7/31/2019 Terrorists caused death and destruction on 9/11, they also hijacked the faith of Islam

1/1

N O R T H A M E R I C A N E D I T I O N

The Indian EXPRESS10

SEPTEMBER 09, 2011NORTH AMERICAN Newsline

Terrorists caused death and destruction on 9/11,they also hijacked the faith of Islam

on major issues relating to Is-lam and Muslims living in theUnited States.IE: Tell us what is this campaignMuslims for Life is all about and

what is the purpose of Ahmadiyya

Muslim Community.Naseem Mahdi: Terroristscaused death and destruction onSept. 11, 2001. But they also hi-jacked the faith of Islam. By paint-ing a violent, militant picture of thereligion, terrorist extremists havecreated suspicion of all Muslims.But the truth is that terrorists donot represent Islam or Muslims.We will be holding blood drives atall our mosques and prayer centersacross the nation, and in collabora-tion with other community organi-zations on this day, this year.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Com-munity has, since its founding, up-held the sanctity of all life as em-phasized by Islam. The Holy Quranteaches that life is sacred and reaf-

firms Biblical teaching that who-ever unjustly kills a single person isas if he had killed all of mankind;and whoever saves the life of oneperson is as if he has saved the lifeof all of humanity (5:33).

To honor the victims of 9/11

on its 10th anniversary, theAhmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity USA has launched Muslimsfor Life, a nationwide campaign tocollect 10,000 units of blood in themonth of September and to reiter-ate the message that Islam valuesthe sanctity of life. Recently, Presi-dent Obama was informed of theMuslims for life during the IftarDinner at the White House.

Indian Express interviewedMr. Naseem Mahdi who serves asthe National Vice President andMissionary-in-Charge of the Ah-madiyya Muslim Community USA,the oldest Muslim organization inthe United States (since 1920). Un-der the direction and guidance ofKhilafat-e-Ahmadiyya, the spiritual

system of leadership of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity, Mr. Mahdi has dedicated hislife to serving Islam and spreadingits message of love and peace.

During his service in Canada,working constantly under the direc-tion of the worldwide spiritual headof the Ahmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity, Mr. Mahdi established bondsof warm friendship with many influ-ential figures, including the currentPrime Minister of Canada.

The building of the largestmosque in North America, Bait-un-Nur in Calgary, was entrustedto his care by His Holiness HadhratKhalifatul Masih V who person-ally came to inaugurate it in 2008together with Mr. Stephen Harper,

the Prime Minister of Canada.Once in US, Mr. Mahdi has

been speaking regularly to bothmedia and community leadersto illuminate the position of theAhma diyy a M usl im Communi ty

and sanctity of all life.

IE: Is this campaign restricted toonly Muslims?

Naseem Mahdi: No, we inviteall Americans to join us as we col-lect 10,000 units of blood in themonth of September, to demon-strate the true spirit of peace andcollaboration values that wehold dear in this country. We havebeen supported by all communi-ties including Hindus, Sikhs in ourendeavors. We request everyone todonate blood through one of ourdrives or help your organization towork with us to coordinate a driveof your own.IE: Which States are your campsgoing to be most prominent in?

Naseem Mahdi: There aremore than 200 sites for the blood

donation camps. Mississippi, Kan-sas, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin,Ohio, Alabama, Michigan andthere are more States and the loca-tions can be checked on our websitewww.muslimsforlife.org

In his Farewell Pilgrimage ad-

dress, the Holy Prophet Muham-mad (peace be upon him) said,Even as this month, land and dayof Pilgrimage are holy, so has Godmade the blood, property and hon-or of every human being sacred.IE: When did you launch the BloodDonation Drive?

Naseem Mahdi: In 2010, theAhmadiyya Muslim Communitylaunched its Muslims for Peacecampaign in the United States andthe United Kingdom, with the goalof demonstrating that Muslims dostand for peace. The campaign in-cluded bus and billboard advertise-ments, interfaith dialogue eventsand distribution of flyers by ourmembers door-to-door and in pub-lic areas.

The Muslims for Life cam-paign, whose goal is to collectenough blood to save 30,000 livesin honor of those who lost theirson 9/11, is a natural continuation ofthe theme that Islam teaches peace

Solar Company Solyndra shuts shop, fles or Bankruptcy

Solyndra, a renewable energyfirm in California, that be-came a favorite of the Obama

Administration, shut the doors toits California headquarters, raisingsharp questions from the admin-

istrations critics about politicalfavoritism in the federal loan pro-gram. As the news of Solyndra, Thefirm raised more than $1 billion inprivate equity and, winning a cov-eted $535 million loan guaranteefrom the federal government, builta 1-million-square-foot factory andemployed 1,100 workers to make itscylindrical CIGs solar panels beforeit announced the news last week.

Solyndra was touted by theObama administration as a primeexample of how green technologycould deliver jobs. The Presidentvisited the facility in May of lastyear and said, it is just a testamentto American ingenuity and dyna-mism and the fact that we continueto have the best universities in the

world, the best technology in theworld, and most importantly thebest workers in the world. And you

guys all represent that. The manufacturer of rooftop

solar panels opened in 2005 and in2009 became the Obama adminis-trations first recipient of half-bil-lion dollar energy loan guarantee

which meant to help minimize therisk to venture capital firms thatwere backing the solar start-up.

The shutdown marks a high-profile collapse of a company thatreceived more than $1.6 billion infederal and private funding in re-cent years. This was an unexpectedoutcome and is most unfortunate,

Brian Harrison, Solyndras Presi-dent and Chief Executive, said.

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.)

struggling with continued unem-ployment and continues to pushfor research and tax incentives forthe cleantech industry. The govern-ment had provided Solyndra witha $535 million loan guarantee, and

now with the company filing forbankruptcy, 1,100 people are losingtheir jobs with no severance pay.

Officials at the Departmentof Energy said that it used objec-tive factors in selecting Solyndra,and Wednesday the departmentreleased a statement on its web-site blaming changing economicsin the industry including a majorpush by Chinese firms to drivedown solar panel prices for thecompanys collapse.

House Republicans are press-ing forward with a probe into a$535-million loan guarantee to aCalifornia-based solar panel manu-facturer, charging that the Obamaadministration may have improp-erly awarded the loan to a company

whose major investor Kaiser wasa bundler for Obamas 2008 presi-dential campaign.

sent a letter to Solyndras Presidentcriticizing the company for layingoff workers without warning. Hecalled on him to provide compen-sation and benefits to its laid offemployees.

Solyndra itself admitted thatit could no longer compete withforeign manufacturers. In the pastyear or so, for every optimistic re-port about cleantech jobs, otherdevelopments have suggested anuphill climb for U.S.-based compa-nies: Solyndra canceled its plannedIPO, which it had planned for De-cember 2010; Applied Materials re-focused its solar business, althoughit remains in the industry; reportsabout Chinas rise as the worldslargest exporter of solar panels.While it had been hailed as a posterchild for the cleantech economy,its failure doesnt spell the end fora robust solar market, say investorsand solar officials.

The Solyndra news will surely

be used as political fodder, and itcomes at the worst possible timefor the U.S. government, which is

Naseem Mahdi - National Vice Presidentand Missionary-in-Charge of the Ahmadiyya

Muslim Community USA