The relationship between Ted Hakey, members of the state’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the city was on full display recently during a national convention that pointed to the partnership as an example of interfaith cooperation.

Hakey and Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati were among thousands of guests at Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA’s 68th annual convention, held last weekend in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to talk about the relationships they’ve built with the state chapter, which has its mosque in South Meriden.

Zahir Mannan, community outreach director for the Baitul Aman mosque, 410 Main St., said the guest list shows the efforts of Ahmadiyya Muslims, politicians and community leaders to promote peace and tolerance.

“We’re not building walls, we’re building bridges,” he said.

Salaam Bahtti, national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya community, estimated that more than 8,000 people attended the three-day convention, which ended Sunday and is the longest running Muslim convention in the country.

The convention focused on the community’s “True Islam” campaign, which promotes the Ahmadi Muslim belief that Islam is about peace and forgiveness as a way to fight religious extremism.

During his speech at the convention, Hakey urged all people, not just Muslims, to read the Quran and learn that “there is no such thing as an Islamic extremist.”

Hakey, who fired four bullets from a high-powered rifle at the mosque after the November terrorist attacks in