In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful .......... The HOPE Bulletin ……….. Health, Ongoing Projects, Education IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall JJaallssaa October 13-15, 2011 ~~~ Conference held to commemorate the 35th Jubilee of AAIIL(N) in The Hague, Netherlands Theme: The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the Western Society: The Positive Influence of Man and Society According to the Teachings of Islam www.aaiil.org ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Akbar Ibn Abdullah, Editor We acknowledge with thanks the contributions of Sjaikh Kasiem, President of the AAIIL, Netherlands Jama‘at, Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum, Professor Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed Pasha Sahib, Ameer & President of Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at-i-Islam, Lahore, Pakistan, and Sister Sharda Poese, President of AAIIL, Amsterdam, Holland, for their valuable submission of articles that make this Special International Supplement of The HOPE Bulletin possible reading pleasure. Jazak Allah! We are also indebted to Dr. Jawad Ahmad, delegate of AAIIL, United Kingdom, for providing us with a host of photos taken at The Hague Convention, which we have included in the “Photographic Presentation” segment of this special supplement for your viewing pleasure. Jazak Allah! Regarding to the captions to these photographs, we have done our best to match the faces and scenes from the three-day AAIIL (N) International Conference provided by our dedicated brother Dr. Jawad Ahmad Sahib, son of our respected brother Nasir Ahmad Sahib of the United Kingdom. May Allah bless him for taking his valuable time out of his medical practice to provide us with these photographs in a timely fashion encompassing a most successful international jalsa in The Hague, the Netherlands. Jazak Allah! PREFACE “O mankind, surely, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you. Surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.” (H.Q. 49:13) When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) received the first revelations more than 1400 years ago, mankind had fallen into decay in such a way that barbarian excesses and lawlessness were rather a rule than an exception in the Arab world. For this reason the Quran was sent to the Prophet by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel to serve as a guiding principle for mankind to return to the human being, that Allah created as His representative. Those who live their life, bearing in mind the principles of the Quran, can be sure that he or she lives in sincerity toward all creatures of Allah. Differences in interpretation, however, have caused that the Muslim himself has gone astray from Allah’s path. Well known to all of us is the phenomenon of jihad or holy war. Under its context the world faces an everyday ongoing assault from misguided Muslims who believe it is their sacred duty to destroy dissidents and non- believers. In search of this ‘enemy’ and the holy war against it, our own group is often affected too. Sadly, none of these fighters of their self-proclaimed holy war understands the true meaning of the Jihad. The greatest Jihad that 2 man should perform is against himself: the daily struggle to cleanse yourself from negative thoughts and its subsequent actions to harm others. These frequent outbursts of violence have lead to the fact that the non-Muslim does not know better or does not want to know that this is not the Islam that was revealed to our Prophet. Malicious non-Muslims consider Islam as the enemy of Western society, which is out to destroy the latter, and political opportunists cleverly take advantage of this, hereby generalizing all Muslims. Furthermore, the events of September 11, 2001 are an effective breeding ground for this anti-Islamic wave. Nevertheless, those who are able to put Islam in the right perspective and who understand the essence of our life on this earth know that the excesses of extremists have nothing to do with Islam as a religion. The Ahmadiyya Movement was founded in the late nineteenth century to answer these misconceptions. Steadily it has attempted, by means of the establishment of sister organisations in the West and the translation of authentic religious publications and works of literature, to introduce the true Islam, as revealed 1400 years ago, to the non-Muslim (mainly the Western society). The AAIILN, as a division of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Movement, has propagated this objective, since its formation 35 years ago. By organizing conferences, seminars, theme nights, discussions and workshops, the association has dedicated itself to perform its social responsibility and to create a connection into our multiform society. As part of this, the AAIILN again organizes an international convention with the theme: The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the Western society: the positive influence of man and society according to the teachings of Islam. Lectures by national and international speakers from the political arena and social and religious organizations will, based on this theme, explain how this movement fulfils its social responsibility. HAZRAT AMEER-I-QAUM’S MESSAGE Hazrat Ameer Prof. Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed’s Message at the Inauguration Ceremony of the 35th Anniversary of the Establishment of AAII(L)N 13th October 2011 The Hague, the Netherlands Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahe wa barakato. Mr. Chairman … President Sjaikh Kasiem … Executives, Imams and members of the AAII(L)N… Presidents, executives and delegates from The Central Anjuman Lahore and all the Jamaats in Holland and abroad … distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Let me congratulate all the members of AAII(L)N on its 35th anniversary celebration; and for organising this Conference to mark the event. 3 Having researched through the history of your Jamaat, I would like to recapitulate its major events and milestones which have left an impression on my mind as I read through its history. Ten years ago, just after the tragic event of 11th September which changed the image of Islam and led to many unpleasant events, you had your 25th Anniversary in which you were amongst the first Muslim Organisations to condemn the senseless loss of human life. You were honoured by active participation on your stage by the Queen’s Governor of the province of South-Holland, and the Queen’s Mayor of the city of The Hague, as well as well-known scientific personalities of this lovely country, Holland, Les Pays-Bas. It was through the efforts of this Jamaat that Ahmadiyya Anjuman was placed amongst the Government’s list of recognised religious bodies. I recall how the news was taken with great joy in Pakistan and Hikmat Mahawat Khan was congratulated by all the well-wishers of this Jamaat for his leadership. And now we pray that Sjaikh Kasiem will have full cooperation of all Ahmadis in Holland as he strives to take the cause higher still. In 1974, we were yoked into a minority by our Country’s ordinances and laws. Even in those gloomy days we saw glimmer of hope as Suriname got its independence in 1975 and the Netherland’s policy allowed the Surinamese to migrate to Holland; thanks to all those who chose to come to Holland as this way we got Ahmadis in their hundreds come to this country. This Jamaat was established on 2nd May 1976 in The Hague by Mr. N. Sardar, Mr. A. Hoeseini, Mr. Hadji A.M. Hassanmahomed and Mr. S. Ilahibaks. I remember when my late father, Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan, then Vice-President and President of the Foreign Mission of our worldwide Organisation and later the third Ameer, inaugurated this building on the 12th November 1977. I am always reluctant to list names with the fear that I may miss someone important. However, I will not be doing justice if I forget to mention that many of the Executives, sincere members and Imams who gave to this Jamaat their sweat and blood have passed away; I take this opportunity to pray for their souls; and also pray that their dear ones follow the footsteps in the service of Ahmadiyyat. Excuse me as I get tempted to mention some of your Mujahids whose names made their way into our ‘Centre’s files on Holland’; the names I recall include Mr. Samsuddin Ilahibaks, Mr. Karamat Bechan, Mr. Hassanmahomed, Mr. S. Ramjan and Mr. Fazil Ramdjan. I pray Allah grants them great rewards in the life hereafter. I am, too, like your Jamaat, aging and have as an Ameer of the Worldwide Organisation, already seen five of your presidents: at ones house I am enjoying great hospitality (thank you, Mrs. And Mr. Shaikh Keisem Sahib); others too deserve my sincere thanks for the respect and the hospitality they have extended during the five visits I have made to Holland: thanks to Mr. Hikmat Mahawatkhan, Mr. Mohammed Mahawatkhan, Mr. Harun Ghauharali and Haroun Badloe. At the airport I was surprised to see how young your present President is; I am told he is the youngest of the Presidents you have had … he has years of life ahead, Inshallah. Talking of age, the concept of Ahmadiyyat has been in Europe for longer than your Jamaat; as even before the World War II when our most able and sincere Mubaligh (Missionary) Mirza Wali Beg was instructed by the Centre to propagate the concept of Islam in Holland. Thus the Central Anjuman and its missionaries have played a vital role in the understanding of Islam amongst the Dutch people. 4 After the death of Mirza Wali Beg, missionary activities slowed down but were restarted when in 1950, Mr. Al Mahdi Abdurrahman Koppe, a Dutch convert to Islam, headed the Mission and translated several books into the Dutch language, including ‘The Teachings of Islam’ (by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) ‘Islam the Religion of Humanity’, ‘The New World Order’ (by Maulana Muhammad Ali).