ties among members all around the world.

C: Spreading and encouraging Peace in secular ways

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace: This International Peace Award is a recognition of an individual or an organization’s contribution to the advancement of the cause of peace. The award is announced every year at the event of Annual Peace Symposium in London U.K.

1. International Peace Symposium has been regularly held for ten years since 2003. Recently in February 2014 a Conference of World Religions was held where all representative of each religion had the opportunity to express their view on how to establish peace and harmony according to their own religions. In September 2013, a seminar was held on The Basic Economic Principles of Islam in the neighbor country Singapore.
2. National level Symposiums and seminars. These are held all over the world in different countries in universities and other places. In the Philippines, a series of Peace Seminars were held in October in Manila and Zamboanga, covering topics as Democracy, Human Rights and Islam, pathway to peace for the Philippines.

5-      The Ahmadiyya Muslim Philippines Chapter’s Seminar Programme:

The purpose of these seminars is raising awareness of the peaceful view of Islam. It is quite clear that the disproportionate influence the extremists have in defining Islam has given rise to many misperceptions about Islam. It is indeed critical for all Filipinos, especially Filipino Muslims to have access to an alternative, rational and peace loving version of Islam as represented by the Global Ahmadiyya Movement’s and its message of universal peace. This beautiful message consists of four important pillars which are the principled foundations of true Islam. These principles, which are based, in essence, on the Qur’anic verses, are as follows;

1. Islam completely forbids any militancy or killing of people in its name. Jihad is an internal human struggle for reformation and not for creating disorder in societies and nations.
2. Islam forbids compulsion in religion and unequivocally stands for complete separation between state and religion.
3. Love and service of one’s homeland is an integral part of faith of all Muslims. Thus Muslims living in the Philippines owe highest loyalty to their homeland.
4. Islam stands for absolute justice as a foremost principle of governance. Enmities and historic injustice must be addressed without national, tribal or ethnic prejudice by the rulers of a nation to establish peace on firm foundations. Force must not be used to settle historic disputes.

6-      Proposed Topics for PUP

1. Inter-Religious Peace and harmony:

• Universality of the religious truth.
• Freedom of Religions.
• Freedom of Speech.
• Religious Blasphemy.
• Inter-Religious Cooperation.

2. Social Peace:

• Social Order
• Fundamentals of an Islamic Society
• Segregation of Sexes.
• Equal Right for Woman.
• Rejection of Racialism.

3. Socio-Economic Peace:

• Economic Justice.
• Islamic Social Responsibilities.

4. Economic Peace:

• Islamic Economic System.
• International Obligations.

5. Political Peace:

• Democracy and Islam.
• Divided loyalties between the state and religion.
• Islamic Statecraft.
• International Relations

For further information please contact abukhultaza@gmail.com