basharaat-e-ahmadiyya newsletter — december 2012

Basharaat-E-AhmadiyyaAn Annual International News Magazine of Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam (Lahore) USA

P.O. Box 3370, Dublin, Ohio 43016 U.S.A.Phone 614-873-1030 • Fax: 614-873-1022

Email: [email protected] • Website: www.muslim.orgVol. 2012 December 2012

Fazlul-Bari

Maulana MuhammadAli’s epic translationand commentary ofthe Sahih Bukhari

in two volumes.

Newly typeset and printed by

the USA jamaat.

– See story, page 60

IN THIS ISSUEEditor’s Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Hazrat Ameer’s Visit to the USA Jamaat for Eid ul Adha 3Recent translations and publications in French . . . . . . 4Reminiscences of Hazrat Ameer, Dr. Saeed Ahmad . . .6Memorial to Qazi Abdul Ahad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Free Distribution of 6,000 Holy Qurans to India . . . . . . .8USA International Annual Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Local Activities of the USA Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Publication and Translation work of the USA Jamaat . .22Registration of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in France 26Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat Activities in the Philippines 27Visit to South Africa (January 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Visit to Nigeria (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Activities in Spain (January 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45Visits to Holland and France (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Visit to Egypt (September 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Thai Translation Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49Jamaat Activities in the Univ. of the Philippines, Cebu .49Cebu Philippine Eid Jalsa by Prof. Espiritu . . . . . . . . . .50Memorial to Mr. Jurgen Lampeitl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52News from South Africa Jamaat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Stichting Ahmadiyya Jamaat News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Tribute to Muhamed Noor Muhamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58New Printing of The Religion of Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Fazlul Bari Printed

We thank Almighty Allah, the most Gracious andMerciful, for another year of major achievements by ourjamaat. The first of these has been the printing in amodern typesetting format of Fazlul-Bari, the monu-mental Urdu translation and commentary of Sahih ulBukhari by Maulana Muhammad Ali. The work is pub-lished in two volumes totaling more than 3000 pages.Inshallah, the commentary infused with the spiritualinsight of Maulana Muhammad Ali which incorporatesthe spiritual teachings of the Mujaddid of this age,Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and of Maulana HakimNur-ud-din, will go a long way to promote the correctunderstanding of Hadith. Many of the distorted ideas onspecific subjects such as aggressive war to promoteIslam, or death for apostasy etc. are based on wrongnotions or interpretation of Hadith which, inshallah, thiscommentary will correct.

Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat registered in France

The second achievement has been the registration ofthe Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore in France.Brother Daud Boussian is the Treasurer and Imam ofthe organization. Brother Daud is a sincere and devot-ed Ahmadi who lives in Brittany, France. We hope andpray that this jamaat will become, inshallah, a force forpresenting the enlightened, tolerant and rational teach-ings of Islam in France.

Publication and translation projects

Our translation and publication projects are doing wellby the Grace of Almighty Allah. The need for more literature of our jamaat in French

had been felt for some time. By the Grace of AlmightyAllah, in addition to the Holy Quran, Islam the Religionof Humanity and the Prophet of Islam, which had beentranslated and published before, we have printed seven

additional titles. These books provide literature neededby our newly registered jamaat to propagate Islam andthe Ahmadiyya Movement in France and other Frenchspeaking countries.Similarly, the Holy Quran and Muhammad the

Prophet had already been translated and published inSpanish. By the Grace of Almighty, we have now beenable to assemble a team of five well qualified Muslimtranslators, and now most of our other major books,such as Religion of Islam, Living thoughts of theProphet Muhammad, Manual of Hadith etc. and small-er booklets such as Islam the Religion of Humanity andProphet of Islam are in the process of being translatedinto Spanish. Our translation work in Thailand is also progressing

well. Inshallah, very soon we will have most of ourmajor books printed and distributed in Thailand. Two new languages have been added to our transla-

tion list:In South Africa we have started translating our liter-

ature into Afrikaans. We have been fortunate to find awell-qualified retired university professor as a transla-tor. The smaller introductory booklets, Islam theReligion of Humanity and The Prophet of Islam havebeen completed and printed, and work has begun onthe Holy Quran. Brother Ebrahim Muhammad is over-seeing the translation and proofreading. The second language is Portuguese. Islam the

Religion of Humanity has been completed. And as soonas the Prophet of Islam is completed we will print thebooklets.

Free literature distribution:

Alhamdulillah! A strong demand for free literature con-tinues unabated in the United States and abroad.

Free distribution of the English Holy Quran:

Distribution of free Holy Qurans continues apace.22,000 copies of the English Holy Quran translation byMaulana Muhammad Ali have been sent to India,Nigeria, and South Africa for free distribution in 2012. Besides distributing free English Holy Qurans we

have distributed free, thousands of books and bookletsin the United States, South Africa, Philippines, andNigeria. We also receive requests for free literaturefrom other countries which we forward to jamaats inthose countries. If there are no jamaats in those coun-tries, we send the literature directly ourselves.

Multimedia projects

The MP3 audio recording of the text and footnotes ofMaulana Muhammad Ali English translation of the HolyQuran is now complete and available for sale. Previouslyonly the English text recording was available.

2 Basharaat-E-Ahmadiyya Volume 2012 • December 2012

EDITOR’S NOTES

Editor: Dr Noman MalikDirector/Treasurer, USA JamaatCirculation: A.A.I.I.L. U.S.A.Production: MEGG Enterprises

News, letters and views are welcome, andshould be sent to:

The Editor, Basharaat-e-AhmadiyyaP.O. Box 3370Dublin, OH 43016 U.S.A.Phone 614-873-1030Fax 614-873-1022Website www.muslim.orgE-mail [email protected]


EDITOR’S NOTES

We continue to publish our books in e-book format.To date, 20 e-books of jamaat literature are being soldby all major retailers such as amazon.com, Sony, etc.

Jamaat activities in the United States

We thank Almighty Allah for another very successfulAnnual Convention in the United States. The high pointof the convention was the attendance by a large dele-gation from the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, Nigeria. Dr. Mohammad Ahmad, Sister Lubna Ahmad and

Fazeel S. Khan are ever busy in interfaith and dawahwork in the community in Ohio. Brother Imtiyaz Ishaakand Sister Ameen Ishaak, two devoted members, heldtheir yearly Interfaith Program in October of 2012. We continue to utilize the internet for Islamic

Education purposes. The weekly Holy Quran DarsProgram via internet is progressing well. We thankSister Haleema Saeed for organizing the Dars series. Alhamdolillah! The Holy Quran Dars and lessons on

Islam and the Ahmadiyya Movement given to thePhilippine Jamaat by Dr. Noman Malik via Skype arenow running into their third year.

Tours by the directors of the USA Jamaat

Samina and I have been busy the past year visiting var-ious countries in connection with translation and publi-cation of our literature, and propagation of Islam and the

Ahmadiyya Movement. By the Grace of Almighty Allahall our projects are doing very well. A prominent featureof our visits is holding symposia and lectures, usually inconjunction with universities, other Lahore AhmadiyyaJamaats, and civic bodies. Mr. Fazeel S Khan accom-panies us when possible, and is a popular speaker atthe Philippines events. All traveling, board and lodgingexpenses are borne by Fazeel, Samina and myself.

Visit by Hazrat Ameer, Abdul Kareem Saeed

This year we were honored to have Hazrat Ameer, Dr.Abdul Kareem Saeed, for Eid-ul-adha at our center inDublin, Ohio. Hazrat Ameer delivered the Eid Khutbaand conducted the Eid prayers.We look forward to another very busy and productive

year, and we earnestly pray to Allah Taala toStrengthen our footsteps and Grant us the resolve andcourage to serve Islam and the Ahmadiyya Movement.

WassalaamNoman Malik

�

Hazrat Ameer, Dr. AbdulKareem Saeed, visited theUSA Jamaat in Dublin,

Ohio for Eid ul Adha prayers inMasjid-ul-Uruj on Friday, October26. He drove from Cincinnati, Ohiowith his brother Dr. Zahid Saeedand his family with whom he wasstaying during his visit to Ohio. Hazrat Ameer delivered the Eid

Khutba in which he explained themeaning of sacrifice as the sacri-fice of the Nafs (or low desires) forthe sake of the truth. The congrega-tion greatly appreciated the ideasexpressed in the Khutba.The Eid prayers were followed

by a delicious lunch after which

Hazrat Ameer led the Jummaprayers and delivered the JummaKhutba. He remained with the

members until late afternoon, thenleft for Cinicinnati. We were very glad to have

Hazrat Ameer visit the USA Jamaatfor Eid and Jummah prayers. MayAlmighty Allah reward and blesshim for his efforts. We were also very happy to

have Mrs. Sabiha Saeed, theSecretary of the Women’s Branchof the Central Anjuman as a guestfor Eid prayers. She was visiting herdaughter Dr. Halima Saeed andson-in-law Dr. Asad Ahmad inAkron, Ohio. We always look for-ward to Mrs. Sabiha Saeed’s visitsand her Quran Dars when she is inOhio visiting her family.

Eid ul Adha Visit byHazrat Ameer, Dr. Abdul Kareem Saeed

Hazrat Ameer celebrating Eid ul adhaduring his recent visit to Ohio.


Over the course of recent months, the USA Jamaat hasundertaken the translation and publication of ten of ourmost important books and booklets into French.

With the guidance of Allah, and the help of translators JeromeArmenio and Izold Guggan, together with proofreaders in theUSA and France, we have been blessed to have successfullycompleted this massive undertaking.These new books will reach, not only the people of France,

but the french speaking community worldwide.The new offering includes five books by Maulana

Muhammad Ali (The Early Caliphate, The Prophet of Islam,Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad, Muhammad theProphet and Islam – The Religion of Humanity) as well as arevised French translation of his famous work The HolyQuran English Translation and Commentary together withtwo by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (Teachings of Islamand Message of Peace) as well as one each by Dr. ZahidAziz (Introduction to Islam) and Kwaja Kamal-ud-Din(Islam, My Only Choice).Inshallah, we will continue this mission to spread the

message of Islam to audiences around the world.

NEW PUBLICATIONS FUNDED BY USA JAMAAT:

Library of French booksis widely expanded

QUR’ÅN SACRE

Traduction et Commentaire

par

Maulana Muhammad Ali

The Holy Quran

Muhammad the Prophet Teachings of Islam Message of Peace


Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad

Islam, My Only Choice

Early Caliphate

The Prophet of Islam

Introduction to Islam

Islam – The Religionof Humanity

By Mrs Samina Malik

Every year at this time I writeabout our dear late HazratAmeer Dr. Saeed Ahmad,

(also known affectionately as Janji).Janji died at the age of 96 in

Lahore Pakistan on November 15th1996.When we were with Janji we

loved to listen to the many inspiringevents and incidents which hewould relate to us. I would like toshare some of them with the jamaatmembers.Janji was six years old when he

took the bayyat at the hand ofHazrat Mirza Sahib during his firstvisit to Qadian in the company of hisfather Hakim Yahya. When peopleused to take the bayyat at the handof Hazrat Mirza Sahib in themosque, Janji would also run for-ward and put his hand on MirzaSahib’s hand to take the bayyat withthem. This piqued Hazrat MirzaSahib’s interest and he inquiredwhose child Janji was, to whichHakim Yahya Sahib replied “He isyour ghulam-zada (son of yourslave)”, meaning that Janji was his(Hakim Yahya’s) son. Janji remem-bered this incident because he wasintrigued by the word ghulam-zadawhich he had not heard before, andhe asked his father what the wordmeant. His father replied “We arethe slaves of Hazrat Mirza Sahib,and since you are my son you arethe son of his slave.”Hazrat Mirza Sahib was so

impressed by the young child’senthusiasm that he had Janji comeforward, and took his bayyat sepa-rately. Little did Hazrat Mirza Sahiband the others present know at thattime that one day this child wouldsafely guide Hazrat Mirza Sahib’sjamaat (the Lahore AhmadiyyaJamaat) through one of its mostdark and difficult periods.

Had it not been for the leadershipprovided by this wali-ullah who hadtaken the bayyat at the hands of theImam of this age, and who becauseof the influence of that imam hadreached the stage of being a recipi-ent of Ilham and kashf, it would havebeen very difficult for the LahoreAhmadiyya Jamaat and its branchesto survive that storm of 1974.

During his stay in Qadian, whenother children would ask him tocome and play with them, he wouldrefuse, and would reply to them inthe words in which his father hadexplained to him the significance oftheir visit to Qadian. “We have cometo Qadian for Hazrat Mirza Sahiband we should spend our time withhim”.Janji’s second visit to Qadian

was in 1912 when he was twelveyears old. As a child, Janji had veryfond memories of Qadian andalways wanted to visit Qadianagain. Hazrat Mirza Sahib hadpassed away in 1908, and MaulanaNuruddin was the Khalifa. Hisfather, Hakim Yahya Sahib was inQadian at that time taking care of

Maulana Nur ud Dean who was notwell.The young Janji decided to join

his father in Qadian, and withoutinforming his mother left his home inDeb Garan for Qadian. He finallyarrived by train, tired and hungry, atthe Bataala train station which isabout ten miles from Qadian. Therewas no train service from Bataala toQadian, and Janji had little moneywith him, so he decided to walkthose ten miles. He bought someroasted chick peas, and as hewalked he would pop a few chick-peas in his mouth to satisfy hishunger. When he finally reachedQadian, his father was understand-ably upset with him as everyonewas frantic about Janji’s absence.His father would not speak to him atfirst, but a father’s love shonethrough, as he took out the meatfrom his own stew and put it onJanji’s plate when they ate together.Ultimately Hakim Yahya Sahibrelented, and Janji joined the schoolin Qadian and remained there untilMaulana Nurudin’s death.Chaudary Mansur Ahmad Sahib,

former secretary of the CentralAnjuman and Janji’s son-in-law, toldus that once he and Janji were trav-elling by car when it came time tosay the prayers. Janji asked the driv-er to stop the car along the roadside, so they could perform theirprayers. The place they had chosento pray was on an ant hill, but theywere not aware of it. ChaudryMansur Ahmad Sahib said thatwhile he was praying, he tried toremove the ants crawling up his legsby slapping and pulling at histrousers. But Janji was so absorbedin his prayer that he was not both-ered by the ants at all and continuedleading the prayers with equanimity.Only when the prayer was over didhe pull up his pants to reveal hislegs which were black up to his


16th ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE:

Reminiscences of the late Hazrat Ameer, Dr. Saeed Ahmad (1900-1996)

knees with crawling biting ants. “It isthen I realized the differencebetween my prayers and those of aman of God” commented ChaudaryMansur Ahmad.A few of Janji’s other services to

the jamaat come to mind:• Janji made several tours of

jamaats abroad, giving them thestrength and encouraging them toremain loyal to the AhmadiyyaMovement and not be disheartenedby adverse circumstances causedby the events of 1974 in Pakistan.• Janji is the person who should

be given credit for encouraging andsupporting me to get funds from theGerman government for the restora -tion of the Berlin Mosque andMission House.• Janji is the person who is

responsible for sending Hafiz SherMuhammad Sahib to South Africafor the South Africa Case. The evi-

dence provided by Hafiz SherMuhammad in that case (publishedas The Ahmadiyya Case) is a goldmine of invaluable information foranyone who is interested in defend-ing the Ahamadiyya Movement andHazrat Mirza Sahib against all thefalse accusations leveled againstthem.• Janji is the person who should

be credited for establishing andfunding a Lahore Ahmadiyya Centerin London, UK. He travelled alone tothe USA at the age of 81 to collectfunds for purchasing the center inUK. All the publication and translation

work of the USA jamaat was initiat-ed and inspired by this God-inspiredperson, it was Janji who instructedthe USA jamaat to start printing andtranslation projects which havedone so well by the Grace ofAlmighty Allah.

We have made an eight hourvideo recording in which Janji per-sonally relates his life history. In thevideo he describes how he took thebayyat of Hazrat Mirza Sahib andhis contact with Maulana Nur udDin, Maulana Muhammad Ali andAssadullah Shah Sahib. He alsotalks about his Grandfather, and hisfather’s and uncle’s acceptance ofAhmadiyyat. We have converted theVHS tapes to DVD. Any membersinterested in obtaining a copyshould contact the USA jamaat [email protected]. May Almighty Allah Grant us the

spirit to carry on the work of theAhmadiyya Movement. We all missthis man of Allah. I pray to AlmightyAllah that He Grants our dear Janji ahigh place in Paradise. MayAlmighty Allah show us the way toserve Islam and the Quran as didthis great man of Allah. Ameen!Wassalaam


By Dr. Noman Malik

With the passing of QaziAbdul Ahad Sahib onSeptember 17, 2012, the

Ahmadiyya Movement lost anotherof its great personalities who com-bined both scholarship and spiritual-ity. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon.We had known Qazi Sahib for manyyears and it was always a pleasureto meet him at the annual jalsa ofthe Central Anjuman in Lahore,Pakistan. Qazi Sahib was an expertin Arabic and a hafez-e-Quran. Hehad a deep and extensive knowl-edge of Islam, Hadith literature andHazrat Mirza Sahib’s writings.We, in the USA jamaat, were very

fortunate to have him as a resourceperson. Some of the projects whichbenefited from his knowledge andexpertise included the checking ofthe Hadith references in the Manualof Hadith, the microfilming of jour-nals and magazines of the LahoreAhmadiyya Movement and thetranslation and checking of Arabicreferences in Fazlul Bari andBayanul Quran. In addition, whenev-er we needed hadith referenceschecked in any book we were pub-

lishing, we turned to Qazi Sahib. Hecontinued to help us in our publica-tion works right to the end of his life.Most of all, however, we valued

his sincerity, integrity, truthfulnessand loyalty to Islam andAhmadiyyat. These were the menwho had accepted Ahmadiyyat at atime when the light which had shonefrom Qadian was still bright in ourjamaat. Their contact with thosemen who had personally knownHazrat Mirza Sahib, and who,because of this association with thisgreat Mujaddid, had been trans-formed into spiritual giants, pro-duced in the hearts of men like QaziSahib a conviction about the truth ofIslam which is difficult to replicatetoday. The late Hazrat Ameer, Dr.Saeed Ahmad (Jaanji) of blessedmemory, was very fond of QaziSahib for these qualities. As long asJaanji was in good health, QaziSahib, Raja Bedar Sahib and SardarAli Khan Sahib used to meet regu-larly with him each afternoon afterasr prayers, and Qazi Sahib wouldrecite to Jaanji an excerpt of theQuran which he had chosen for thefollowing Fajr prayers.Qazi Sahib was the sole Ahmadi

in his family, and in spite of intense

social and family pressure did notwaver in his commitment to theLahore Ahmadiyya Movement. A week before his death Jaanji

became unresponsive. On oneoccasion during this time when Sr.Samina was in Jaanji’s hospitalroom, she noticed Qazi Sahib stand-ing outside the room looking inthrough the window, and she let himin. Qazi Sahib then asked if he couldrecite the Quran to Jaanji. He tookJanji’s hands in his and began torecite the Quran. Jaanji then grippedQazi Sahib’s hand and drew it up tohis chest, and tears began to rollfrom Jaanji’s closed eyes, falling onQazi Sahib’s hands. Samina alsobegan to cry. That was the last timethat Qazi Sahib recited the HolyQuran to Jaanji. Qazi Sahib’s death leaves a void

which will be difficult to fill. We willmiss him very much, May AlmightyAllah Bless Qazi Sahib and Admithim to his Forgiveness and Mercy.May He Reward him for all his gooddeeds and Grant him paradise, andmay He Grant Qazi Sahib’s familythe strength and fortitude to bearthis great loss.

Ameen!

In Memory of Qazi Abdul Ahad (1927-2012)


Free Distribution of 6,000 Copies ofThe English Translation of the Holy Quran by Maulana Muhammad Ali in India

The USA Jamaat hasshipped 6,000 copies of aspecial edition of Maulana

Muhammad Ali’s English Trans -lation and Com mentary specificallypublished for free distribution inIndia. This edition was printed inKorea (hard cover with bible paperand gold sidings) and is being giftedto libraries, universities, media out-lets, and notable intellectuals.Details of the rationale for distribut-ing the Holy Quran in India aregiven below in the Publishers notein this special edition:

We pray this timely informationabout Gandhiji’s connection withMaulana Muhammad Ali’s EnglishTranslation and Commentary willserve as a means to open the heartsof the Indian population (especiallythe intellectuals) who hold Gandhjiiin such high esteem and who havegranted him the title “Father of theNation”, Inshallah. Almighty Allah isthe best of planners.We hope this information will

also be useful in your variousefforts to promote MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s works.

Publisher’s Note to India Distribution Publication

This edition of the English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quranby Maulana Muhammad Ali has been published for free distributionthroughout India. Although this highly-acclaimed work of scholarship isfound in all corners of the world and has been translated into numerouslanguages, it was in India that Maulana Muhammad Ali commenced pro-ducing this literary masterpiece in 1909 and published its first edition in1917. It is with great humility that we engage in this India DistributionPublication project today, directing attention to the land in which this influ-ential pioneering work originated.

As is related in the Foreword and Preface, Maulana Muhammad Ali’sEnglish Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran received praise andhonors from all quarters and directly influenced a renewed understanding andappreciation for the religion of Islam. In the realm of Western scholarship, itsimpact can be witnessed from the changed tone of literature concerning Islamsince its appearance. Similarly, later Muslim translators of the Holy Quranadopted key and unique features of this work, using it as a template for pre-sentation style as well as interpretation.

It is well known that famous leaders of orthodox Muslim opinion inIndia – such as Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Abdul MajidDaryabadi, etc. – paid tribute to Maulana Muhammad Ali’s EnglishTranslation and Commentary of the Holy Quran, some of which are includ-ed in the Preface. What is lesser known is the love and admiration TheFather of the Nation, Gandhiji, had for this work. Recently, it was reportedin the July 16, 2011 issue of Sahafat (Delhi) that:

Gandhiji’s daily routine included readings from the Gita, theQuran, and the Bible. Every morning he would read fromthe English translation of the Quran done by MohammadAli Ahmadi (sic) … Despite the fact that the English transla-tions by Marmaduke Pickthall, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, andAbdul Majid Dariyabadi had come out in 1930, 1934, and1941, respectively, Gandhiji used to read only the transla-tion by Mohammad Ali Ahmadi. This gave much publicity tohis translation. Other public figures close to Gandhiji alsostarted reading that book.

I-1

Among the “other public figures close to Gandhiji [who] started read-ing that book” was the respected Dr. Radhakrishanan, the second Presidentof India. He too, it appears, intensely studied Maulana Muhammad Ali’sEnglish Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran. In the same issueof Sahafat it is related that in February 1962 Dr. Radhakrishnan made thefollowing specific request:

Please get me a copy of Muhammad Ali Ahmadi’s transla-tion of the Quran as the copy I have has become very old.

Gandhiji is universally respected as a model for establishing peace andjustice through non-violent means and by respecting and appreciating allfaith traditions. Emphasis on these concepts from an Islamic perspective isa defining characteristic of Maulana Muhammad Ali’s work. It is humblingto think of the influence the daily readings of Maulana Muhammad Ali’sEnglish Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran may have had inshaping Gandhiji’s understanding and philosophy of peace. We end this Publisher’s Note with the prayer that this Holy Book be

appreciated as a source of spirituality for all. That it may serve as a meansfor creating peace and justice in society. And that it may contribute to fos-tering another generation of Mahatmas (Great Souls) from which the entireworld may derive benefit.

“O you who believe, enter into complete peace …” – Holy Quran 2:208

Samina MalikFor the Publisher, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam, Lahore (USA)June 10, 2012

I-2 PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Alhamdolillah! The annualconvention of theAhmadiyya Anjuman

Ishaat Islam (Lahore) USA held inDublin, Ohio, June 28-July 1, 2012was a great success. Highlightingthe convention was the participa-tion by the President and 14 mem-bers of the Ahmadiyya Movementin Islam, Nigeria and the Secretaryof the Islamic Educational Forum,Nigeria. A list of the names of ourbrothers and sisters from Nigeriawho attended the convention are asfollows:Alhaji L. A. Adebiyi, President ofthe Ahmadiyya Movement inIslam, Nigeria

Alhaja M. A. Adebiyi, President ofthe Ladies Organization of theAhmadiyya Movement in Islam,Nigeria

Alhaji G.Y. Owode, Vice Presidentof the Ahmadiyya Movement inIslam, Nigeria

Alhaji Dr. A.O. LawalAlhaja Anibat LawaLAlhaja K. I. OpeAlhaja N. T. DurojayeAl Haji Muritala T. AnimashaunAlhaji Arch. W. A. Adebiyi Alhaja Simiat AdisaAlhaja Rasheeda HashimMr. Noheem Olaide Osikoya,Secretary of the IslamicEducational Forum, Nigeria

Among the international gueststhat attended was our dear brotherSadr-ud-Dean Sahukhan fromAustralia. Brother Sadr-ud-Dean isa regular attendee of our annualconvention and his participation isvery much appreciated. His dedica-tion and sincerity in partaking in theconvention each year is an inspira-tion for other jamaat members to dothe same. May Allah Taala rewardand bless him for the sacrifices andefforts he makes to support thiscause and practically engage inthis work.The convention activities began

on Thursday June 28. TheThursday program is reproducedbelow:

Thursday, June 28, 2012The convention commenced on

Thursday, June 28. The programstarted with classes presented byDr. Noman Malik in the morning atMasjid al Urooj. By mid-day, lunchwas provided and zuhur and asrprayers were attended. TheClasses resumed in the eveningafter an afternoon break and theday ended with dinner and maghriband isha prayers. The classes presented by Dr.

Noman Malik were on the topic of“Adam in the Holy Quran”. Thetopic dealt with the entire spectrumof the account of Adam in the Holy

Quran, with emphasis on the fol-lowing particular subtopics:• The physical evolution andintrauterine embryological devel-opment of man

• The early history of mankind• The genesis and psychology ofgood and evil

• The Prophet Adam• The spiritual development ofmanThere were approximately 30

participants for the classes in bothmorning and evening sessions. Theaudience was very interested in thesubject and listened with rapt atten-tion to the lectures. Each lecturewas followed by a lively questionand answer session in which manyquestions relating to the creation ofAdam, the account of Adam and


International Annual Convention ofAhmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam (Lahore) USA, June 28-July 1

Audience at the course on “Adam in the Holy Quran” at Masjid ul Urooj.

Dr. Noman Malik giving the course on“Adam in the Holy Quran”.

Eve, and the role of the devil wereposed. So great was the interest inDr. Malik’s presentation that theaudience requested an additionalsession to be provided so that fur-ther information/discussion couldbe had. In order to satisfy thisdemand, another two hour sessionof classes was held the next morn-ing (Friday, June 29th). The audi-ence greatly appreciated the lec-tures and it was recommended thatthey be repeated in Nigeria andcompiled into book form.

Friday, June 29thThe next three days, Friday,Saturday and Sunday can only be

described as “tempestuous”.Friday began quietly enough withcongregational Fajr prayers andQuran dars in the morning, a finalsession of the classes at mid-day,and Jummah prayers with an inspir-ing khutba by Brother Sadr-ud-Dean Sahukhan at Masjid-ul- Urujin the afternoon. But this quietmood soon changed.In the late afternoon a line of

severe thunderstorms rampagedthrough Indiana, Ohio andPennsylvania with blinding rain,hail, lightning and winds approach-ing 80 mph. At Masjid al Uruj, thelights went out as high winds withhorizontally driven sheets of rainbattered the structure. The thunderpeals and lightning flashes withswaying trees and churning watersin the adjacent pond was a frighten-ing sight. Everybody gathered inthe masjid until the storm passed.It was only when the storm

cleared and we went to theEmbassy Suites hotel for theevening session that we realizedthe extent and severity of the dam-age. On the drive to the hotel, torn


Sadr-ud-Dean Sahukhan Esq deliver-ing the Jummah Khutba.

AAIIL USA International Convention

Audience at the course on Adam at Masjid ul Urooj.

Audience at the course on Adam at Masjid ul Urooj.

Congregation at the Jummah Prayer.

Congregation at the Jummah Prayer.

down trees laid everywhere. Firetrucks were standing outside thehotel. The roof of one of the eleva-tor shafts had been blown off, andwater was pouring into that part ofthe hotel lobby. We quickly learnedthat most of Columbus and othermajor cities in the three states werewithout electricity due to extensivedamage to power lines by highwinds and downed trees, includingEmbassy Suites. We had dinner inthe hotel by candle light and flashlights, but the evening sessionspeeches had to be abandoned.

Saturday, June 30th –Symposium on ShariahWe were in quite a predicament.The main Saturday session was to

comprise of the Symposium titled“Sharia: A Discussion on theConcept of Divine Guidance inIslam”, to which many interfaith andnon-members were to attend.Because of the blackout, there

was no electricity, which meantthere would be no light, audio visu-al services were inoperable andlunch could not be prepared. Also,in view of the city wide damage andlack of electric power, it seemedunlikely that most local guestswould attend, and it appeared thatthe symposium would have to becalled off. But this is when Samina Malik

with her indomitable will andcourage went to work. Until late onFriday night, with Noman andFazeel in tow, she went from hotelto hotel searching for a hotel withelectric power which would be suit-able for our needs.Nearly all the hotels she went to

were without power, but by theGrace of Almighty Allah, she didmanage to find a hotel in the vicini-ty of Embassy Suites which hadelectric power and a conferencehall available which could fulfill ourneeds. However, the hotel manage-

ment said that they did not havefood (or the cooks to prepare it) forSaturday’s lunch.In addition, they did not have

extra staff necessary for the prepa-rations and for the audio-visual set-up. This presented a problem. So at7:00 am Saturday morning, SisterSamina met with the EmbassySuites Hotel catering staff to see ifthey could something to help. She found out that they did have

the food which they had previouslyordered for us, as well as the staffto cook and serve it, and also hadthe technical staff for the audio-visual set up. Sr. Samina suggestedthat they should move them over tothe other hotel and set us up for themeeting there. She contacted theother hotel and asked them if thiswas feasible. At first both hotelswere reluctant, citing liabilityissues, but (alhamdolillah) shemanaged to convince them toagree to the plan.The food and the Embassy

Suites chefs and staff were quicklymoved over to the other hotel, andas the 10:00 am starting time of theSymposium approached, every-thing was in place. Most of the



Symposium poster.

View of the symposium audience, with superimposed images of (L to R) Fazeel S. Khan, Rev. Deborah Stocker Stevens, Dr. Noman Malik, Mrs. Haleema Saeed and Dr. Mohammad Ahmad.

Three views of the audience at the symposium.



guests had been informed byphone about the venue change,and people were stationed atEmbassy Suites to redirect theguests whom we had been unableto contact. Some of the guests whohad arrived early at the EmbassySuites Hotel joined in the spirit ofthings, and volunteered to redirectother guests to the new venue.

Approximately 65 interfaith andnon-jamaat Muslim guests attend-ed the symposium, despite all ofthe difficulties. The credit for thishigh attendance goes to Fazeel, ashe is the one who developed closerelationships with the non-jamaatguests, so they made a specialeffort to attend the convention inspite of the terrible conditions. May

Almighty Allah Bless and Rewardhim for his hard work.The Symposium Program is

reproduced below.The symposium commenced

with a recitation from the HolyQuran by Sadr-ud-Dean Sahukhan.This was followed by an excellentintroductory speech by Fazeel S.Khan, Esq., in which he gave aclear and lucid explanation ofSharia, and showed the absurdityof the pending legislation in somestates to ban “sharia law”. Rev.Deborah Stoker Stevens thenspoke about the need for greaterunderstanding among different reli-gious traditions and ways toachieve this goal of interfaith har-mony.Then Dr. Malik, who was the

keynote speaker, discussed the



Group photograph at the symposium.

The promotional brochure used to encourage participation in the symposium.

essence of Sharia, and showedthat the real meaning and intent ofSharia was to get closer to Godand this could only be done bystriving to develop ones’ self spiritu-ally.A lunch break followed in which

a delicious meal prepared by theEmbassy Suites staff was served.Following lunch, Dr. HaleemaAhmad refuted some common mis-conceptions about Sharia in herspeech about Sharia and HumanRights. Dr. Ahmad closed thespeech session by talking aboutthe role of the Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society in promoting thetrue spirit of the Sharia. The follow-ing email sent by one of the guestswho attended the Symposium isreflective of the comments andfeedback received:Dr. Norman Malik,I attended your workshop onJune 30 and wanted you toknow that your presentation onSharia was excellent! I nowhave a much better understand-ing of Sharia. Thank you for

helping me to have a moreaccurate and clearly defineddefinition of Islamic Law.It amazes me that so manypeople in our country have acomplete misunderstanding ofSharia and don’t bother to know



View of the evening session audience, with superimposed images of (top, L to R) President, Al Haji Adibiyi, Sadar ud DeanSahukhan, Esq., Dr. Ikram Jahangiri, Alhaji G.Y. Owode, Alhaji A.O. Lawal, Mr. Noheem Olaide Osikoya (bottom, L to R) AlhajiaM.A. Adibiyi, Mrs. Samina Malik, Alhaja K.I. Ope, Alhaja Rasheeda Hasheem, Alhaja N. T. Durojaye, and Dr. Hameed Jahangiri.

Mrs. Samina Malik, moderator of theevening session.

Rev. Deborah Lindsay at the questionand answer session.



the truth. They twist the mean-ing in a negative way and thismust concern you greatly. Ofcourse, this is true for so manythings and it makes it very diffi-cult for all of us to have peopleunderstand the truth. This is sotrue for getting people to under-stand the need to pass a schooloperating levy. Having been asuperintendent of several publicschool districts, I can speakfrom experience.I commend and thank theLahore Ahmadiyya IslamicSociety for the wonderful workthat you do in helping all of usto know the truth. I’m certainthat God looks upon you andthe Society in a very favorableway.God bless you.

The symposium proceedingsended with a short film presenta-tion about interfaith cooperation byour special guest, Mike Ghouse.Mr. Ghouse is a well-known inter-faith activist from Texas andfounder of the Americans TogetherFounda tion, who traveled toColumbus just for the Symposium.We greatly appreciated his partici-pation and look forward to workingtogether on future projects. The lec-tures / presentations were greatlyappreciated by the audience, and

many questions pertaining toSharia were asked in the questionand answer session. TheSymposium ended on a very posi-tive note.The trial of severe weather was

overcome. In its place, a sense ofcommunity and brotherhood filledthe room. Alhamdolillah, we arevery grateful for the blessings ofthat day.

Saturday, June 30th – Evening SessionThe symposium was followed by anevening session, the program ofwhich consisted of the following: • Dinner• Quran recitation by MalaikaSahukhna (of Vancouver,Canada),

• Presentations by:—Mr. Lukhman Adebiyee(President, AhmadiyyaMovement in Islam, Nigeria)—Mr. Sadr-ud-Dean Sahukhan(Australia)—Mr. Ikram Jahangiri(California) —Mrs. Samina Malik [Vice-President, AAIIL(USA)]

Time was also allotted for talks byMr. G.Y. Owode (Vice President,Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam,Nigeria), Mrs. Aisha Adebiye

(President of the Ladies’ organiza-tion of the Ahmadiyya Movement)and Dr. Noheem Osikoya(Secretary, Islamic EducationForum, Lagos, Nigeria), all ofwhom were unable to deliver theirspeeches on Friday due to thestorm. The audience greatlyenjoyed the inspiring and informa-tive speeches. The session endedwith combined maghrib and Ishaprayers.

Sunday, July 1st The Sunday session began withthe Children/Youth Program. Asusual, the program presented bythe children and youth was a greathit with the audience. Masha Allah, it was very heart-

ening to see the interest and enthu-siasm shown by the children in theJamaat activities. During the con-vention week, children engage ingames and activities geared toincreasing their knowledge of Islamand the Ahmadiyya Movement,which provides a source of spiritualuplift and development. Further -more, the friendships they formwith their peers at such conven-tions assure them that they are notalone and this increases their sup-port for the jamaat. The following is an account of

the Children/Youth Program byAisha Ahmad Khalil, who organizedmuch of the events for the children:The Chidren’s Program at theUS Jamaat Annual Convention,MashAllah, had participantsfrom Florida, Minnesota,Maryland, Vancouver, Texas,and Ohio. The children did beau-tiful quranic recitations andenlightening speeches as theyalways do (MashAllah). Thisyear, however, they also workedtogether to perform a series ofskits about how we must defeatthe Shaitan who is lurking every-where trying to manipulate us todo wrong. These amusing skitswere written by 11 year old

The Nigerian delegation to the convention with USA Jamaat members.



Zaghum Ahmad Khalil fromDayton, Ohio. The children didan excellent job memorizingtheir lines within two days. Eachand every one of them delightedthe audience with their actingtalents. The grand finale was allof them singing the song “OShaitan,” by Zain Bhika. AafiyaAhmad from Austin, Texas whois always an enthusiatic speakerat the annual convention, wasunable to be present becauseshe was visiting Pakistan withher family. Even then, sheworked hard to prepare a well-researched speech aboutShariah law, which was read byher Aunt Haleema on her behalf.Conducting the Children’sProgram was 10 year old CadenAli Ahmad, from Minneapolis,Minnesota. He called uponMohammad Ahmad, his grand -father and President of the USJamaat, to make the closingremarks. JazakAllah to all theparticipants: Ayesha and Mariamfrom Maryland; Noor and Umarfrom Akron, Ohio; Malaika andAlishba from Vancouver;Zaghum, Ali, and Haady fromDayton, Ohio; Caden, Ahvia, andAshaaz from Minnesota; NafisaIsakh and her younger sister

from Florida; and Aafiya fromTexas. May Allah always guideour children and keep them onthe path of righteousness.Ameen.

The Children/Youth Program wasfollowed by a presentation by Sr.Samina Malik (Vice-President ofthe USA Jamaat) on the USAJamaat activities and accomplish-ments over the past year. The pres-entation was accompanied by apowerpoint slide show displayingpictures of activities and work fromaround the world. The progress

made by the USA Jamaat in thetranslation, publication and propa-gation fields, by the grace ofAlmighty Allah, has been remark-able and was appreciated by all. Following the presentation on

the USA Jamaat activities, Sr.Samina Malik commenced the fundraising session. Alhamdolillah! Asusual, the members respondedgenerously to the call for funds anda total of $105,000 was collectedfrom the small group in less than anhour. May Almighty Allah rewardand bless those who struggle in Hisway.The convention ended at noon

on Sunday, and members began todepart after the combined Zuhr and

Asr prayers. In the afternoon, theremaining members enjoyed a pic-nic in the Delaware State Park, sit-uated just north of Columbus. Overthe next two days all guests depart-ed Columbus. At the end of theconvention each year, we feelhappy and thankful to AlmightyAllah for a successful function, butour happiness is also tinged withsadness as we say good-bye to ourbrothers and sisters. This was par-ticularly the case this year with ourbrothers and sisters from Nigeria.We had the pleasure of their com-pany for the full week of the con-vention and they departed Mondayand Tuesday. On our past visits toNigeria, we have been veryimpressed by their sincerity and bythe love and affection they showedus, and we were very happy nowthat they graced us with their pres-ence at our annual convention. Thedays spent in their company shar-ing ideas, discussing ways of co-operating to achieve common goalsand praying together greatlystrengthened the spiritual bond ofIslam and Ahmadiyyat between ourJamaats.Insha Allah, they are all planning

to join us again to attend our con-vention in August of 2014, when wewill be commemorating the 100year anniversary of the creation ofthe Ahmadiyya Anjuman IshaatIslam Lahore, and we are lookingforward to their participation. Allpraise is due to Allah.

Miss Malaika Sahukhan reciting theHoly Quran.

Sister Samina Malik with Sister AnibatLawal.

Dr. Mohammad Ahmad opening thesession of the Convention.


Alhamdulillah, the year2012 offered the USAJamaat (which goes by

the name of Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society) with many opportu-nities to continue to work towards itsgoals here in the USA. From pre-senting lectures and classes at uni-versities, to collaborating with localMuslim groups, to engaging in inter-faith initiatives, the USA Jamaat hasonce again had a very busy andsuccessful year (masha Allah).

University lectures and classesThis year, our Secretary, Fazeel S.Khan, was requested to present onIslam at both the Ohio StateUniversity and Capital University.In March, Fazeel was requested

to be a panel member for an eventat Capital University that was part ofthe Student Peace Alliance’s week-long conference on “Cele bratingInterfaith Dialogue”. The eventwas attended by students who weregenuinely interested in learningmore about different faith traditionsas well as discussing how peacemay be achieved by competing fol-lowers of various faith traditions.Short presentations were given bypanel members, but the event pri-marily focused on answering ques-tions from students and discussionamongst panel members for thebenefit of the audience. The liberal, tolerant and inspiring

understanding of Islam espousedby the Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaatalways seems to make it easy tohave the participants appreciatethis particular religion. On severaloccasions students commented on

Local Activities of the USA Jamaat

the fact that what was being statedresonated with their inner beliefs(despite their faith tradition possiblyholding a contrary position). Inter -faith engagement at times is viewedas compromising one’s faith tradi-tion by accepting the validity of, orgoodness in, other traditions; as theuniversal message of Islam con-tains no such limitations or restric-tions, such programs only highlightthis particular beautiful aspect ofIslam.One of Fazeel’s co-panelists was

a professor of Psychology at CapitalUniversity. Seeing the positiveresponse from students to Fazeel’sparticipation at the CelebratingInterfaith Dialogue event, sheasked Fazeel to present to one ofher classes as well. The followingmonth, Fazeel attended her classand had an enjoyable time with thestudents talking about, not only thereligion of Islam, but also being aMuslim in a country that appears attimes to be hostile towards the faith.Sometimes it seems the biggerimpact is not necessarily from the

substance of what one says butrather by simply presenting one’sself in a way that dispels popularnegative perceptions aboutMuslims. At this class the mostcommon comment from studentswas that Fazeel seemed “so nor-mal” and that his understanding ofIslam was very different from whatthey expected.In May, Fazeel presented to a

Humanities class at OSU. The topiche was requested to speak on was“American Muslims post-911”.The presentation comprised of ashort introduction to the basics/fun-damentals of Islam and then a morein-depth talk on how this back-ground differs so much from thegeneral perception about Muslimsand the religion of Islam post-911. A discussion ensued about vari-

ous current events in America thatreceived national attention. Fazeelspent the remainder of the class indialogue with students providing anAmerican-Muslim’s point of view ontopics such as the “Ground-ZeroMosque” controversy, the

Fazeel S. Khan with Nihad Awad (Co-Founder and Executive Director

of CAIR) at CAIR national headquarters in Washington, DC.

Congressional Hearings on theRadicalization of Muslims inAmerica, the Florida Pastor’s “Burnthe Quran” campaign, etc.Later in the year, the Columbus

Alternative High School held its“Teens for Tolerance” festival. Theevent comprised of lectures, per-formances and panels. The goal ofthe event was to explore the impor-tance of tolerance by raising aware-ness of diversity within the commu-nity and lingering social inequalitiesand then offer education to counterdiscrimination in the community.As such, the Columbus chapter

of the Council on American IslamicRelations (CAIR), which is doingvery good work in this field, wasrequested to arrange for a repre-sentative from the Muslim commu-nity to present at the event. CAIRrequested Fazeel to represent it andFazeel agreed to attend on itsbehalf. The feedback from Fazeel’spresentation sent via email by theorganizer was as follows: “The stu-dents absolutely loved your presen-tation. A good amount of them filledout exit surveys for us, and every-one said nice things about you! Wewould love to collaborate with you!I’m sure our MSA (Muslim StudentAssociation) would be interested inworking with the Center to hostsome sort of workshop or presenta-tion! Their mission fits with yoursreally well, and they like holding out-reach events.” In response to the success of the

USA Jamaat’s Symposium on“Sharia”, held in conjunction with itsannual convention, several of thefaculty of the Ohio State Universitywho attended the conferencepushed for the OSU FacultyTheology Seminar to continue thediscussion on the topic by studyinga book on sharia. The book beingdiscussed is Heaven on Earth: aJourney Through Sharia bySadakat Kadri. Although the authortries to present a fair assessment ofwhat sharia entails, its history and

its current applications in the worldtoday, there are many instances inwhich he misconstrues Islamic con-cepts and confuses the religion ofIslam with the practices of somewho claim to be followers of thefaith. The OSU Faculty TheologySeminar invited Fazeel to attend asa special guest to provide his opin-ion and answer questions from themembers. Fazeel attended a ses-sion in November and his participa-tion was very well received andappreciated. The members haverequested he participate again inanother session in December. Thefollowing is an email that wasreceived from the organizer of theSeminar:Dear Fazeel:Your recent visit with the partici-pants in the Faculty TheologySeminar turned out to be a “hit”! Iheard only approving commentsand the oft-expressed wish thatyou could be with us again. Wecan always adjust our scheduleto accommodate you. Thanksagain for being with us. Yourfriendly openness and impres-sive knowledge of Islam won youmany friends among seminarparticipants. We will welcomeyou to any of our meetings withopen arms!

COLLABORATION WITH LOCALMUSLIM GROUPSThe USA Jamaat continues its col-laborative work with other Muslimgroups. A strong relationship hasbeen developed with the civil rightsgroup CAIR, the national umbrellaorganization ISNA, and localmasjids. As we have done for thepast several years, the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society co-sponsors CAIR’s annual dinner andits annual iftar. As in previous years,the Noor Masjid invited members ofthe Lahore Ahamdiyya IslamicSociety to be a part of its“Community Leaders” RecognitionDinner. Masha Allah, these oppor-

tunities provide for building friend-ships and better understandingbetween different schools ofthought. We are very grateful for therespectful relations that Muslimgroups in Columbus have with oneanother – truly, it can serve as amodel for the rest of the country.This year, the USA Jamaat also

participated in the “Islamic Day inOhio” event. This event, held on thefirst Saturday of every October forthe past 25 years, offers a valuableopportunity for all mosques, Muslimgroups and Islamic societiesthroughout the state to gather, getto know one another, and worktogether. The event was held inColumbus at the Ohio State Housethis year. Fazeel attended on behalfof the Lahore Ahmadiyya IslamicSociety and used this opportunity tonetwork with other Muslimsthroughout the state. Masha Allah,this was another excellent opportu-nity for building friendships and bet-ter understanding between differentIslamic groups. This was the firstyear that the Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society sponsored theevent, and we look forward to manymore such collaborative efforts.Another wonderful project under-

taken by the local Muslim communi-ty in Columbus is the NoorCommunity Medical Clinic (of theNoor Islamic Cultural Center). TheClinic is operated by a group of vol-unteer doctors, nurses, medical stu-dents and others to serve all those(both Muslim and non-Muslim) whodo not have health coverage. Sr.Lubna Ahmad has been providingvolunteer services to this clinic byhandling phone calls, settingappointments for the patients andpreparing doctors’ schedules. TheMedical Director of the clinic hasexpressed her gratitude on manyoccasions and Sr. Lubna, along withthe other volunteers, were publiclyrecognized at the CAIR Annual Iftarlast Ramadan.Fazeel, Dr. Noman Malik and Sr.


LOCAL ACTIVITIES OF THE USA JAMAAT

Samina Malik also attended theISNA Annual Convention thisyear, which was held inWashington, DC. This year, our rep-resentatives took the opportunity toattend the actual programs andevents offered throughout the 4-dayconvention. Masha Allah we wereable to address various issues withISNA leadership and also engage indialogue with well-known scholarsin the American Muslim community.In addition, Fazeel was personal-

ly invited to ISNA’s prestigiousInterfaith Unity Banquet which isheld each year in conjunction withthe annual convention. This inter-faith unity banquet has been one ofISNA’s main features for over adecade. It offers an opportunity tocelebrate interfaith achievementswith the American Muslim commu-nity and to recognize interfaith lead-ers and institutions that have con-tributed to the advancement ofinterreligious understanding. Thetheme of the presentation at thisyear’s banquet was “A PluralisticVision: Upholding the Rights ofReligious Minorities Across theWorld.” We were very thankful forthis invitation as it served as a valu-able opportunity to build relation-ships with American Muslim leadersengaged in interfaith work as wellas network with leaders of otherfaith traditions in the USA.A wonderful blessing from our

participation at the ISNA confer-ence this year was making acquain-tances with Prof. Michael Birkel.Prof. Birkel teaches religion atEarlham College in Richmond,Indiana and has a special interest inIslam. The author of several workson the Quaker tradition and religionin general, Prof. Birkel is currentlyworking on a book titled “TheQuran from North AmericanMuslim Leaders”. As the title sug-gests, the project entails presentingunderstandings of various pas-sages of the Quran from Muslimleaders in America. Fazeel and Dr.

Noman Malik coincidentally (or asProf. Birkel put it, “by divine provi-dence”) sat next to Prof. Birkel atone of the lSNA main events, inwhich several thousand peopleattend. Again, by coincidence (ordivine providence) Fazeel onceagain met Prof. Birkel at theInterfaith Unity Banquet. Prof. Birkelwas quite impressed with his dis-cussions with our representativesand, especially, with copies of theHoly Quran and Religion of Islamwhich we had gifted to him. Uponreturning home from the conven-tion, Prof. Birkel contacted Fazeelrequesting that he participate asone of the Muslims to be inter-viewed as part of his book. Prof.Birkel graciously came to Columbusand spent an entire afternoon andevening with Fazeel at Masjid-al-Urooj for this purpose. Fazeelchose the topic of “finality ofprophethood” to be the focus of hisdiscussion. Others that Prof. Birkelinterviewed for purposes of this newbook are Dr. Jamal Badawi, DawudWalid, Hassan al-Qazwini, Su’adAbdul Khabee, Jimmy Jones,Sohaib Sultan, Zeki Saritoprak, etc. The National Headquarters of

CAIR also holds an event in con-junction with the ISNA annual con-vention. This year, Fazeel was invit-ed to attend. The CAIR nationalheadquarters is located in a primelocation on Capital Hill. The eventcommenced with a reception with

food and drinks, followed by a tourof the 2-storey office and then a dis-cussion and question/answer ses-sion. Fazeel introduced the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society andmentioned, as a civil rights attorney,the collaborative work he does withthe local chapter of CAIR inColumbus. Copies of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s Holy QuranTranslation/Commentary and hisReligion of Islam were also provid-ed to the co-founder and executivedirector, Nihad Awad. Masha Allah,CAIR is diligently working for theprotection of rights of Muslims in theUSA and our relationship with anIslamic organization engaging insuch valuable work is a blessing.

INTERFAITH INITIATIVESEach year the St. James EpiscopalChurch offers an Interfaith IftarDinner during Ramadan for localMuslims. The purpose of the iftardinner is to display solidarity withMuslims in the holy month in whichthey stress achieving closeness toAlmighty God. Because of the gen-erous gesture by the Church, mem-bers of the USA Jamaat make allattempts to participate. This year,Fazeel, Dr. Noman Malik, Sr.Samina Malik and our guests fromTurkey (Sr. Ayse Ackur and Br. SadiAckur and children, Zainip andYamur) all attended. The event alsopresents the opportunity to buildbonds of friendship with other local


NICC Community LeadersRecognition Dinner.



Muslims. The generosity of thechurch has inspired the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society to recip-rocate in some way. It has come toour attention that many churchesprovide food to the needy during theholiday season but have difficultydoing so on Christmas day due tomost members being unable to vol-unteer because of spending timewith family. We will be trying to fillthis void this year by having ourmembers (and possibly some otherMuslims) volunteer on Christmasday so that the needy normallybeing served by these churches donot face an interruption in services. Another project that Lahore

Ahmadiyya members participate inis the Feed the Needy Programoffered at the YWCA. The shelteraccommodates about 250 homelesswomen and children at one time. Thecurrent economy has made resortingto this program for food a necessityfor many. Various organizations sup-ply food to the shelter. The LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society, in coor-dination with CAIR, also do so. Dr.Mohammad and Sr. Lubna Ahmadvolunteer every month with a groupof other Muslims to supply fooditems and services to the indigent.Tables are set, food is served anddishes are washed. Alhamdulillah,an average of 200 people are servedevery month.The USA Jammat also partici-

pates in a Prisoner Rehabilitation

Program at the correctional institu-tion in Chillicothe, which is locatedapproximately 90 minutes driveaway from Columbus, Ohio. Dr.Mohammad and Sr. Lubna Ahmadparticipate in collaboration with aninterfaith group, twice or thriceevery month to attend the HorizonProgram at the institution. This pro-gram caters to the spiritual needs ofabout 70 inmates, including eightMuslims. Holy Qurans and Muslimprayer books have been given toMuslim inmates. This program isdesigned to teach inmates differenttechniques to help them develop apositive attitude towards life.According to statistics, the men whoattend this program and follow theguidelines, once released, have avery low rate of recidivism. One ofthe organizers of the program hasrecently requested Fazeel to pres-

ent an interactive class to the pris-oners, from a Muslim perspective,as part of a “Spiritual Development”course that is being offered.Another program that our mem-

bers regularly participate in is theSpiritual Sharing Program hostedby the Interfaith Association ofCentral Ohio and held at the MainDowntown Library of Columbus,Ohio. The meetings are held on thefirst Wednesday of every month.Members of different faiths and tra-ditions participate. The atmosphereis extremely cordial, with the pur-pose of promoting respect, toler-ance, mutual learning and under-standing. Topics, ranging fromrespect for parents to existence andattributes of God are discussed. Dr.Mohammad and Sr. Lubna Ahmadhave been attending these meetingson a regular basis, for the last four orfive years. Many of the attendeeshave benefited from Dr. Ahmad’sand Sr. Lubna’s participation, havinggained a much better understandingof the true teachings of Islam.The annual Interfaith Confer -

ence in Florida hosted by BrotherImtiaz Isakh (under the banner of“The Islamic Sunrise”) was again asuccess this year (Alhamdulillah).Many people participated includingpersons of different faiths, students,professors and interfaith enthusi-asts. Dr. Ahmad gave some openingwords and Fazeel introduced theLahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society


Fazeel Khan with Muslim and Christian attendees.

Fazeel Khan, Dr. Noman Malik, Samina Malik with guests from Turkey.


to the audience. Br. Imtiaz moderat-ed the forum and provided insightfulcomments and direction through-out. The interfaith speakers com-prised of a Rabbi, a Sikh, a Hinduand Maulana Kemal Hydal (as theMuslim representative). The confer-ence provided a valuable opportuni-

ty for persons of different faiths toget to know one another and dis-cuss ways in which peace betweenmembers of faith traditions may beachieved.In response to the tragic shoot-

ings at the Gurdwara in Wisconsin,the Sikh Community in Columbus

held a Commemoration at theGuru Nanak Religious Society inAugust of this year. The event wasvery successful. Community and reli-gious leaders participated and mem-bers of the central Ohio communityfilled the prayer hall. The LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society issued astatement of condolence, which waspublished on its website www.mus-lim.org and reproduced below:


Dr. Tarunjit Butalia addressing thegathering at the GurdwaraCommemoration event.

Fazeel Khan with a member of the Episcopal Church.

�CONDOLENCES

TO THE SIKH COMMUNITY

Members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society express our sincere condolences toour brothers and sisters from the Sikh community for the senseless killing of innocent worshippers at the Wisconsin Gurdwara. We pray that Almighty Rabb (Lord) grants thefamilies and the entire community patience, strength and fortitude in this time of great loss.We have a long-standing bond with the Sikh community, as Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement) revered Guru Nanak as a very holy and saintly personage, going so far as to write a book (Sat Bachan) defending him from criticism andattacks made against his character. We stand in solidarity with the Sikh community duringthis tragedy and genuinely feel as if we lost members of our own family.


By Samina Malik

Alhamdolillah! Our transla-tion and publication work isprogressing very well by

the Grace of Almighty Allah, themost Beneficent and Gracious. Wewould like to keep you abreast of theprogress and new developments inthe translation and publication fields.As we are all aware, the propagationof the true principles of Islam, prima-rily through our literary treasures, isthe very essence of the mission ofthe Jamaat. The translation of ourprimary publications (in particularthe Holy Quran, with commentary byMaulana Muhammad Ali) is an inte-gral part of this goal. As we reviewthe results of our efforts in thisregard, we are humbled and wethank Almighty Allah for providing usthe opportunity to engage in thisgreat jihad.We provide below an outline of

our publications in English and alist of the translation projects (com-pleted and currently in progress). Intotal, 24 major languages areincluded, namely:• German • French• Italian • Dutch• Spanish • Portuguese• Albanian • Polish• Breton • Chinese• Japanese • Vietnamese• Korean • Turkish• Arabic • Farsi• Hindi • Urdu• Bengali • Yoruba • Afrikaans (Nigeria)(South Africa) • Thai

• Tagalog • CebuanoThe process of having books

translated is a lengthy and compli-cated one, especially when dealingwith religious literature. We take allprecautions to try to ensure theutmost accuracy of the end-prod-ucts. In addition to engaging quali-fied translators, the translations areproofread at least twice (and up tothree times) by independent

sources. Certainly mistakes canoccur, as the translators arehuman, but we do whatever is inour abilities to prevent them fromhappening. We are also currentlyattending to revisions of olderworks, in particular the French andGerman translations of the HolyQuran, so that the best possibleproduct is made available. This work is certainly a collabo-

rative effort and we very muchappreciate the contributions bydevoted members within the USand around the world. Unlike otherreligious entities that rely heavily ongrants and other external sourcesof income, this work is purely basedon donations from members. Todate, 20 translations of the HolyQuran have been funded by mem-bers, some of whom also bore thecosts of proof-reading, typesettingand printing. Aside from (and in many

instances in addition to) monetarycontributions, many members vol-unteer valuable time and effort inproof-reading manuscripts prior topublication.Our new ebooks venture is a

prime example. By the grace ofAlmighty Allah this project is thriv-ing and surpassing all of our hopesand expectations. This project wasmade possible due to the many vol-unteers (within the US and abroad)who devoted time and energy inproofreading the texts.And then there are those who

regularly remember us in theirprayers – without such support,nothing could be achieved. We praythat each one of you that sacrificesin this cause is rewarded abundant-ly. Ameen. We also pray that many more

members will join this cause andbecome regular contributors to thepractical work of the Jamaat, inshaAllah.Finally, as by now you all have

surely become accustomed to, wecannot mention the results of theUSA Jamaat’s work without givingcredit to the person responsible forsetting us to this task. It was due tothe encouragement and inspirationof the late Hazrat Ameer, Dr. SaeedAhmad Sahib (Janji), that this workis being done. I, personally, amhumbled when I recall the firsttranslation project I undertook in1988 (the translation of the HolyQuran with commentary byMaulana Muhammad Ali intoFrench) under the guidance of Janjiand today see a translation projectcomprising 24 major languages.May Almighty Allah Grant him thebest of paradise for his good deeds,guidance and leadership. Ameen.There are many ways to con-

tribute to this work. Financial contri-butions are needed for printingmany of our books that havealready been translated (as you’llsee below under the titles“Translated and Ready to bePrinted”. More volunteers are need-ed as proof-readers to keep up withthe high demand for our e-books.And, much work can be done tospread copies of these publicationsthroughout the world. Please con-tact me at either aaiil@ aol.com [email protected] to discussways in which you may participate.Once again, please continue toremember us in your prayers.

PUBLICATION OF JAMAATLITERATURE IN ENGLISH:By Maulana Muhammad Ali• Holy Quran English Hard Cover• Holy Quran English Soft Cover• Holy Quran English LeatherEdition

• Holy Quran English PocketLeather Edition

• Holy Quran English PocketEdition Standard

• Religion of Islam Hard Cover• Religion of Islam Soft Cover

USA Jamaat’s Translation & Publication Work


• Manual of Hadith• Muhammad the Prophet• Early Caliphate• Ahmadiyya Movement• New World Order• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

• Instructions and Guidance forthe Ahmadiyya Jamaat

• The Truth about the Split• The Babi Movement• History of the Prophets• Founder of the AhmadiyyaMovement

• Living thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• Muhammad and Christ• Antichrist, Gog and Magog• Muslim Prayer Book• Jihad in Islam (from Religion ofIslam)

• Islam the Religion of Humanity• Prophet of IslamBy Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad• Teachings of Islam (translatedby MMAli)

• Testimony of the Holy Quran(translated by Dr. Zahid Aziz)

• A Brief Sketch of My Life (trans-lated by Prof. Asghar Hameed)

• An Account of Exoneration(translated by Prof. AsgharHameed)

• Message of Peace (translatedby MMAli)

• Victory of Islam (translated byDr. Zahid Aziz)

• Need of an Imam (translated byKalaamaza Muhammad)

• Four Questions Answered(translated by Dr. HamidRahman)

• The Will (translated by Dr. ZahidAziz)

• Meaning of Islam (translated byDr. Zahid Aziz)

By Khwaja Kamal-u-Din• The Ideal Prophet• Sources of Christianity• Islam to East and West• Islam My Only Choice• Table Talk

By Naseer Ahmad Faruqi• The Light from the Holy Quran(Maaraful Quran), translated byDr. Mohammad Ahamd

• Ahmadiyyat in the Service ofIslam

• Islam and Christianity• Ahmadiyyat versus QadianiyyatBy Hafiz Sher Muhammad• The Ahmadiyya Case• Death of Jesus• Sir Dr. Muhammad Iqbal andthe Ahmadiyya Movement

• The Clear Evidence (translatedby Ch. Masood Akhtar)

By Mumtaz Ahmad Faruqui• The Mighty Striving (biographyof Maulana Muhammad Ali), byMuhammad Ahmad andMumtaz Ahmad Faruqui, trans-lated into English by Mrs AkhtarAziz

• Crumbling of the Cross• Anecdotes from the Life of theProphet Muhammad

By Others• The Great Reformer (biographyof Hazrat Mirza GhulamAhmad) by Dr. BashaaratAhmad, Volume One (translatedby Dr. Hamid Rahman)

• Fundamentals of the ChristianFaith in the Light of theGospels, by Maulana Sadruddin

• Jesus in Heaven on Earth (hardand soft cover), by KhwazaNazeer Ahmad

• A Debt Forgotton, by RahimBuksh

• Ahmadiyyat, the Citadel ofIslam, by Rahim Baksh

• Martyrdom of Sahibzada AbdulLateef, translated by Dr. HamidRahman

• Christ is Come, by MirzaMasum Beg

• Alhamdolillah (children’s book),by Fazeel Sahu Khan

• Meaning of Surah Fatiha (chil-dren’s book), by Fazeel SahuKhan

• Introduction to Islam, by Dr.Zahid Aziz

TRANSLATIONS OFJAMAAT LITERATURE:GERMANTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran• The Religion of Islam• The Manual of Hadith• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• The Teachings of Islam• Islam, the Religion of Humanity(new translation 2002)

• The Prophet of Islam• Founder of the AhmadiyyaMovement

Translated, Ready to Print:• Muhammad the Prophet• Muslim Prayer Book• History of the Prophets• Introduction to Islam• Early CaliphateCurrently Being Translated• A Mighty Striving• The Ahmadiyya Movement• The Ahmadiyya Case• Ahmadiyyat vs. Qadianiyat• Meaning of Islam• History of the ProphetsITALIANTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran• The Teachings of Islam• The introduction to Islam• The History of the Prophets• The Prophet of Islam• Islam the Religion of Humanity• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

Translated, Ready to Print:• The Religion of Islam• The Manual of Hadith• Early Caliphate• Jesus in Heaven on Earth• The Ahmadiyya Case• The Ahmadiyya Movement• Ahmadiyyat in the Service ofIslam

• Need of the AhmaddiyyaMovement

• Ahmadiyyat vs Qadianiyat• Death of JesusFRENCHTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran

USA JAMAAT’S TRANSLATION & PUBLICATION WORK


• The Prophet of Islam• Islam, the Religion of Humanity• Prophet of Islam• Introduction to Islam• Muhammad the Prophet• Teachings of Islam• Living thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• Early Caliphate• Message of Peace• Islam my only choiceCurrently Being Translated• The Religion of Islam• Manual of Hadith• History of the Prophets• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

• New World Order• Mighty Striving• The Ahmadiyya Movement• Other booklets on IslamBRETONCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• Introduction to IslamALBANIANTranslated and Printed:• Islam, the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of IslamTranslated, Ready to Print:• The Holy Quran• Ahmadiyyat vs. Qadianiyyat• Islam my only Choice• Introduction to Islam• Message of PeaceCurrently Being Translated• Muhammad the Prophet• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• The Ahmadiyya Movement• The Religion of IslamARABICTranslated and Printed:• The Religion of Islam• Muhammad the Prophet• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• The Manual of Hadith• The Teachings of Islam• Ahmadiyya Movement• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

• Jihad in Islam• Introduction to the Holy Quran• The New World Order• The Ahmadiyya Case• The Babi MovementCurrently Being Translated:• Commentary (footnotes) fromMM Ali’s English Translation ofHoly Quran

• History of the Prophets• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The prophet of Islam• The Introduction to IslamRUSSIANTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• Prophet of Islam• Teachings of Islam• Living thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

Translated and Being Checked:• The Religion of Islam• Introduction to IslamCurrently Being Translated• Muhammad the Prophet• Early Caliphate• Manual of HadithCHINESETranslated and Printed:• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The prophet of IslamTranslated and being Checked:• The Holy Quran (Currentlyseeking a qualified ChineseMuslim for checking)

VIETNAMESETranslated, Ready to Print:• Muhammad the Prophet• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The prophet of Islam• Introduction to IslaCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• The Religion of IslamCEBUANOTranslated, Ready to Print:• Introduction to Islam• Meaning of Islam• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• Introduction to the Holy QuranCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran

TAGALOGCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• Introduction to IslamAFRIKAANS (South Africa)Translated, Ready to Print:• Introduction to Islam• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• Muhammad the Prophet• Teachings of IslamSPANISHTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran (project com-menced by General AbdullahSaeed, son of late HazratAmeer Saeed Ahmad KhanSahib, in Mexico in the early1980’s)

• Muhammad the ProphetTranslated,Ready to Print:• Islam, the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Religion of Islam• The Introduction to Islam• The Prophet of Islam• Teachings of Islam• Manual of Hadith• The Ahmadiyya MovementTURKISHTranslated and Printed:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• The True Conception of theAhmadiyya Movement

• Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’sClaim as Mujaddid of the 14thCentury

• Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’sclaim as Promised Messiah

• Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’sclaim as Mahdi

• Brief Survey of the AhmadiyyaMovement

• Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’sdenial of Prophethood

Translated, Ready to Print:• The New World Order



• The Religion of islam• The Manual of HadithCurrently Being Translated:• The Ideal Prophet• The Teachings of Islam• Early Caliphate• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

DUTCH• Holy Quran (translated andtypeset by USA Jamaat and itsprinting is funded by Mr. JerrelSardar of the Stichting Jamaatin Holland)Thirty (30) major works of the

Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat hasbeen translated by the StichtingJamaat into Dutch, some of whichhave already been printed as well.For further details, please con-

tact Mr. Hoeseni, President ofStichting Jamaat,KOREANTranslated, Ready to Print:• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• Introduction to IslamCurrently Being Translated:• Holy QuranTHAITranslated, Ready to Print:• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• The Religion of Islam• Muhammad the Prophet• The Teachings of Islam• Introduction to Islam• Early Caliphate• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• The Ahmadiyya MovementYORUBA (Nigeria)Translated, Ready to Print:• Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of Islam• Introduction to IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• The Ahmadiyya Movement• Muhammad the Prophet

• The Teachings of Islam• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

FARSITranslated, Ready to Print:• Introduction to IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The Prophet of IslamBENGALICurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• Islam the Religion of Humanity• The prophet of IslamPORTUGUESECurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran• The Prophet of Islam• Islam the Religion of Humanity• Introduction to IslamPOLISHTranslated and Ready for Printing:• The Religion of IslamCurrently Being Translated:• The Holy Quran (new translation)HINDIApproximately ten books and

booklets have been translated byDr. Khursheed Alam Tareen, in col-laboration with the USA Jamaat, forfree distribution in India.URDUPrinted:• Bayan-ul-Quran• Maariful-Quran• New Typeset of Fazlul Bari(Urdu Translation andCommentary of Sahih-al-Bukhari by MaulanaMuhammad Ali; 2 volumes,3020 pages)

• Mujaddid-e-Azam (3 volumes)Online Publication:• Bayan-ul-Quran (New Typeset,new Arabic script, and otherimprovements)

Typeset and being Proofread:• Set of 80 books by Hazrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad (RuhaniKhazain) in 20 volumes

Ready to be Printed:• Al Nabuwat Fil Islam• Sirat-ul-Kahir-ul Bashr• Maqam-e-Hadith

E-BOOKSMasha Allah twelve major

Jamaat publications are alreadyavailable in e-book format, namely:• The Holy Quran• The Religion of Islam• Mohammad the Prophet• Living Thoughts of ProphetMuhammad

• Early Caliphate• Introduction to Islam• Introduction to the Study of theHoly Quran

• Muhammad and Christ• Anecdotes from the Life of theHoly Prophet Muhammad

• The Ideal Prophet• The Teachings of Islam• History of the ProphetsInsha Allah in this month of May,

another ten titles will be added tothis list.

HOLY QURAN ON AUDIO CDThe audio recording of the

English text of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s English transla-tion of the Holy Quran has beenavailable for several years. Now, theentire work, text and footnotes, isavailable on CD in MP3 format. TheCDs will be available in this monthof May.

THE LIGHT AND ISLAMIC REVIEWThe Light and Islamic Review is

subscribed by approximately 600universities and libraries within theU.S. It is also printed (200 copies)in the Philippines by Prof. HenryAbdil Gaffar Espiritu and distributedto university professors, librariesand others. It is also translated intoFrench, Albanian and Spanish.Additional translations that will fol-low are German and Turkish.


26 Basharaat-E-Ahmadiyya

By Samina Malik

Alhamdolillah! The LahoreAhmadiyya Jamaat wasofficially registered in

France on May 6, 2012 as TheLahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society,France. This is a very opportunetime for the jamaat to be registeredin France, as we are in the processof printing a large number of ourbooks in French. In addition to the French Holy

Quran which we printed 20 yearsago, we have recently printed thefollowing nine books in French:Islam – the Religion of Humanity,The Prophet of Islam, Muhammadthe Prophet, Living Thoughts of theProphet Muhammad, Introductionto Islam, Teachings of Islam,Message of Peace, Islam, My OnlyChoice and The Early Caliphate.We will also be printing Islam theReligion of Humanity and TheProphet of Islam in the Breton lan-guage.The Light and Islamic Review

has been translated into Frenchand will be posted on our web sitewww.muslim.org. Future issues ofthe magazine will be translated andposted as well as printed regularlyand sent to municipal and universi-ty libraries, jamaat members andother individuals in France.Unfortunately, as in much of

Europe, there is a great riftbetween the millions of immigrantMuslims (and their descendants)and the local ethnic French people.This is due mainly to the latter’sperception of Islam as a violent andoppressive religion. This perception is reinforced by

certain regressive and intolerantideas about the religion presentamong a minority of Muslims them-selves — ideas which have nobasis in the Holy Quran or Hadith,and are due to misinterpretation of

certain Quranic verses and Hadith.It is hoped that this literature willremove these misconceptions andpromote inter-faith peace and har-mony. Alhamdolillah! We have seven

pledged members in France. Ourdedicated and hard-working boardmember, Brother Daoud Boussonwho resides in Louannec, Brittany,is a board member and Imam of theorganization. Inshallah, we hopeand pray that, by the Grace ofAlmighty Allah, the French Jamaatis successful in its mission ofspreading the peaceful and tolerantmessage of Islam and theAhmadiyya Movement in France.Ameen!

Louannec FranceIn March of 2012, Noman and I,together with Brother ShabbierHoesseni and Sister SafooraHoesseni, drove to Louannec tomeet our dedicated Ahmadi broth-er, Daoud Boussion. Brother Daoudmoved from Paris to Louannec afew years ago with his wife, sisterNorhani, and their two lovelydaughters. We reached Louannecat night and were welcomed byBrother Daoud and Sister Norhaniwho had prepared a delicious din-ner for us. The next few days were spent in

discussions with brother Daoudabout ways in which we could pro-mote Islam and the LahoreAhmadiyya Movement in France.We also looked at various proper-ties trying to find a suitable storageplace for our books. After an exten-sive search we were able to makearrangements to store some of ourbooks in Louannec.

Book Storage and Distribution in Paris and Louannec Since 1989, we have printed anddistributed 5,000 French Holy

Qurans in France. With the printingof the nine additional titles of ourbooks in French, we needed to findstorage space and sales outlets forour books. I have known BrotherSidaty for 10 years, and decided toenlist his help in the storage andsale of our books. When I contact-ed him for this purpose, he verygraciously offered to help. Noman and I were in Holland at

that time, and we took the highspeed train to Paris on October 12,2012. Brother Sidaty and BrotherGhislain met us at the Paris trainstation. They were very happy tolearn about the progress of ourprinting project. They were alsovery pleased that the LahoreAhmadiyya jamaat had been regis-tered in France. We visited aboutseven bookshops which sell Islamicbooks and showed them our bookswith approval certificates by Al-Azhar.They were especially impressed

by Sheikh Muhammad Tantawi’sglowing review of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s The Religion ofIslam. Inshallah, we will be sendingsamples of our books to them.Brother Sidaty wants us to come

again and talk about theAhmadiyya Movement to people inParis. He also wants to arrange aradio interview for Noman in whichwe could present the aims andobjectives of the LahoreAhmadiyya Movement. BrotherDaoud will also arrange a similarconference in Louannec. We will,Inshallah, meet these objectives inthe coming year.Brother Daoud Boussin is in

charge of our Anjuman’s booksstored in Louannec. He will fulfillany orders of the French books inFrance and abroad.We thank Almighty Allah for giv-

ing us this opportunity to serveIslam and Ahmaidyyat in France.

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Islamic SocietyRegistered in France


By Samina Malik

General background about theestablishment of the LahoreAhmadiyya Jamaat in thePhilippinesAs many of you may know, the USAJamaat has been working in thePhilippines for the last five years.The idea of setting up a LahoreAhmadiyya Center in thePhilippines first occurred to me 16years ago when I came across anarticle by Maulana Muhammad Aliin an old 1930’s issue of the LightMagazine in our microfilm files. In this article, Maulana

Muhammad Ali was replying to agroup of young men in thePhilippines who had written to himsaying that they had established aLahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat in thePhilippines and asking him for helpand guidance. In his reply, MaulanaMuhammad Ali encouraged themto maintain the jamaat in thePhilippines and carry on the workof the Mujaddid, Hazrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad.Apparently communication with

this jamaat was lost after the cata-clysmic intervention of World War IIand the death of MaulanaMuhammad Ali. The next contactwith the Philippines movement wasin 1998 when I received a requestfor free Holy Qurans from two indi-viduals in that country. Subsequently, I sent them about

300 Holy Qurans and other booksfor free distribution. Recently, whenwe visited Zamboanga for anInterfaith Conference, we cameacross people who said that theyhad received the EnglishTranslation of the Holy Quran 14years ago. These most probablywere some of the Holy Qurans wesent in 1998.The USA Jamaat’s current

involvement with the Philippinesbegan in 2007, when I received an

email from our brother and FrenchJamaat board Member, Br. DaoudBoussin requesting that I visit thePhilippines and propagate Islamover there. This suggestion of Br.Daoud was very appealing to me,as I already had a desire to spreadthe movement in the Philippinesever since I had read MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s article.Soon afterwards, I made plans

and proceeded to the Philippinesalone. By the Grace of AlmightyAllah, I was able to establish ajamaat center in Cagayan de Oro in2007 and the Lahore AhmadiyyaJamaat was legally registered withthe Philippine government in 2008. As we all can understand, start-

ing a new jamaat from scratch isnever an easy endeavor. Recruitingsincere members, providing properreligious training, and fending offopposition from local Muslims areall necessary hurdles which mustbe overcome. Alhamdulillah! In thepast five years we have made greatprogress in all of these areas; ascan be judged from the reports ofactivities sent periodically via e-mail and published annually in theBasharaat-e-Ahmadiyya magazine.

Routine activities at the centerin Cagayan de OroEvery Sunday afternoon, membersand friends gather at the LahoreAhmadiyya Center in Cagayan deOro, and Noman conducts three-hour classes on Islam fromColumbus or anywhere he may bein the world via Skype. Classesbegin with a one-hour Quran les-son (dars) followed by a readingsession from the life of the HolyProphet Muhammad. This is fol-lowed by a talk and discussion on atopic chosen from the book, TheReligion of Islam. The only break inthe class sessions is for AsrPrayers. Every Wednesday, Noman gives

a lecture on the AhmadiyyaMovement via internet to brotherJaffar. Sister Nena and other mem-bers also attend these lectureswhen they have time. The USAJamaat is very grateful to Nomanthat no matter where he may be, hemakes it a point not to miss deliver-ing these lectures. May AlmightyAllah be Pleased with him for hiseffort for his dedication to impartthe proper understanding of theQuran and Islam to our PhilippineMembers.The credit for organizing these

classes goes to the untiring effortsof Sister Nena Mendosa, the secre-tary and treasurer of the Philippinejamaat. She manages the Center’sfinances, ensures that the Jamaatis in compliance with legal require-ments and supervises the upkeepof the Center. She also directs allthe charitable activities of theJamaat. Alhamdolillah, she is ever ready

to do whatever is necessary for thegood of the Jamaat. May AlmightyAllah Reward and Bless her for hersacrifice of time and effort in serv-ing Islam and the AhmadiyyaMovement.

February 2012 activities inCagayan de OroNoman and I flew to Cagayan deOro from Manila on February 8,2012. As soon as we arrived, wewent to the Center where we werevery happy to meet once again withSister Nena Mendosa and brotherJaffar.On Friday February 10, the

Jumu’ah Prayers were held at theCenter, and the Khutba was deliv-ered by Noman. Our devoted andhard-working member Dr. KhalidSantos also came to the Centerfrom Pagadian City to attend theJalsa in spite of a leg injury he hadsustained in a motor-cycle accidentseveral weeks earlier.

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat ActivitiesIn the Philippines — 2012


Jalsa in Cagayan de OroA Jalsa in which Noman gave a lec-ture about “Life After Death” washeld at the Center on February 12.Almost 50 people, including non-Ahmadi Muslims and non-Muslims,greatly appreciated the lecture,which was followed by a livelyquestion and answer session.We are very thankful to Sister

Nena Mendosa, secretary of thePhilippine Jamaat for arranging thelecture and inviting guests on shortnotice. She made all the arrange-ments for catering the food andmaking guests comfortable. On February 13 and 14, Noman

was busy giving lectures in theCenter about the AhmadiyyaMovement and Islam to BrotherRameez, Brother Khalid andBrother Jaffar. These talks are veryuseful as they impart much neededknowledge to help them betterdefend and propagate Islam andthe Ahmadiyya movement.

Two symposia in Cebu,PhilippinesFazeel Khan arrived in Cebu onMonday; February 20, to attend twosymposia in Cebu City in which hewas the scheduled resource speak-er. Both symposia dealt with thesame subject, “The IslamicConcept of Democracy andConsultative Governance.”The first symposium was held on

February 22 at the University ofSan Carlos (the largest Catholic

University in Cebu) and was spon-sored by the Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society of USA andPhilippines, the Political Scienceprogram of the Social SciencesDivision of the University ofPhilippines-Cebu, the UP PoliticalScience Society and the PoliticalScience Program, School of Lawand Governance of the Universityof San Carlos, and the Carolinian

Political Science Society. The venue of the lecture was the

Albert Van Gansewinkel Hall,University of San Carlos LawBuilding. Almost 600 people attend-ed.The proceedings began with a

welcome address by Prof. RoderickRama-Poca, Chairperson of theUniversity of San CarlosDepartment of Political Science.After his welcome address, I gave abrief lecture introducing the LahoreAhmadiyya Movement. Prof. Henry Francis (Abdil

Gaffar) Espiritu then introducedFazeel and gave a short but veryimpressive speech about theimportance of the symposium. Fazeel then delivered his 45

minute lecture on The IslamicConcept of Democracy andConsultative Governance. Theaudience listened with great inter-est. The new insights that Fazeel

ACTIVITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES JAMAAT

(R to L): Fazeel Khan, Prof. Henry Espiritu, a student and Sister Samina at theUniversity of St. Carlos.

(R to L): Fazeel Khan, Ustad Najeeb Razool and Prof. Henry Espiritu.

(R to L): Dr. Noman Malik, Mr. Fazeel Khan, Prof. Henry Espiritu and Prof.Roderick Rama-Poca.


imparted to them about Islam anddemocracy seemed of particularinterest. He showed that not onlywas Islam compatible with democ-racy, but in fact, it established thefirst truly democratic government inhistory in which majority rule wascombined with protection of minori-ty rights.After Fazeel’s speech, members

of the panel of reactors composedof Ustaz Najeeb Razool, boardmember of the Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society and now a newlydesignated Mufti and member ofthe Muslim Ulama of thePhilippines, Prof. Rhoderick JohnAbellanosa of the University of SanCarlos and Monica Janneil Moralesof the University Philippines, stu-dent-president of Cebu PoliticalScience Department reacted on thesubject for 10 minutes each.The floor was then opened for

questions from the audience. A live-

ly session ensued in which Fazeel’sanswers cleared up many miscon-ceptions the audience held aboutIslam and democracy. Some of thequestions were directed to UstazNajeeb Razool and his replies alsohelped clarify issues. Prof HenryFrancis Espiritu also took part inanswering some of the questionsby clarifying certain importantpoints in the lecture.Certificates were then awarded

to the speakers, Mr. Fazeel Khan,Samina Malik and the panel ofreactors, Ustad Najeeb Razool,Prof. Rhoderick John Abellanosaand Ms. Monica Janneil Morales byProf. Henry Francis (Abdil Gaffar)Espiritu and Prof. Mae Claire G.Jabines. As the event ended, the audi-

ence was treated to a 10 minutevideo and still picture collage of theentire symposium set to a catchyAsiatic tune. We thank Prof. Claire

Jabines for producing this attractivevideo-collage.The second symposium was

held on February 24 at theUniversity of the Philippines-UPCebu Conference Hall. The sympo-sium was jointly sponsored by theLahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Societyof the USA and Philippines, thePolitical Science Program of theSocial Sciences Division, Universityof the Philippines-Cebu, and the UPPolitical Science Society. More than 450 students and

members of the faculty of UP (aswell as nearby universities) attend-ed the symposium. The studentsattending included Masters stu-dents of Cebu Normal Universityfrom Prof. Lapa’s class and theMasters students of Prof. HenryFrancis Espiritu. The symposiumwas also attended by the Universityof San Jose Recoletos and CebuDoctors University students andfaculty alike.The symposium began with a

welcome address and rationale byProf. Lennie Ronquillo-Castanedaof the Social Sciences Division.Following her presentation, I pre-sented a lecture introducing theLahore Ahmadiyya Movement.Professor Henry Francis Abdil

Ghaffar Espiritu then introducedthe speaker and the panel of reac-tors.He was followed by Fazeel who

delivered the keynote speech of the


Prof. Roderick Rama Poca opening thesession.

Mrs. Samina Malik addressing theaudience.

Prof. Henry Espiritu introducing Mr. Fazeel Khan.

Audience at the symposium at St. Carlos University.

forum: “The Islamic Concept ofDemocracy and ConsultativeGovernance”.Fazeel’s speech was very well

received. The panel of reactors,composed of Ms. Monica JanneilMorales of UP Cebu, student-pres-ident of Cebu Political Science,Noman and Ustaz Najeeb Razool,then commented on the subject for10 minutes each. This was followed by a question

and answer session. The answersgiven by Fazeel, Noman, Prof.Espiritu, and Ustaz Najeeb Razulwere greatly appreciated by theaudience. Certificates were then awarded

by Prof. Espiritu and Prof. ClaireJabines.The symposium ended on a high

note with most of the attendeesagreeing that it had been a veryrewarding and informative experi-ence.The Lahore Ahmadiyya Islamic

Society is very grateful to Prof.Henry Francis (Abdil Ghaffar)Espiritu and Prof. Claire Jabines fororganizing both Cebu symposia. Although we have been very

active in holding symposia on Islamand the Ahmadiyya Movement inmost major cities of the Philippinessuch as Manila, Cagayan de Oro,Zamboanga, Pagadian, Malay

Balay, it is in Cebu City, the secondlargest city in the Philippines (afterManila), that we have held the mostnumerous and successful sym-posia.The moving spirit behind these

symposia has been our energeticand devoted board member Prof.Henry Francis (Abdil Ghaffar)Espiritu. We are thankful toAlmighty Allah that He has provid-ed us a dedicated brother Ahmadi,who is very passionate about pro-jecting the correct concept of Islamand Ahmadiyyat in the Philippines.He is also great asset to the inter-faith effort and peace-makingendeavors in the region. MayAlmighty Allah Reward and Blesshim for his commitment and hardwork for the jamaat.

Fazeel’s interviews on CebuCatholic Television NetworkFazeel Khan was featured in twoprograms on Cebu CatholicTelevision Network (CCTN). In thefirst program he was interviewedlive at 8 am on February 23 by Prof.Roderick Rama-Poca and Ms.Divine Marcial-Flores. In this pro-gram Prof. Rama-Poca and Ms.Divine Marcial-Flores interviewedFazeel about his lecture on Islamand Democracy and other Islamictopics for 45 minutes. This TV



Fazeel Khan addressing the audience.

Janneil Morales, Student President,responding to Fazeel’s speech.

Ustad Najeeb Razool responding toFazeel’s speech as reactor. Symposium banner in lecture hall at the University of Philippines, Cebu.

Prof. Rhoderick Abellanosa respondingto Fazeel’s speech as reactor.




Prof. Espiritu awarding certificate ofparticipation to Ustad Najeeb Razool.

Ustad Najeeb Razool addressing theaudience.

Fazeel Khan addressing the audience.

Prof. Claire G Jabines thanking thespeakers and audience.

Dr. Noman Malik addressing the audience.

Audience at the lecture.

Prof. Espiritu awarding certificate ofparticipation to Dr. Noman Malik.

Prof. Espiritu awarding certificate ofparticipation to Fazeel Khan.

Prof. Henry Espiritu welcoming theaudience. Audience at the second symposium lecture.

program is watched by millions ofpeople in the central and southernregions of the Philippines, andFazeel gave enlightened answersto the questions posed by the TVanchors Prof. Rama-Poca and Ms.Divine Marcial-Flores. Prof. Rama-Poca interviewed

Fazeel for the second time thesame afternoon about Islam. Thistaped program was broadcast aweek later over both Cebu CatholicTelevision Network and on anotherTV station, Sky Cable TV CebuNetwork (SCTVN). We thank Almighty Allah for all

the opportunities He has providedus to be channels for disseminatingthe true conception of Islam to mil-lions of people in Philippines. The next symposium will,

Insha’Allahu, be held in February ofnext year in Cebu City. It is plannedas a public interfaith event with bothMuslim and Christian participants.We hope to invite the City Mayor,leading politicians, university pro-fessors, intellectuals and religiousleaders to the event. Two years ago,we held the first ever interfaith sym-posium in Cebu City which wasvery successful. The symposiumwas held jointly by the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society and theOffice on Muslim Affairs Cebu City.Mr. Sakiran Hadjan who was theregional director of the Office onMuslim Affairs at that time organ-ized the event. We hope,Insha’Allahu, that the second sym-posium will also be a success inpromoting interfaith understandingand peaceful coexistence amongMuslims and non-Muslims.

Ustaz Najeeb Razul’s RadioProgramWe had two interview sessions onUstaz Najeeb Razul’s popular dailyRadio Program which is sponsoredby the USA Jamaat. In the first ses-sion, Prof. Espiritu, Noman and Iwere interviewed In the live radioprogram hosted by Ustaz Najeeb

Razul. We highlighted the work ofour Jamaat and Prof. Espiritu toldthem about the upcomingSymposia in Cebu and invited theaudience to participate in these

events. Prof. Espiritu also spokeabout the aims and objectives ofthe Lahore Ahmadiyya IslamicSociety. In the second live interview,

Fazeel, Noman and I participated.Ustaz Najeeb asked questionsregarding Fazeel’s lecture ondemocracy and Islam, theAhmadiyya Movement and theUSA jamaat’s involvement in theDawa work in USA and in areasabroad such as Nigeria, Chechnya,Albania, Central Asia, Turkey,Egypt, and South Africa. Noman,Fazeel and I informed the listenersabout our activities in these areas. Alhamdulillah, Ustaz Najeeb

Razool has now been appointedMufti by the Muslim Ulama of the



Fazeel Khan being interviewed by Prof. Rama Poca and Attorney Divine Marcial-Flores at the CTN Program.

Prof. Rama Poca and Ms. Divine Marcial-Flores in discussion with Fazeel Khan.

Dr. Noman Malik and Prof. HenryEspiritu at the radio station.

Philippines. Ustaz Najeeb Razul isdoing excellent work in promoting atolerant and peaceful interpretationof Islam which is, in turn, promotinginterfaith understanding in thePhilippines. He talks openly in hisradio program and in public aboutthe Ahmadiyya Movement and itsrole in protecting the true concep-tion of Islam as found in the HolyQuran and the Sunnah.

Masih Maood Day Symposiumin Cagayan de Oro, May 2012 The Mashih Maood day symposiumentitled The Revival of Islam washeld on May 26 at the VIP Hotel inCagayan de Oro City. Thanks to Almighty Allah, the

symposium was a great success.Almost 100 people attended theevent. The audience included intel-lectuals, Christian Pastors, mem-bers of a well-known Philippinepeace group and our members fromCebu, Pagadian City and Negros.One member from the Peace Groupflew in from Manila, while the restdrove from Marawi City.The symposium started at 4 pm.

The proceedings were opened bySister Nena Mendoza who wel-comed the audience, gave therationale for holding the symposiumand introduced the speakers. The following speeches were deliv-ered at the symposium: • I gave a short account of HazratMirza Sahib’s service to Islam andhis love for the Holy Quran. I alsodescribed the founding of theLahore Ahmadiyya jamaat and list-ed its past and present achieve-ments. The latter included the cur-rent dawah activities of the USAjamaat in founding new jamaats indifferent countries, and its transla-tion and printing projects. • The second speaker, Mrs. NenaMendoza spoke about the condi-tions prevailing in the world whichnecessitated the coming of theMujaddid (Reformer) in the personof Hazrat Mirza Sahib. She

described the degenerate spiritualcondition of Muslim leaders at thattime, their failure to provide solu-tions to challenging and difficultproblems facing the Muslim nationand their inability to defend againstthe intellectual attack on Islam. • The third speaker, Dr. Noman

Malik, showed how Hazrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad the corrected themost damaging and commonlyheld misconception that Islam wasa violent religion which encouragedaggressive war and which pun-ished apostates with death by refer-ences from Holy Quran, Hadith andthe history of early Muslims. • The next speaker, Mr. Rameez

Menzano discussed how HazratMirza Ghulam Ahmad had giventhe correct interpretation on jihadwhich was the crying need of theday. He showed how Hazrat MirzaSahib proved that jihad primarilymeant a spiritual struggle againstone’s low desires, or propagatingIslam with the Holy Quran. Fightingwith the sword was allowed in Islamonly in self-defense. • The final speaker was Ustad

Najeeb Razool, who showed thatthe battles fought by the HolyProphet were defensive and that hedid not spread Islam with thesword. He also discussed the mar-riages of Holy Prophet Muhammad.He showed that the Holy Prophetwas monogamous for most of hismarried life and that the multiplemarriages he contracted later atMedina were to bring peace amongtribes or to care for orphans andwidows produced as a result ofwars which were forced uponMuslims.A delicious dinner was served

after the lectures. The dinner wasfollowed by a lively question andanswer session. The audience wasvery pleased with the answersgiven by the lecturers to their ques-tions. They were also very pleasedwith the caliber and contents of thelectures and greatly appreciated

the interpretation given by HazratMirza Sahib and LahoreAhamdiyya Movement about thesubjects discussed in the lectures.Some of them inquired if similarsymposia could be held in theirtowns. One of the groups represented

at the symposium was a very largepeace group spread throughout thePhilippines, but more particularly inMindanao.Brother Daoud Boussion of

France had given me the particu-lars of the organization’s president.When I spoke with the president,he gave me the name of the organi-zation’s spokesman in Manila.I contacted the spokesman and

invited him to the symposium. Hewas very pleased and accepted theinvitation. He also arranged forother members from Maravi city inMindanao and Cagayan de Oro toattend the symposium. All thesemembers arrived in Cagayan deOro on the morning of the sympo-



Sister Samina Malik addressing theaudience.

Sister Nena Mendoza addressing theaudience.

sium and came first to the Center.We had a long discussion with

them about the AhmadiyyaMovement. We made clear to themthat we were Lahori Ahmadies and,we firmly believed in the finality ofprohethood. We told them about

Mirza Sahib’s claim as Mujaddidand Promised Messiah and aboutthe great service he rendered toIslam. We emphasized the point that he

had never claimed to be a prophet,and that his books were full ofdenials of prophethood. We gavethem a set of our major booksincluding the Holy Quran, Religionof Islam, Ahmadiyya Movementbooklets, Islam the Religion ofHumanity, Prophet of Islam,Ahmadiyyat vs Qadianiyat,Meaning of Islam, Death of Jesus,Call of Islam, Introduction to Islamand Muslim Prayer Book. Except forthe Holy Quran and Religion ofIslam, all the other books are print-ed locally in Cagayan de Oro. One of the organization mem-

bers asked us to give similar sym-posium in Illigan City and Manila.

Inshallah, we will make a trip againin the near future to hold thesesymposia.We would like to thank dedicated

member, Sister Nena Mendoza forher hard work in making this sym-posium a success. She wasresponsible for composing andprinting the program for the sympo-sium, for making the hotel reserva-tions, catering arrangements andtaking care of the guests.We would like to thank Brother

Jaffar for his help in assisting SisterNena and taking care of the guestsstaying in the Center, and SistersFatima and Jinmaida for invitingguests to the symposium.

Cebu We arrived in Cebu on Sunday May27. After checking in at the hotel wemet with the Prof. de la Cerna, thetranslator of the Holy Quran inCebuano language. She gave us an update on the

progress of the translation. We want-ed to print the Introduction portion ofthe Holy Quran as a separate book-let, so we had Prof. Abdil GaffarEspiritu proofread the introduction,and we will, inshallah, print it. On the 28th we had a lunch

meeting with Prof. Roderic Pocaand his wife Dr. Naomi N. Poca. Wediscussed ways in which we couldpromote interfaith understanding. Inshallah, we plan to have a

series of symposia on the subjectof Muslim/Christian relations nextyear. One of these hopefully will bea joint venture of the CityGovernment and Lahore



Dr. Noman Malik addressing the audi-ence.

Brother Jaffar reciting from the HolyQuran.

Audience at the symposium.

Audience at the symposium.

Some symposium participants with Dr. Noman Malik.

Ahmadiyya Islamic Society. Prof.Poca, who has a weekly televisionnews program (on which FazeelKhan appeared last February),expressed his wish to interviewFazeel again the next time he is inthe Philippines. He also wanted Fazeel to

address the Rotary Club. Prof. Pocaasked us to supply him with litera-ture about Islam and the AhmadiiyaMovement, as he was interested inknowing more about theAhmadiyya Movement and itspeaceful, tolerant and rational inter-pretation of Islam. I have asked ourcenter in Cagayan to send him aset of books. We found Prof. Pokaand Dr. Naomi Poca to be veryfriendly and pleasant to talk to.In the evening we met with

Ustad Najeeb Razool who wasaccompanied by his wife JannasMadelyn Razool, and their daugh-ter Jade, at our hotel.Alhamdolillah! Mrs. Madelyn

Razool took the Ba’ait to join theLahore Ahmadiyya Movement. Wehad a long discussion with themabout how to promote Islam andthe Lahore Ahmadiyya Movementin Cebu. Ustad Najeeb Razool wasthe first person in Cebu to take the

Ba’ait to join the Lahore AhmadiyyaMovement at the hand of Noman in2008. Since then he has beenbroadcasting the audio recording ofthe English Translation of the HolyQuran by Maulana Muhammad Alifour days a week. The USA jamaatsponsors the radio broadcasts. The same evening we gave him

a set of audio recordings ofMaulana Muhammad Ali’s EnglishTranslation of the Holy Quran withfootnotes. Previously only theEnglish Text was being broadcast.The addition of the footnotes willgreatly increase the impact of thebroadcast on listeners. Ustad

Najeeb was overjoyed to receivethe MP3 recording of both text andfootnotes.We were very sorry for having

missed meeting Prof. Espiritu onthis trip. Prof. Espiritu was in Leytetaking care of his ailing parents. Hewas very sorry not to be in Cebu.Please pray for the recovery andreturn to good health of his parents.We thank Almighty Allah for a

very successful visit to Philippines,and for the new opportunities andavenues He has, by His Grace andMercy, opened for us to projectIslam and the Ahmadiyya Move -ment in Philippines.



Ustad Najeeb Razool addressing theaudience.

Sister Madelyn Razool taking theBai’at with Dr. Noman Malik.

Audience at the symposium. Speakers at the symposium.

Sister Elvie taking the Bai’at with Dr. Noman Malik.Dr.Noman Malik giving Islamic classes to members inCagayan de Oro, Philippines.

By Samina Malik

WWe had two very success-ful and productive visits toSouth Africa. We were in

South Africa from January 1 toJanuary15, after which we left forNigeria for about two weeks, and thenreturned to South Africa on January27 and stayed there until February 3.

First visit to South AfricaWe arrived in Cape Town on January1, 2012, where we were guests ofbrother Ebrahim Muhammad, thePresident of the South Africa Jamaatand his wife Sheega Muhammad.They made us feel completely athome with their warm and friendlyhospitality. In the evening we met withlocal jamaat members who came tovisit us at brother Ebrahim’s house.

South Africa Jamaat CenterWhen it came time to perform ourMaghrib and Isha prayers, we went tothe South Africa Jamaat’s Centerwhich is situated close to BrotherEbrahim’s house. The USA Jamaatpurchased the building for them twoyears ago. Noman and I were veryimpressed by the alterations and ren-ovation which had been done in thebuilding by the South Africa Jamaat.Rooms at the back have been openedup to form a spacious prayer hall. Anew carpet has been laid in the prayerhall, and the adjoining kitchen hasbeen re-modeled. One of the siderooms has been converted into ameeting room, and the entire buildinghas been painted. An attractive stonedriveway has been installed in thefront of the garage. It was a joyousexperience to say our prayers in con-gregation with the Jamaat members,and we thank Allah Taala the mostMerciful and Gracious for granting usthis Center.Throughout our stay, we regularly

performed our Maghrib and Ishaprayers in the Center with BrotherEbrahim, Sister Sheegha, their chil-dren Naeem and Faheem Moham -mad, Sister Ruwaida (brotherEbrahim’s sister) and her husband,

brother Yusuf.

Jummah prayers at the CenterOn January 6, we attended our firstjummah prayers at the Center.Noman gave the Khutba on SurahIkhlas. Approximately 25 peopleattended the Jummah prayers. On January 13, we attended our

second Jummah prayers, in which

Brother Ebrahim delivered a veryinspiring khutba discussing the aimsand objectives of the Jamaat. He readout some very moving passages onthat subject from MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s biography, A MightyStriving.

Jalsa in the South Africa JamaatCenterOn Sunday, January 8, a jalsa inwhich Noman spoke on Life afterDeath was held in the center. Over 60people, both members and non-members, attended the event. The jalsa proceedings began with

a Quran recitation by brotherShafique. He was followed by BrotherEbrahim Muhammad, who welcomedguests. Then Noman delivered hislecture. The audience greatly appreci-ated his speech. I then gave a shortpresentation about the work of theworld wide work of the USA Jamaatof the Ahmadiyya Movement. My talkwas illustrated by a power point pres-entation outlining our activities in var-ious countries. The members werevery inspired and motivated by theaccount of the work being done by the


Visits to South Africa – Jan/Feb 2012

Lecture on Life After Death given by Dr. Noman Malik at the South AfricaAhmadiyya Center.

Mr. Ebrahim Muhammad welcomingDr. Noman and Sister Samina Malik.


for finding this translator. The USAJamaat is funding the translation proj-ect. By the Grace of Almighty Allah,since our meeting, she has complet-ed the translation of Introduction toIslam, Islam the Religion of Humanityand the Prophet of Islam. BrotherEbrahim, who proofread the transla-tions, has found them to be very goodand we have printed them for free dis-tribution. The Translator has nowstarted work on translating the HolyQuran.

Visit to Jamaat MembersDuring our stay, Brother Ebrahim,Sister Sheegha, Noman and I visitedthe homes of members in Cape Town.We had long discussions with themabout the importance of LahoreAhmadiyya Movement and the needfor their active participation in Jamaatactivities. One of the members we

Afrikaans Language TranslationProjectAlthough English is universally under-stood and spoken in South Africa, theAfrikaaner population maintains ahigh regard for its native language,Afrikaans (an archaic form of Dutch).Brother Ebrahim is of the opinion thatour literature should be translated intoAfrikaans, as this would allow us toaccess this small but significant com-munity. He was able to find a personwho appeared to fulfill our require-ments, and on Saturday January 7,brother Ebrahim, sister Sheegha,Noman and I met with her inStellenbosch. She is a professor atStellenbosch University and a nativeAfrikaans speaker. We discussed thetranslation project and Alhamdolillah!She agreed to undertake the transla-tions.We are thankful to brother Ebrahim

USA Jamaat. A delicious dinner, prepared by

Sister Sheega and the members, wasserved after the speeches. The dinnerwas followed by a lively question andanswer session.

Dr . Noman Malik delivering the lectureon Life After Death.


VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

Audience at the lecture by Dr. Noman Malik at the Ahmadiyya Center.

Group photo of the audience at Noman’s lecture.


sorely missed during this trip was Mr.Ismail Peck who died last year. We willalways be grateful for his brave standin agreeing to be the plaintiff in theSouth Africa case. Without his doingso, the case would not have proceed-ed, and all the very valuable and use-ful evidence compiled by Hafiz SherMuhammad Sahib for the case wouldnot have been recorded and pre-served for future generations to utilizein the defense of Hazrat Mirza Sahiband the Ahmadiyya Movement.During the trial he faced murderousthreats and physical and psychologi-cal intimidation, but never wavered,even a little, in face of these difficul-ties. We will miss this kind and humbleman and his irrepressible sense ofhumor. May Almighty Allah Rewardhim for his bravery and courage in thedefense of the Ahmadiyya Movementand Grant him a place in Paradise!Ameen! One of the first members we visit-

ed was brother Noor Muhammad,who is brother Ebrahim’s sibling. He isa strong and dedicated Ahmadi whohas supported the Jamaat throughthick and thin.We were very moved by the com-

mitment of members to the Jamaatand their accounts of difficulties theyface as Ahmadies. May AlmightyAllah Help and Bless them and givethem the strength and fortitude to facethese trials and tribulations. Ameen!We also met brother Shabbir and

his wife Sister Zubaida several timesduring our stay. Brother Shabbir wasclosely associated with Hafiz SherMuhammad during both South Africacases, and he related many incidents

illustrating Hafiz Sahib’s extensiveknowledge of Islam and theAhmadiyya Movement and therespect he commanded among peo-ple due to his mastery over thesesubjects. We are very grateful tobrother Shabbir for the help he provid-ed to Hafiz Sahib. Among the personswe met who deemed Hafiz SherMuham mad a great Islamic scholarwas Dr. Mahate, a medical doctor inCape Town. He has a great interest inIslam and gave Noman several arti-cles on important Islamic subjects.Another member we visited wasbrother Abana, who is 104 years old,and still mentally sharp and agile.Brother Abana told us about the histo-ry of the Cape’s Malay Muslims andrecounted his early childhood days.He told us how the Lahore AhmadiyyaMovement through the IslamicReview and the English translation ofthe Holy Quran helped them resist theadvances of the Christian missionar-ies who were bent on converting themto the Christianity. All the Jamaat members and other

people we met expressed great admi-ration and respect for Hafiz SherMuhammad Sahib, his knowledge ofIslam and the Ahmadiyya Movement.

Sister Samina with Sister Ruwaida.

Brother Noman with Brother Yusuf.

Brother Ebrahim with Sister Sheegha.

Brother Noman with Brother Shabir.Happy grandchild of Brother Ebrahimand Sister Sheegha.

The oldest member of our AhmadiyyaJamaat, Brother Abana (94 years).

Brother Abana with Dr. Mahate.



May Almighty Allah Reward andBless Hafiz Sahib and Grant him ahigh place in paradise.

Preparations for the InternationalAhmadiyya Convention in CapeTown May 23-26, 2013. During the last week of our visit,brother Ebrahim, sister Sheegha,Noman and I were busy makingarrangements for the 2013 Inter na -tional Lahore Ahmadiyya AnjumanConvention in Cape Town SouthAfrica being hosted jointly by USAJamaat and the Sourth Africa Jamaat.Alhamdollih! We managed to find asuitable venue for the 2013Symposium.

Second visit to South AfricaWe returned to Cape Town fromLagos on January 27. At Jummahprayers on the day of our arrival,brother Ebrahim delivered a verymoving khutba about the purpose ofthe Ahmadiyya Movement. I remem-ber one memorable quote of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s in the khutba whichmade a deep impression on me: “Weexpect others to bow down before theHoly Quran, but do we bow downbefore it?” May Allah Taala Grant usall the strength to bow down beforethe commands of His Holy Book,Ameen!During our three day stay, we visit-

ed Jamaat members and finalized theConference Hall arrangements for the2013 symposium.

Lecture on Adam at the CenterNoman delivered a lecture in the

Center on The Physical Creation andEvolution of Adam. The lecture washighly appreciated by the members.In spite of short notice given for thelecture, a fairly large number of peo-ple gathered to attend. As the topicwas very interesting, many questionswere asked in the question andanswer period, following which weplayed an audio recording of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s Khutba. In the khut-ba, he talks about the reason forJamaat’s existence, and the way formembers to achieve that objective.The Khutba is in Urdu but an Englishtranslation of the khutba is simultane-ously scrolled on the screen, so those

who do not understand Urdu are ableto follow and understand the mes-sage. All the members were verymoved and enthused by MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s khutba. Delicious snacks prepared by Mrs.

Sheega Muhammad and Mrs.Shabbir were served at the end of theevent.

Visit to the first Lahore AhmadiyyaCenter in Cape Town We also visited the house where

the first Lahore Ahmadiyya Mosquewas constructed in 1976 as an attach-ment to the house in which brotherEbrahim’s mother and family were liv-ing. Brother Ebrahim’s mother, astaunch and devoted Ahmadi, initiat-ed building the mosque. Brother Noor,who was in the building trade, helpedby brother Ebrahim and others, con-structed the Mosque. It was a simple structure made of

galvanized sheeting and finishedinside with plaster. It became a focalpoint for Lahori Ahmadis and otherlike-minded Muslims to gather andpray. Mr. Daud Sydow, the founder ofthe Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement inSouth Africa, used to deliver lecturesin the mosque which were widelyattended by Ahmadis and Non-Ahmadis alike. Noman and I would like to thank

brother Ebrahim for his sacrifice oftime and effort in driving us aroundCape Town to visit members andmake arrangements for the 2013International Convention. During ourvisit we were very happy to meetbrother Yusuf and sister Ruwaida

from Johannesburg. We both werevery impressed by their devotion anddedication to the Ahmadiyya Jamaat.Sister Ruwaida and brother Yousufhave been with the Jamaat for manyyears, and brother Yousuf formallytook the bayat at the hand of Nomantwo years ago.By the Grace of Almighty Allah,

brother Ebrahim has recovered wellfrom his open heart surgery two yearsago. He had been made chairman ofthe Jamaat more than 30 years agoby Mr. Daud Sydow. Brother Ebrahimhas served the Jamaat with greatdedication and sacrifice, and by theGrace of Almighty Allah, we look for-ward to many more years of his wiseleadership in the future. BrotherEbrahim has many plans for thefuture success of the Jamaat in SouthAfrica, and the USA Jamaat looks for-ward to cooperating with the SouthAfrica Jamaat in these projects for thegrowth and success of the LahoreAhmadiyya Movement. Sister Sheegha, Secretary of the

Jamaat, has been a source of greathelp and strength to brother Ebrahim.Her warm and hospitable nature hashelped to keep the Jamaat together. We have been deeply moved and

impressed by the devotion of SouthAfrica Jamaat members to the idealsof the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.They face severe opposition fromignorant and bigoted Ulema and theirfollowers, but bear it with fortitude andcourage. May Allah Taala be their Guide and

Protector. Ameen!


Prof. Isabel Redelinghuys, translator of the Holy Quran into Afrikaans, with BrotherEbrahim, Sister Samina and Brother Noman.


Course on “Promised Messiah” by Dr. Noman Malik at Nigeria Ahmadiyya Center.

Visit to Nigeria – January 2012

By Samina Malik

Noman and I flew fromCape Town, South Africato Lagos, Nigeria via

Johannesburg on January 15.Noman was scheduled to conducta two week course in Lagos on theAhmadiyya Movement and certainselected topics in Islam. Our arrival date had been

delayed by five days due to a strikeand unrest in Nigeria following anincrease in gasoline prices in thatcountry. During this time, we wereat Brother Ebrahim’s house andwere closely monitoring the eventsin Nigeria, not sure how the situa-tion would develop in Lagos. Most airlines had cancelled their

flights to Lagos except for SouthAfrican Airlines. Just before weboarded the flight for Lagos wereceived an e-mail from AlhajiLukhman Adebiyi, President of theAhmadiyya Movement in Islam,Nigeria, stating that the strike wasstill on and that the law and ordersituation was unpredictable. Wedecided, however, to continue withour trip despite this disquietingnews. Our plane took off fromJohannesburg with only a handfulof passengers. On our arrival at Lagos airport,

we were received by PresidentAdebiyi and his daughter, sisterBilquis Adebiyi. He informed us thatthe strike had been called off afterthe government had restored thegasoline subsidy, and things wererapidly returning to normal. Wethanked Almighty Allah for thispeaceful outcome to the strike. While in Lagos we were guests

of the President, Al-Haji LukhmanAdebiyi, and his wife Mrs AyeshaAdebiyi. They were very gracioushosts; we were very impressed bytheir kindness and hospitality andfelt completely at home. BrotherAdebiyi has a small Masjid in his

house in which we regularly per-formed congregational prayers. Thefeelings of friendship and brotherlyaffection inspired by these congre-gational prayers, especially the fajrprayers, will always remain with us.

Course on Ahmadiyyat and IslamNoman conducted a two weekcourse on the AhmadiyyaMovement and Islam. He lecturedseven days a week in the morningfrom 10:00 am to 1:30 pm and from2:30 pm to 4:30 pm in the afternoonwith a one hour break for lunch andZuhr prayers. The lectures wereheld in the hall on the second floorof the main Mosque in Lagos. Approximately 70 people attend-

ed the course. Participants includedImams of the regional mosquesand Missionaries (Muballighs). Theaudience listened attentively to thelectures and took copious notes.Each lecture was followed by a live-ly question and answer session inwhich attendees participatedenthusiastically. They asked manyquestions that Noman answered indetail to the satisfaction of the audi-ence.

Dr . Noman Malik giving the course atthe Ahmadiyya Center on the first day.


VISIT TO NIGERIA — JANUARY 2012

Although most of the audienceunderstood English well, at the endof each lecture, a summary of thelecture was translated into Yorubafor the benefit of that small seg-ment of the audience which wasnot so proficient in English. Also, the Chief Missionary and

the President would expound inYoruba on certain points in the lec-ture which they thought were impor-tant for the audience to understand.We thank all these brothers who didthe translation into Yoruba. The main emphasis of the

course was on the AhmadiyyaMovement. Lectures included thelife history of Hazrat Mirza GhulamAhmad, his claims as Mujaddid,Promised Messiah and Mahdi, hisdenials of claim to Prophethood,his removal of misconceptionsabout topics in Islam such as Jihad,Life after death, Tolerance in Islam,Death and Descent of Jesus, GogMagog and Anti-Christ and the rea-sons for the split in the AhmadiyyaMovement and its consequences.The topics covered in the

General Islam lectures includedLife after death, Peace andTolerance in Islam, Jihad andApostasy in Islam.We were very pleased to see a

large number of young people par-ticipating in the course. They exhibit-ed a keen interest in the lectures,and asked many intelligent and

insightful questions. The presence ofyouth and their great interest inIslam and the Ahmadiyya Move mentforeshadows a bright future for theAhmadiyya Movement in Nigeria.The last lecture session was in

the morning of the day of ourdeparture. I talked about the role ofwomen in the Jamaat, and theneed and importance for women toget involved in Jamaat work. Theladies present were very motivatedby my speech.I also discussed the significance

of the bayat and its role in strength-ening the commitment to the causeof the Ahmadiyya Movement. Afterthe lecture the entire audiencerenewed their bayat at the hand ofNoman. The lecture series ended with

concluding speeches by thePresident Al-haji Lukhman Adebiyiand the Chief Missionary. Thespeeches were followed by presen-tation of certificates of attendanceto the lecture participants byPresident Adebiyi and myself.Everyone was sad to see the won-derful time we had in the coursecome to an end. Emotions wererunning high, and some people hadtears in their eyes.After the closing Dua we thanked

everyone and left the mosque forthe President’s house. We plan tohold more lecture series like thesein the near future, Inshallah.

Lecture at the Islamic EducationForumNoman also lectured on Life afterDeath in another Islamic Center,The Islamic Education Forum. Thepeople in that center liked Noman’slecture very much and requestedthat the next time he was in Lagos,he should lecture again in their cen-ter.

Meetings with Brother OluwoleSodeindeDuring our stay in Lagos, we metseveral times with Brother OluwoleSodeinde. It was a pleasure tomeet brother Sodeinde again andrenew our ties of friendship. We dis-cussed ways in which we couldstrengthen the educational pro-grams and the propagation effortsof the Ahmadiyya jamaat in Nigeria.In view of the emergence ofextremist Islamic movements inNorthern Nigeria and the increas-ing frequency of Christian-Muslimclashes in the Northern areas ofthe country, it is imperative theAhmadiyya Movement in Islammake a vigorous effort to promoteits enlightened and peaceful inter-pretation of Islam in Nigeria.

Visit to Sister Rashida HashimWe also visited Sister Rashida, thepresident’s sister, who was visitingfrom the United States and is a reg-ular attendee of the USA conven-

Audience at the course at the Ahmadiyya Center Nigeria.



Audience at the course at the Ahmadiyya Center.

Sisters who attended the course with Mrs. Samina Malik.

Dr . Noman Malik giving the course onIslam at the Ahmadiyya Center.

Question and Answer session.

President Haji Lukhman Adebiyi interpreting Noman’s lecture.

The President, Haji Lukhman Adebiyi and members at the course.

Dr. Noman Malik, Imam and member of the Islamic Education Forum.



tion. Unfortunately she was in greatpain with a back problem when wevisited her. We hope and pray thatshe recovers soon by the Grace ofAlmighty Allah.

Meeting with Anwarul IslamIn the 1970’s a significant portion ofthe Ahmadiyya Movement inNigeria split from the main body asthey did not want to be associatedwith the name Ahmadiyya becauseof the negative consequences ofbeing identified as Ahmadis, suchas being prohibited from perform-ing Hajj. This group named itself theAnwar-ul-Islam.The day before we left Lagos,

President Adebeyi arranged for us tomeet with the leadership of theAnwar-ul-Islam. The meeting tookplace at the home of Alhaji H.A.B.Fasinro, one of the elder and mostrespected leaders of Anwar-ul-Islam. In addition to Alhaji Fasinro, Dr.

M. A. Oshodi, Haji T.A.B. Osho, sec-retary of Anwar-ul-Islam, and the

President of Anwar-ul-Islam werepresent at the meeting. Since oneof the main reasons for the separa-tion of Anwar-ul-Islam from theAhmadiyya Movement was the useof the name Ahmadiyya, weemphasized the significance andimportance of the name Ahmadiyyaas it was derived from Ahmad, theother name of the Holy ProphetMuhammad.We stressed that we would be

happy to provide educationalcourses and Islamic literature tothem through the AhmadiyyaMovement in Islam, Nigeria. Wealso met Mrs. Fasinro who very gra-ciously provided us with deliciousrefreshments during the meeting.

Publication of Ahmadiyya literature in NigeriaThe highest priority goal in Nigeriais to ensure an abundant supply ofour books, so that the AhmadiyyaMovement in Islam, Nigeria,regains its position as the leading

source of enlightened and highquality literature on Islam in thatcountry.To achieve this goal, the USA

Jamaat has donated 15,000 HolyQurans to the Nigeria Jamaat forfree distribution to Muslims andChristians in Nigeria.To date we have printed and dis-

tributed the following books inNigeria:The Prophet of Islam, Islam the

Religion of Humanity, The Split inthe Ahmadiyya Movement, TheAhmadiyya Movement, Introductionto Islam and the Message ofPeace. We are also making arrange-

ments to ship several pallets ofbooks which will contain our majorpublications such as The Religionof Islam, The Early Caliphate etc.

Translation in Yoruba:The following Books have beentranslated into Yoruba:The Prophet of Islam, Islam the

Certificate awarding session. Lecture given by Dr. Noman Malik on Life After Death.

Meeting with the Anwar-ul-Islam.



Audience at the Lecture at the IslamicForum (shown at right).

Religion of Humanity, andIntroduction to Islam. The following books are beingtranslated into Yoruba:Maulana Muhammad Ali’s

English translation of the HolyQuran, The Ahmadiyya Movement,The Split in the AhmadiyyaMovement, and The Religion ofIslam.By the Grace of Almighty Allah,

our visit to the AhmadiyyaMovement in Islam, Nigeria washighly successful. We foresee avery bright future of cooperation inthe dawah and Islamic educationalfields with the Nigeria Jamaat.Much of the credit for this goes tothe dynamic and wise leadership ofthe president Al-Haji LukhmanAdebeyi. We would like to thank the

President, Alhaji Lukhman Adebiyi,The Secretary Mr. Ope, the execu-tive staff and the Imams andMissionaries of the AhmadiyyaMovement in Islam, Nigeria. MayAlmighty Allah Reward and Blessthem for their efforts to promoteIslam and Ahmadiyyat in Nigeria.Ameen!

President Adebiyi, President of the Anwar-ul-Islam, Alhaji Fasinro, Noman Malik,Sister Samina and members of the Anwar-ul-Islam and Ahmadiyya Movement.

By Samina Malik

By the Grace of AlmightyAllah the USA Jamaatachieved much in the trip

Noman and I made to Spain. Twoadditional qualified translatorsjoined our translation team. Wewere also able to meet with thepresident of a Spanish Muslimorganization, Brother Amin, withwhom we had become friendswhile attending an internationalIslamic convention in Chechnyaseveral years ago. Noman and I arrived in Spain on

October 3, from UK. The next day,we had a meeting with our transla-tor, Professor Ibrahim, who is aSpanish Muslim and a Professor inIslamic Studies at the University ofMadrid. Our discussion focused on the

need to have more translators sothat the work of translating our liter-ature into Spanish could be accom-plished within a few years.Alhamdolillah! Brother Ibrahim wasable to put us in touch with twomore translators whom he felt werequalified for the job. On October 6, we met with the

two Spanish Muslim translatorsrecommended by ProfessorIbrahim, Brother Hussian Molinaand Brother Abdul Kadir.

Brother Hussain is a full timeprofessional translator. He and hiswife have an Islamic bookstore, anda Spanish Islamic website on whichhe posts articles from varioussources which he translates intoSpanish. He was very enthusiasticabout translating our magazineLight and Islamic Review intoSpanish and posting it on his web-site. We discussed ways in which we

could distribute our free literature inSpanish, mainly Islam the Religionof Humanity, The Prophet of Islamand the Introduction to Islam. Wealso explored options for printingour literature in Spain. BrotherHussain is very committed to prop-agating Islam in Spain. Brother Abdul Kadir would,

Inshallah, be able to start translat-ing our literature in a few months. On October 7, we met with

Brother Muhammad Amin Duran,president of an Islamic associationin Spain. We had met Brother Aminin Grozny, Chechnya at an Islamicconference organized by PresidentKaderov of Chechnya. Since thenwe had maintained contact withhim. At the conference we had alsomet a Spanish sister Amirah fromUraguay. All of us had becomegood friends during the conference,and we spent many hours together

talking about propagating Islam inSpanish speaking countries. SisterAmirah, who is an attorney, recent-ly had an automobile accident inwhich both her feet were badlyinjured. She is now undergoing sur-gery and rehabilitation. We hopeand pray that Allah Taala Grantsher a quick and complete recovery.Brother Amin speaks only a little

English, and it was Sister Amirahwho helped us get in touch withhim. Brother Amin lives outsideMadrid, and he had to drive a con-siderable distance to come andmeet us on short notice.He was accompanied by his

charming little daughter who keptus entertained with her cheerfuland happy prattle. We were veryhappy to see him and talked withhim about our publication work inSpain which he was very happy tohear about. We told him that theUSA Jamaat will, inshallah, help hisorganization with free Dawah litera-ture. He also called Brother Yusuf,the secretary of the organizationand introduced him to us by phone.Inshallah, we will keep in close con-tact with Brother Amin and hisorganization.We thank Almighty Allah for all

His help in opening up these oppor-tunities for the Lahore AhmadiyyaJamaat. Ameen!


Lahore Ahmadiyya Activities in Spain

Portuguese Translation Project

By the Grace of AlmightyAllah, our Portuguesetranslation project is off to a

promising start. Our translator, aUniversity professor, has completedtranslating the introductory book-lets The Prophet of Islam andIslam – The Religion of Humanity

and these booklets will be printedsoon. The standard of translation inthese booklets was judged asexcellent, and he has now com-menced work on the Holy Quran.May Allah Taala in His infinite Graceand Mercy bring about a successfulconclusion to this project. Ameen!

O Profeta do Islãm

porMAULANA MUHAMMAD ALI

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore, USA

P.O. Box 3370, Dublin, Ohio, 43016, U.S.A.

By Samina Malik

Noman and I arrived inHolland from the US onSeptember 16. We were

received at the airport by BrotherShabier Hoeseni, the president ofthe Stichting Jamaat. We wereguests of Brother Hoeseni andSister Safoora during our stay inHolland. The next day, September 14,

Brother Hoeseni, Noman and Idrove from Almere to the StichtingJamaat’s center in The Hague forFriday prayers. Noman delivered avery timely Khutba on the subject ofthe reaction of the Muslim world tothe derogatory film about the HolyProphet Muhammad. He said thatalthough Muslim anger at the filmwas understandable, the reaction inMuslim countries of mobs riotingand destroying property was com-pletely against the teachings of theHoly Quran and the exampleshown by the Holy ProphetMuhammad.He quoted from the Holy Quran

and the Hadith with examplesshowing that the course of action totake in such circumstances wasone which would better the situa-tion. In this case the better coursewould be patience or sabr coupledwith an organized effort to presentto the world the sublime Quranic

teachings of tolerance, forbearanceand forgiveness and the pristinecharacter of the Holy ProphetMuhammad which embodied thoseteachings.This response would be much

more effective in defending theHoly Prophet and Islam. Hestressed that this was an ideal timeto remove misunderstandingsabout the Holy ProphetMuhammad and Islam, as theworld’s attention was focused onthis subject. The khutba was great-ly appreciated by the Jummahattendees.The next day, Noman gave a four

hour course on the subject of Adamin the Holy Quran at the StichtingJamaat’s center in The Hague. Itwas the same course that he hadgiven at the 2012 AnnualConvention of the USA Jamaat inColumbus, Ohio. The four sets ofone hour lectures interspersed bycoffee breaks and lunch lasted from10:00 am to 4:00pm.He showed that all aspects of

Adam from the evolution andembryological development ofman, the nature of the devil, thegenesis and psychology of goodand evil, the early history ofmankind, the beginning of prophet-hood and spiritual developmentwere contained in the account ofAdam in the Holy Quran.

The lecture was delivered inEnglish, but the powerpoint slideshad been translated into Dutch. Weare thankful to Reza Ghafoerkhanof the Stichting jamaat for translat-ing the nearly 70 slides. BrotherReza is very active in giving educa-tional courses in the StichtingJamaat and in helping the USAJamaat in its publication projects.The attendees evinced a keeninterest in the lectures, and eachlecture session was followed by alively question and answer session.In the evening we were invited

for dinner by Mr. and Mrs. ShukoorHoeseni, the parents of brotherShabbier Hoeseni. The late HazratAmeer, Dr. Saeed Ahmad, and theLate Hafiz Sher Muhammad, bothof blessed memory, used to staywith Mr. and Mrs Shukoor Hoeseni


Visit to Holland – Sept./Oct. 2012

Member of the Stichting Jamaat, Dr. Noman Malik and Mr. Mudassar Aziz.

Dr . Noman Malik giving the course onAdam in the Holy Quran.

when they would visit Holland. BothDr. Saeed Ahmad and Hafiz Sahibhad a very high opinion of Mr. andMrs. Hoeseni, and spoke veryfavorably of their sincerity and com-mitment to Islam and theAhmadiyya Movement.Another Jamaat notable Mian

Naseer Ahmad Faruqi also stayedat their home on his way to theSuriname convention in 1979. On September 16, Noman deliv-

ered the same lecture (on Adam) inUrdu accompanied with the Dutchpowerpoint slides. The lecture hallwas full, and as in the session onSaturday, attendees included peo-ple from other jamaats in additionto Stichting Jamaat members. The session was conducted by

Brother Noer Sardar. We arealways very happy and thankful toAllah Taala for blessing Brother

Noer Sardar with complete recov-ery after his severe illness severalyears ago, and we pray to AllahTaala to keep Brother Noer Sardarin good health in the future so thathe may continue to serve theJamaat for a long time. Ameen! The lecture sessions extended

from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm with alunch break, but the time was insuf-ficient to complete the course, andit was decided that Noman shouldcomplete the course on October14, when we would be back inHolland at the end of our visit toTurkey and Egypt. That evening we had dinner at

Brother Gerald Sardar’s house.Brother Noer Sardar, BrotherHoeseni and his wife, SisterSafoora were also present. Thefood, prepared by Sister Shafida,Brother Gerald Sardar’s wife, was

delicious, and we spent the eveningdiscussing future plans for propa-gating Islam in Europe.The next day we left Holland for

our visits to UK, France, Turkey,Egypt and Spain. We returned toHolland on Thursday, October 11.On Sunday, we went to the StichtingJamaat Center in The Hague whereNoman completed the second halfof his course on Adam. At the end of the lecture many

members expressed their apprecia-tion for Noman’s lecture and sug-gested he should make a booklet ofhis presentation.During our stay in Holland,

Brother Shabbier Hoeseni andSister Safoora Hoeseni took verygood care of us, as usual, andmade us feel completely at home.May Allah Taala Reward and Blessthem for their help. Ameen!


Audience at the course on Adam in the Holy Quran.

Audience at the course on Adam in the Holy Quran.

VISIT TO HOLLAND — SEPT./OCT. 2012

By Samina Malik

Noman and I visited Cairo,Egypt for three days inMarch. We flew from

Amsterdam to Istanbul, transferringto a flight for Egypt after a lengthydelay, arriving in Cairo March 19.Sheikh Umar Bastawisi and Mr.

Ahmad Abdel Khalek welcomed usat the hotel that evening. We werevery happy to see them again, andreminisced about their attendanceat our 2011 USA Convention. Wealso made plans with them to visitAl-Azhar among other places re -gard ing our publications.The following day, met with

Sheikh Ali Abdul Baki, GeneralSecretary of the Islamic ResearchAcademy Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. Hewas very pleased to see Noman,whom he was meeting for the firsttime. We spent some time with himtelling him about our Movementand the international dawah workwe are doing.After we took our leave from

Sheikh Ali Abdul Baki, we went toan appointed meeting with theGrand Imam. Unfortunately, wewere unable to meet him, as hewas called to an emergency meet-ing concerning the crisis in Egyptcaused by a slanderous film aboutthe Holy Prophet Muhammad.We then went to the Al-Azhar

library where we met the currentsuperintendent of the library,Sheikh Mohammad Abdul Kadir.He welcomed us to the Library andarranged for us to see their muse-um which houses very interestingand valuable books including someancient copies of the Holy Quran.Our visit to the library brought backmemories of the late SheikhAhmad Khalifa, the first superin-tendent of the library, who hadhelped me a great deal in my visitsto Al-Azhar. May Allah Taala have

Mercy on him and Grant him para-dise. Ameen! We also rememberedthe late Sheikh Saouki whobecame the superintendent of thelibrary after the passing of SheikhAhmad Khalifa, and who was alsovery supportive. After leaving thelibrary we met with a few of ourother contacts in Al-Azhar.That evening, accompanied by

Sheikh Omar Bastawisi and Mr.Abdel Khaliq, we enjoyed a lengthymeeting with the Sufi Sheikh AlaAbul Azaeim. He welcomed uswarmly and thanked us for the 6,000Arabic books (the Arabic Religion ofIslam, The Living Thoughts of theProphet Muhammad andMuhammad the Prophet) which theUSA Jamaat had previously giftedhis organization for free distribution.He told us that nearly all the bookshad been distributed, and suggest-ed we print more of MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s books in Arabic,and that he would help in their distri-bution. We informed him that wewere going to print and deliver 5,000copies of the Arabic translation ofthe Manual of Hadith and we wouldalso print other books of our move-ment. We are very happy andextremely thankful to Allah Taala for

creating all these opportunities forthe dissemination and acceptanceof our literature in Egypt.The next day we enjoyed lunch

at Sheikh Omar Bastawisi’s house.Joining us were Mr. Abdul Khalekand his wife. We had a sumptuousmeal, followed by a very productivediscussion about ways in whichSheikh Bastawisi and Mr. Khaliqcould facilitate distribution of ourbooks in Egypt.That evening we were very

happy to meet with our translator inCairo, Brother Ahmed, and hismother. Brother Ahmed has trans-lated most of our books into Arabic.He happily reported that he had fin-ished the translation of A MightyStriving, the biography of MaulanaMuhammad Ali, into Arabic and wasin the final stages of proof readingthe translation. He is also translat-ing The Early Caliphate into Arabic.By the Grace of Almighty Allah, theUSA Jamaat has translated almost15 of our major books into Arabic.Ten of these have been printed anduploaded on our website. A few hours after our meeting

with Brother Sultan, we went toCairo airport to board the planeback to Istanbul.


Visit to Egypt – March 2012

(R to L) Sheikh Omar Bastawisi, Sufi Sheikh Ala Abul Azaeim, Dr. NomanMalik and Mr. Ahmed Abel Khaliq.

By the Grace of AlmightyAllah, translation of our lit-erature into the Thai lan-

guage is proceeding very well. Thetwo introductory booklets, TheProphet of Islam has been translat-ed and printed, and we are makingarrangements for their storage andfree distribution. Islam the Religionof Humanity, Muhammad theProphet, The Early Caliphate, andThe New World Order have beentranslated and are being proofread. They shall, inshallah, be print-ed early next year. Some of theother books in the pipeline includeThe Teachings of Islam, TheFounder of the AhmadiyyaMovement, The Manual of Hadith,The Living Thoughts of the ProphetMuhammad and the Ahmadiyya

Movement.The Holy Quran translation is

proceeding according to schedule.As soon as the Holy Quran transla-tion is completed, work will start onthe Religion of Islam.Inshallah, we will be visiting

Thailand in January 2013 to reviewthe translation progress with ourtranslation team, and arrange forprinting, storage and distribution ofthe rest of our newly printed books.Hazrat Mirza Sahib has empha-sized in his writings that the bestway to propagate Islam is to spreadthe true peaceful and tolerantteachings of Islam through our liter-ature. We pray to Almighty andMerciful Allah that he accepts ourfeeble efforts and causes areendeavors to succeed.


Thailand Translation Project

Cover of the newly printed Thai trans-lation of The Prophet of Islam.

By Sr. Samina Malik

We are indeed very thank-ful to our Merciful Allahfor having very fruitful

Jamaat activities in the most presti-gious university in Cebu City.University of the Philippines stu-dents, under the able guidance ofour brother, Prof. Henry Francis(Abdil Ghaffar) Espiritu, have cele-brated the annual Eidil Fitr dinnerunder the sponsorship of LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society-Philippines for four consecutiveyears (2009-2012).The literature of Maulana

Muhammad Ali published by theUSA Jamaat was also freely avail-able to interested university studentsin the office of Prof. Espiritu. In addi-

tion, Prof. Espiritu gave a set ofbooks consisting of the Holy Quran,Religion of Islam, Introduction to Is-lam, and Early Caliphate to the Stu-dent Council leaders of different uni-versities in Cebu City during the FirstEidil Fitr Convocation of 2011 held atUP Cebu AVR August 30, 2011. During the First Eidil Fitr gather-

ing of university students held at UPCebu Arts and Sciences Blue Room,attendees received our academicjournal Light and Islamic Reviewpublished by the USA Jamaat. In the past three years, Prof. Es-

piritu has freely distributed morethan 2,000 booklets to students whoare interested in the genuine teach-ings of Islam during these Eidil Fitrdinners. Prof. Espiritu likewise con-ducts a weekly study circle of 15-20

students who are seriously re-searching the real doctrines of Islamas expressed in the Holy Quran andthe Sunnah of our Holy Prophet.This 90-minute study circle is held

every Wednesday after maghribprayers. The study circle is folowedby a simple langar (get-together)dinner for students who attended theweekly study circle sessions. MayGod reward our dear brother Prof.Henry Francis B. Espiritu for his ded-icated efforts in educating the uni-versity students, both Muslims andnon-Muslims, to the beauty of au-thentic Islam. May the Lord bless the students

so that they will be successful in thisworld and in the hereafter. Ameen!

Jamaat Activities in the University of thePhilippines, Cebu Campus

SOURCE: Prof. Henry Francis Espiritu &Prof. Dr. Sofia Alino-Logarta,

columnist of “She Voices”, CebuDaily News

August 26, 2012 issue; p. 12-13.)

August 22, 2012, Prof.Henry Francis B. Espirituand his Political Science

193 Class (Modern andContemporary Political Thought)arranged a wonderful Eidil FitriMuslim-Christian Peace Celebra -tion and Friendship Dinner whichwas entitled: “Pagpakig-ambit saKinabuhi Kauban sa Pagsaulog saEid al-Fitr (Muslims and ChristiansCelebrating Eidil Fitr in theDialogue-of-Life)”. The celebrationwas held at UP Cebu AVR-2. The

activity was sponsored by theLahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society,the Political Science 193 class ofProf. Espiritu and the PoliticalScience Society of UP-Cebu. Theoverall theme of the celebrationwas: “Muslim and ChristianFilipinos Working Together for aTolerant, Harmonious and PeacefulCo-existence”. There were Christian and

Muslim Prayers as well as Quranic

readings on the importance of fast-ing and charity during the month ofHoly Ramadhan. The 3 films: In the Light of the

Crescent Moon, produced by thePeacemaker’s Circle, Dialogue forGod’s Peace produced by SilsilahMuslim-Christian Dialogue (by theaward-winning director MarilouDiaz-Abaya) and Rev. DeborahLindsay’s very enlightening inter-view of Atty. Fazeel Khan on “TheMisconceptions About Islam andMuslims” were all viewed by thepolitical science students of Prof.Henry Espiritu and the Christianand Muslim guests. For deeper reflection, immediate-

ly following the screening, Prof.Espiritu provided guide questionsfor further discussions betweenMuslim and Christian participants.There was a film reaction from theChristian side (c/o Ms. ArgelynAdlawon, a senior Political ScienceStudent) and from Mr. AbdulRabuya, from the Muslim side. Dr.Madrileña de la Cerna shared her


Dr. Madrileña de la Cerna addressingthe audience.

Dr. Rhodora M. Bucoyaddressing the audience.

Ustad Najeeb Razool addresses theaudience.

Poster outlining the Muslim-Christian Peace Celebration and Friendship Dinner.

AAIIL USA Sponsors Eid-ul-FitrMuslim/Christian Peace & Friendship

Dinner in Cebu, Philippines

View of the audience.

Prof. Henry Francis Espiritu awarding the certificate to the professors.

initial experiences in translating theHoly Qur’an of MaulanaMuhammad Ali into Cebuano. Dr.Rhodora M. Bucoy also shared herpeacemaking initiatives amongMuslims and Christians in Iliganand Marawi City and her warmimpression of the LahoreAhmadiyyas on her many meetingswith Dr. Noman Malik, Mrs. SaminaMalik and Mr. Fazeel Khan esq.

Prof. Claire Jabines shared herexperiences in her work as theoverall coordinator in holdingLahore Ahmadiyya conferences onpeacemaking in Cebu City and howthis specific work of conferenceorganizing helped her better appre-ciate Islam and Muslims. At 6 pm there was a break for

sunset prayers (Salatul Maghrib)led by Ustaz Najib Razul who was

recently appointed resident “Mufti”for the Visayas Region of thePhilippines by the Ahlus SunnahMuslim Association of thePhilippines.After the prayers, Mufti wal

Ustaz Najib Razul gave a speechappreciating the work of the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society in inter-faith dialogue and propagation ofthe peaceful message of Islam toCebu City and to the rest of theVisayas Region. After his speech, gift giving of

grocery items and foodstuffs spon-sored by Lahore AhmadiyyaIslamic Society (Philippines-USA)was followed by the distribution ofcertificates of appreciation for theparticipants.Then everyone partook of the

halal Eid al-Fitr Dinner (likewisesponsored by the Society) in theUndergraduate Building Lobby.This very enlightening activity

was realized with the completecooperation among Prof. HenryFrancis Espiritu, his colleagues inthe Social Science Cluster, thePolitical Science students, his con-tacts in the Cebu MuslimCommunity and the financial andlogistical sponsorship of the LahoreAhmadiyya Islamic Society USA/Philippines.

Views of attendees enjoying festivities at the Eid-ul-Fitr Muslim/Christian Peace and Friendship Dinner in Cebu, Philippines.

PEACE & FRIENDSHIP DINNER


By Samina Malik

Mr. Jurgen Lampeitl, thearchitect in charge of therenovation of the Berlin

Mosque from 1996 to 2011, passedaway on June 10, 2012. Inna Lillahiwa Inna Ilaihi Raajioon. Mr. Lampaitl had been

suffering health problemssince a heart attack inApril 2012, but his passingwas still unexpected.I had known Mr.

Lampaitl since 1995 whenI was authorized by thelate Ameer, Dr. SaeedAhmad and the CentralAnjuman to obtain fundsfrom the German govern-ment for the repair of theMission House andMosque which were in a state ofsevere disrepair.By the Grace of Almighty Allah, I

was able to convince theMonument Department to fund therepair of the Mosque and Missionhouse. Mr. Lampaitl was recom-mended by the MonumentDepartment to be the architect incharge of the project. For the next14 years, spanning three phases ofthe project, he directed and super-vised repair and renovation of theMission House and Mosque.The Mission House, which was

on the verge of collapse, was com-pletely renovated. Its roof, plumb-ing, heating and bathrooms werecompletely replaced and windows,doors and painting were restored tothe original specifications.Both minarets which had been

felled by artillery bombardment inWorld War II were restored to theiroriginal proud height, brick by brick,

in the same manner as they hadbeen first constructed. The badly damaged dome of the

Mosque was completely replaced,and most of the ornamental work inthe parapet of the mosque was alsorepaired.

When he left the project, most ofthe important repair work had beendone, and only a small part of therenovation involving the mosqueroof between the dome and wallsneeded to the completed. He had a great love and passion

for the Mosque and put in manyhours researching the architecturaldetails and history of the Mosque.His love and attachment for theMosque was shared by Mr. Wend -lent of the Monument Departmentwho was involved in approving thefunds for the renovation. For the 17 years I knew Mr.

Lampaitl, I found him a very humbleand honest person. I was veryimpressed by his dedication andcommitment to his work. I had avery good working relationship withhim. Both Noman and I were veryimpressed by his sincerity, honestyand integrity.Sometimes when funds ran

short, Mr. Lampaitl would make surethat the building contracters werepaid, even if that meant his forgoinghis share. On several occasions, hesolicited funds from outside donorsto fund the work. In phase 3 of the renovation of

the mosque dome, theUSA jamaat paid in fullthe Central Anjuman’sshare amounting to70,000 euros. Mr. Lampaitl’s compa-

ny however had over-spent by 10,000 eurosfor which they had notbeen compensated.Thankfully, just threeweeks prior to Mr.Lampaitl’s passing, theUSA Jamaat paid hiscompany $10,000.00 to

cover the major part of that amount.May Almighty Allah Reward him,

and Grant him a place in Paradise.We will all miss him very much.


IN MEMORY:

Mr. Jurgen LampeitlArchitect in Charge of the Berlin Mosque and Mission House Renovation Project

Standing in front of crane, from Left to Right: Mr. Lampeitl,Samina Malik, Government official, Mr. Alexander Strabmeir.

During the mosque renovations, thecapular for the minaret required hoist-ing into position.

Compiled by Ebrahim Muhamed,President AAIIL (SA)

We were privileged to haveDr Noman and SisterSamina Malik visit South

Africa in January 2012. The timespent was most valuable to ourJamaat. We not only learned agreat deal and benefited from thelectures on Life after Death andThe Creation of Adam by Dr.Noman but were impressed by theprofessionalism with which thesetalks were conducted.Words of encouragement and

good advice to our members andfriends by both Dr. Noman andSister Samina are laudable andmuch appreciated, especially in anenvironment where we still facesocial ostracism. Playing the livekhutba by MM Ali was an excellentidea. It was very inspirational andan emotional experience for all.Our guests visited some historic

sites such as the Supreme CourtBuildings where the famousAhmadiyya Case played out in the‘80s and the first make-shiftmosque built by us with metalsheets in the ‘70s.Personal contacts were made

with members, the elderly and thesick. Our guests visited the home ofthe late Suleiman Ebrahim twicewhile he was ill in bed.Other activities of vital impor-

tance undertaken/discussed withDr. Noman and Sr. Samina Malik;1. Started negotiations with an

Afrikaans translator

2. Secured a venue for theplanned 2013 symposium3. Identified suitable accommo-

dation for 2013 convention formembers from abroad.4. US donated 1,000 soft copy

Qurans and a projector to ourJamaat and discussed generalimprovements to the Centre.

Translation of the Holy Quraninto AfrikaansAfrikaans is the second most wide-ly spoken language in South Africa,after English. Ms. Isabel Rede -linghuys, a professional translator,was interviewed by Sister Saminaand asked to translate smallerworks by Maulana Muhammad Aliviz. Islam the Reli gion of Humanityand The Prophet of Islam, first.Now completed, these works mustbe validated by a second profes-sional translator. I have spot-checked these translations and amvery comfortable with the standardand quality of the work thus far.

Arrival of consignment ofQuransOn the July 20, we took delivery ofa consignment of Holy Qurans andseveral copies of the AhmadiyyaMovement, The Split and TheProphet of Islam. The US Jamaat,as part of their global publicationsand distribution initiatives, spon-sored this consignment. The booksare vital for our missionary efforts.Several Muslims in South Africa

have already benefitted from this,although they do not want to publi-cally admit it. At the two Quranicsymposia I attended last year inJohannesburg, organizers praisedMuhammad Ali’s English transla-tion and I realized that it was thistranslation that inspired the sym-posia, which was all about spread-ing the message of the Quran.

The Holy Quran does its workMy wife Scheega and I attended agathering hosted by John Scott, theex-editor of the Cape Times, thebiggest morning newspaper inCape Town, and his wife. There wemet members of the Quaker andJewish Faiths, a Buddist and twofellow Muslim couples. I sharedwith them the role of our Movementand handed a copy of the Quran tothe host. He was very appreciativeof the gift and this is what his wifewrote to us the next day, “While Iwas at church this morning, Johnwas reading from the Koran. He isabsolutely fascinated by it. He, of allthe people that you have given the


News from Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore South Africa 2012

Some of the attendees.

Rear view of make-shift mosque builtin 70’s Front entrance of new building. Front entrance to new building.

Arrival of consignment of Qurans.

Koran to, will read it greatly. Wehave already had a long discussionabout one of the chapters that hewas reading. And so a huge thankyou to you both and for the gift.Many many thanks but most of allfor being with us.”

Eid Celebrations:We celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on theAugust 19. The proceedings startedwith ‘takbir’ (Praises of Allah) inwhich everyone participated.Prayers were led by the writer,Ebrahim Muhamed who also deliv-ered the Khutba afterwards. TheKhutba dealt with the true, continu-ous ‘happiness’ one experiences asa consequence of submission toAllah, and the doing of good deeds,particularly during the month offasting, in contrast to short-lived,materially based pleasures iconicof Christian celebrations. An appealwas made to everyone to supportthe propagation efforts of theMovement. A breakfast, with gener-al informal discussions and booksales followed.

Inter Faith activitiesAttended the following Inter-

Faith meetings and participated inthe discussions;• Documentx – Holy Quran’s

proofs of creation of the Universeand man – Dr Y. NoorDr Noor discussed his newly

released book Documentx whichdeals with the origin of the universeand man, using quotes from a self-styled translation of the Holy Quran.In this way he sets out to prove theDivine origin of the Holy Quran

which he shows deals with scientif-ic concepts far beyond the knowl-edge of the desert Arabs 1400years ago and which civilizationhave come to learn about only a fewcenturies ago – some very recently.Interestingly, he expresses a viewon the origin of ‘consciousness’ or‘soul’ that is somewhat similar tothat of HMG Ahmad as contained inTeachings of Islam, which he refersto in his bibliography.• Filling the God Gap – Dr Hilary

Basset (Journalist and Author)Hilary Basset is a prolific colum-

nist. She is working on a bookcalled, Filling the God Gap. Shedescribes herself as follows, “I writewith passion about stuff that's impor-tant to day – like why, in this age ofInternet and TV entertainment andDiscovery Channel and comfort andluxury many of us are restless,bored with being second rate, long-ing for a cause we can throw our fullselves into, heart and soul. I suspectit's part of our design, to long forlove, passion and purpose.” In hertalk she challenges the “God-of-the-gaps” argument which relies ongaps in scientific explanation as indi-cators, or even proof, of God’s actionand therefore of God’s existence.She supports, rather, Dr FrancisCollin’s notion that there does notseem to be any way to explain thedetailed properties of the laws ofnature from within science becausethe arguments about the way thebasic laws of physics appear to bedelicately balanced for life gobeyond science into metaphysics.She talked about a ‘new’ paradigmfrom Science’s – see something tobelieve it to believe it before we cansee it. I asked her if she had readany books on Islamic spirituality?And she said no. I posted her a copyof The Teachings of Islam by HMGAhmad and put her on my mailinglist.

The Good News and otherpublicationsWe disseminate, electronically, a

monthly publication called “TheGood News” to over 100 recipients,mostly local librarians. Being amonthly, the articles are kept singu-lar and concise to make it morefocussed and impactful. Some ofthe topics covered this year are:Illuminating snippets from the Lifeof the Holy Prophet; ReclaimingIslam; Twelve steps and beyond –recovery from drug abuse;Importance of Good Morals andManners in Islam; The significanceof the Mi’raj; Islamic concept ofReligion; Polygamy an exceptionnot the rule; Islam is against physi-cal violence in response to abuse;Hajj – more than a Pilgrimage – Acelebration of the Unity of God andthe Unity of Man... As and when the need arises,

we submit our views to the localnewspapers as well. On September19 and October 3, The Cape Argus,the largest daily evening newspa-per in Cape Town, published ourarticles condemning the violenceperpetrated by Muslims in thename of Islam and one in defenceof “Religion” as a peaceful institu-tion and not a source of violence.We have been making contribu-

tions to our International Magazine,The Light and Islamic Review andoccasionally articles of commoninterest have been circulated glob-ally and well-received.

Forthcoming talksEuthanasia – an Option - Prof

Shaun Davison (November) TheHuman Soul – Ebrahim Muhamed(AAIIL) (December)

International PublicationsProjectI have been participating in theproofreading of some of our booksthat are being published by our USJamaat as part of their global publi-cations initiatives. This has been avery stimulating and rewardingexercise of which I am honoured tobe part.


NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA JAMAAT

Some attendees at Eid celebrations.


Stichting Ahmadiyya Jamaat News

By Mr. S. Hoeseni

During 2012, Dr. NomanMalik and Sister SaminaMalik visited our organiza-

tion twice, first in March and then inSeptember/October. On both occa-sions Dr. Noman Malik gave cours-es to our members. In March thecourse was on Modesty in Islam.On October 15, Dr. Malik gave a

course on Adam in the Quran. Thecourse dealt with the physical evo-lution and embryological develop-ment of man, the concept of thedevil and the genesis of evil.He reprised the course in Urdu

on September 16 and October 14.Both courses were very well

attended by members of differentJamaats. The students appreciatedthe vast content of the course andthe way it was presented. All the sessions were followed by

a question and answer period. Thequestions were answered in greatdetail by Dr. Malik.Sister Samina also spoke about

their visits to different countries forJamaat activities and the publica-tion and translation projects of theUSA Jamaat.The Stichting Ahmadiyya

Jamaat appreciates the sacrificeBrother Noman and Sister Saminaare making in the way of AllahAlmighty.

View of the audience listening raptly to one of the courses taught by Dr. Noman Malik during his visit to Stichting Ahmadiyya.

View of the audience enjoying one of the courses taught by Dr. Noman Malik during his visit to Stichting Ahmadiyya.

Dr. Noman Malik making a point.


Ascension: Christianity and IslamOn June 17 we organized an inter-faith meeting on the topicAscension. Learned lady priestMrs. Judith van der Berg spokeextensively on the ascension ofJesus Christ on behalf of theRoman Catholic Church in TheHague. Our imam, Mr. Reza

Ghafoerkhan spoke about theascension of the Holy ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) and its mean-ing. He did it in a way to correct theview of Muslims believing in thephysical ascension and elaborateddeeply on the topic clearing themisconceptions of many Christians.After each talk there was a ques-tion and answer session.

Eid-ul FitrEid prayers were held in theTropical Hall where more than 500people attended.On August 26, all the Jamaats

united to organize a Jalsa calledEid Milan. About 700 members andnon-members attended the Jalsa.Reza Ghafoerkhan gave a

speech on the topic Identity of aMuslim. Then Mr. Jerrel Santoeintroduced Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh,special representative of the munici-pality of The Hague to this gatheringon the occasion of Eid-ul Fitr. Mr.Baldwesing delivered a very inter-esting speech about Eid-ul Fitr andthe role of Muslims in theNetherlands and in the Municipalityof The Hague in particular. He alsospoke about the positive role theLahore Ahmadiyya can play in thecommunity. He stressed the impor-tance of publication work, and hereminded the audience of that bytelling them that he was present atthe unveiling of the new Dutch trans-lation of the Holy Quran. In fact ourStichting, back in 2005, had askedhim to lead one of the discussionsessions and participate as a mem-ber of the discussion panel in thesecond discussion session. He alsosaid that he was presented copies ofThe Holy Quran, The Religion ofIslam and the pocket version of the

NEWS FROM STICHTING JAMAAT

Quran by Maulana Muhammad Aliin the past. After the speech, Mr.Noor Sardar had the honour of pre-senting him a copy of the Dutchtranslation of Manual of Hadith.In this Jalsa, a Quran recitation

competition of children and youth,and two youth discussion sessionswere also held.

Question and Answer sessionon AhmadiyyatOn April 15, we held a specialquestion and answer session on the very important topicAhmadiyyat. After two introduc-tions, one by Reza Ghafoerkhanabout Ahmadiyyat in general, andone by Mr Mudassar Aziz on the

Mrs. Juidth van der Berg speakingabout the ascension of Jesus.

View of the audience.

Mr. Reza Ghafoerkhan speaking aboutthe ascension of the Holy ProphetMuhammad.


term nabi, a panel of ZebierHoeseni, Haroen Badloe and RezaGhafoerkhan took questions fromthe floor.The view of the audience was

that question and answer sessionson this and other topics should beheld more frequently.

NEWS FROM STICHTING JAMAAT

View of the celebrants at Eid-ul Milan, attended by more than 700 people.

View of the members at the Eid ul Fitr Prayers.

Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh with Mr. S Hoeseni.

Mr. Mudassar Aziz giving lecture on Ahmadiyya Movement.

By Ebrahim Muhamed

My brother Muhamed Noor Muhamed was 59years when he sadly passed away of heart fail-ure in the early hours of December 1, 2012.

“From Allah we are and unto Allah is our return”. BrotherNoor was an artisan in the construction industry andleaves behind his beloved wife Rukeya Muhamed andfive children, four of whom are married. He was a verydedicated member of the Lahore AhmadiyyaMovement, having joined the Movement in his earlytwenties at the hand of Dawood Sydow, the Founder ofthe Movement in South Africa. When Mr Sydow died in1979, Brother Noor served as a trustee on the board ofour Anjuman and was a signatory of all the Anjuman’slegal documents in the Ahmadiyya case.He helped build the first, make-shift, Ah ma -

diyya mosque in Cape Town in 1976 in fulfilment of ourmother, Asma Muhamed’s wish. After the Anjuman wasforced to vacate the premises where the mosque wassituated, after several years, he offered the living roomof his modest dwelling for Jumu’ah prayers and other

activities. He also supervised the renovations of therecently-purchased Jama’at centre in Cape Town.During the Sheikh Jassiem case his house was mort-gaged to raise funds for preliminary legal costs.If I have to describe brother Muhamed Noor

Muhamed I cannot do better than the following tributepaid him by a well wisher, “...he was very active in theSouth Africa Case, and like the other members, stoodup bravely to the severe opposition against LahoreAhmadis. His devotion to the community was exempla-ry, his concern for the underdog very genuine, his help-ing hand always ready, his sense of humor alwaysenjoyable, his resourcefulness always an asset, hissteadfastness always an inspiration, his humblenessalways shining through.” During the Ahmadiyya Case in the eighties, he had to

face much abuse from members of the rougher strata ofsociety on construction sites where he worked, and whoknew he was a member of the Movement.Because of his overarching tenderness and humility,

he found it difficult to endure the rigours of the buildingenvironment, which he often criticised for its lack of val-ues and decorum. He lived a simple and frugal life, notdrawn to the pomp and glamour of this world. This ledhim to being drawn to a somewhat secluded lifestyle,although he rarely missed a meeting or a function of theAnjuman.His most enjoyable moments, which he openly

expressed was when he participated in religious discus-sions, especially extolling the attributes of AlmightyAllah, the examples of the Holy Prophet and MirzaSaheb. He loved making the “khatam” of the Englishtranslation of the Holy Quran and he would alwaysshare a particular verse which he found especially inspi-rational with us. He will no doubt be sorely missed by hisfamily and Jamaat members. His legacy is one of highintegrity and sterling values and will be deeply treasuredand forever enshrouded in the memories of all.Finally let me share with you a poem I wrote the night

before he died, a poem intended for a competition for aWriter’s Bureau in England, which in retrospect I realizereflects characteristics of my brother’s inner thoughtsand reflections on life.

Ebrahim MuhamedPresident Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at IslamDecember 6, 2012


Tribute to Brother Muhamed Noor Muhamed, Cape Town, South Africa

The ragged trousered philosopherBy Ebrahim Muhamed, Cape Town, South Africa,

November 31, 2012(Dedicated to the loving memory of my beloved brother

Noor Muhamed)I scramble for a morsel here and thereThe richest City to a ‘seeker’ lies bareWhere is God? They pine: Where is God?Don’t they know? He is here in my Heart.He is here in the park. I saw Him in the leaves just nowIn the dew drops, in the breeze commanding the little

troops, the BeeThe Ant, the burrowing worm, the nestling bird ‘twixt the

willow treeThe busied, neatly-trousered, sees Him not, no Sir!‘cept ME the ragged trousered Philosopher.

How? I wonder now locked in advanced yearsWill I leash my biggest fears?When these ragged bones do turn to dust –what then?Oh! What then? What then? Do I live again?The twig, once dead, dry – Is this green life I now see?The pupa, lifeless like magician’s hat, colourful winged

life set freeThe Book of Life my soul does stirThe busied, neatly-trousered, sees Him not, no Sir!‘cept ME the ragged trousered Philosopher.

The silent night my weary soul do summonPeace! Peace! Peace! At last - Peace!

Brother Noor, right, with Dr Noman Malik, Ismael Peck, YusufZain and Abubaker Yasin-Begg.


By Dr. Noman MalikFor the Ahmadiyya AnjumanIshaat Islam, (Lahore) USA

Al-hamdolillah! The newlytypeset Religion of Islamhas been printed.

Since The Religion of Islamwas published in 1936, worldevents have proven that thisbook is as much needed todayas it was when it first appeared76 years ago. As the famousBritish Muslim and translator ofthe Holy Quran, MarmadukePickthall explained the impor-tance and value of this workwhile reviewing it in the IslamicCulture (Hyderabad Dn.) inOctober 1936:“…Such a book is greatly

needed at the present daywhen in many Muslim countrieswe see persons eager for thereformation and revival ofIslam, making mistakesthrough lack of just this knowl-edge…”Due to the efforts of Mrs.

Samina Malik, Vice-Presidentof the Ahmadiyya AnjumanIshaat Islam, (Lahore) USA, thisbook has been certified by Al-Azhar, Al-Sharif Islamic ResearchAcademy. When it was translatedinto Arabic in 2006, Mrs. SaminaMalik asked the late Grand Imam ofAl-Azhar Al- Sharif, Dr. MuhammadSayed Tantawi, to review the manu-script and write a Foreword for itspublication in Arabic. He reviewed the manuscript for

four months and then prepared aForeword, which is incorporated inthis edition. In his Foreword, hepraises the book and commendsMaulana Muhammad Ali for hisdedicated service to Islam. The highesteem in which Sheikh Tantawiheld Maulana Muhammad Ali andThe Religion of Islam can be evi-

denced by the fact that he wouldquote from it in important matters. In his widespread rebuttal to a

statement made by Pope BenedictXVI about Islam, Sheikh Tantawiquotes from The Religion of Islamand directs the reader to the rele-

vant chapter in the book for moreinformation about the tolerant andpeaceful nature of the faith.In this edition, the entire book

has been reformatted and re-type-set. Verses of the Quran found with-in the text have also been thor-oughly checked and revisedaccordingly. In addition, somechanges in terminology have beenmade in this edition. In the first edi-tion of this work, the honorific titleHoly preceded the words Quranand Prophet (when referring to theProphet Muhammad), so that thetext read Holy Quran and the HolyProphet.In subsequent editions, pub-

lished after Maulana MuhammadAli’s demise, the honorific title Holy

was deleted to reduce redundancy.In this 2012 edition, the honorifictitle Holy is reinstated, as it wasdeemed appropriate to maintain theoriginal, distinctive features of theauthor’s work. Likewise, Arabicwords such as Hadith and Ijtihad

present in the first edition werereplaced in later editions bytheir English translations(Tradition and Exercise ofJudgment respectively). Asthese Arabic words have nowbecome quite common, theoriginal Arabic words present inthe first edition are included inthis edition.This 2012 edition is the

result of sacrifices from manydedicated volunteers.Proofreading of this volumewas a challenging task, andspecial mention must be madeof Mrs Naseera Ahmad whopainstakingly proof-read theentire book several times.Finally, we would like toexpress our debt and gratitudeto Maulana Muhammad Ali forproducing this valuable bookand our sincere gratefulness to

Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving usthe opportunity to work towardsspreading the noble teachings ofIslam through this renowned clas-sic. We would like to end in thewords of Sheikh Muhammad SayedTantawi:“…I have read the book titled

“Religion of Islam” by AllamaMaulana Muhammed Ali, may AllahGrant him His mercy. In this valu-able book I have seen devotion,truthfulness of faith and usefulknowledge. I pray to Allah, theHonorable, the Majestic, to consid-er this great book as a part of hisgood deeds. May peace and bless-ings of Allah be upon ProphetMuhammed and upon his familyand companions.”

The Religion of Islam — Re-typeset and Now Printed!

Fazlul-Bari Printed!Alhamdolillah! Fazlul Bari, another of Maulana

Muhammmad Ali’s epic works, the Urdu trans-lation and commentary of the Sahih Al-

Bukhari has been printed. The work, which has beenavailable in electronic form on our website www.muslim.org since 2010, has now been printed as a beautifultwo volume leather bound set totaling more than 3000pages.

Inshallah, the commentary infused with the spiritualinsight of Maulana Muhammad Ali which incorporatesthe spiritual teachings of the Mujaddid of this age,Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and of Maulana HakimNur-ud-din, will go a long way in promoting the correctunderstanding of Hadith. Many of the distorted ideas on

specific subjects such as aggressive war to promoteIslam, or death for apostasy etc. are based on wrongnotions or interpretations of Hadith, which, inshallah,this commentary will correct.The USA jamaat commenced the re-typesetting of

the Fazlul-Bari 15 years ago, along modern lines utiliz-ing Urdu and Arabic word processing programs.However, the word processing programs were not

sophisticated enough to incorporate thedesired features, and the project wasabandoned. Now by the Grace of Almighty Allah,

with advances in technology, all theseobstacles have been overcome, and weassembled an excellent team whichbegan the project anew and now has suc-cessfully completed its mission.Some of the improvements made in for-

matting are listed below:• The book has been composed in a mod-ern format with juxtaposed Arabic andUrdu text and with footnotes at the bot-tom.In his preface to Fazlul Bari, Maulana

Muhammad Ali mentions that another ofhis ground-breaking works, the Maqam-e-Hadith, should be considered as an intro-duction to Fazlul–Bari. In this short butmasterly treatise, he deals with collectionof Hadith and rebuts unjustified moderncriticism which questions the authenticityof the entire corpus of Hadith. In this pub-lication we have fulfilled MaulanaMuhammad Ali’s wishes by incorporatingthis book as an introduction to Fazlul-Bariin Volume 1.•The book, chapter (bab) and Hadith num-bering in the table of contents is accordingto Hafiz ibn Hajr Asqalani’s classical workFathul-Bari, but Maulana Muhammad Ali’snumbering system has been retainedalongside the new so any Sahih Bukharireferences in the Maulana’s work can bequickly and easily accessed.The Quranic verses and the Arabic

hadith quotes are in different fonts so theycan be easily distinguished. All Hadith and Quranquotes have been fully referenced and complete irab(diacritical signs) have been inserted.• All Arabic quotes have been translated into Urdu.We pray to Almighty Allah that this valuable book ful-

fills the purpose for which it was written. Ameen!

basharaat-e-ahmadiyya newsletter — december 2012

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