From:www.ahmadiyya.org Islam and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Community Address in Committee Room 6 of the House of Commons, London, 19th November 2014 by Dr Abdul Karim Saeed Hazrat Ameer (World-wide Head) of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Community ‘And if your Lord had pleased, all those who are in the earth would have been believers, all of them. Will you (O Prophet) then force people till they are believers?’ — The Holy Quran, 10:99 Members of the honourable Houses of Lords and Commons, and ladies and gentlemen: Firstly, I am thankful thatBritish law and traditions have made it possible for Muslims not only to live in the UK but also practice and preach their faith, Islam, with complete freedom, freedom from discrimination and freedom from harassment. Secondly, my respectful thanks aredue to all the successive Governments of this country for promoting tolerance of various religions, and to the British people for living in peace and harmony with Muslims who are settled here. My first visit to UK was about 40 years back,and it was love at first sight with UK in general and London in particular. Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament with the River Thames were a captivating sight. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day I would be standing right inside the Houses of Parliament addressing a gathering. It was in London that I qualified as MRCP UK from the Royal College of Physicians and was later honoured by that prestigious institution which granted me its fellowship, FRCP, in recognition of my services to medical education. Educated in a Catholic School in Pakistan, I am indebted to all my teachers, in particular the priests from UK who made every effort to impart not only academic knowledge but also a spirit of love for all religions and peoples of the world, all created by the same God called by different names. This was reinforced at home by my parents who were Ahmadi Muslims and hence stood strongly for Islam as a religion of peace, as its name literally means; a religion of tolerance as practised by 1 ISLAM AND THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA COMMUNITY Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him. These were also the values reinforced by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, upon his followers called Ahmadis. The name ‘Ahmadi’ was given to us by him after the name of Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, whose other name was Ahmad. This was also the name referred to in the Holy Quran where there is mention of Jesus Christ foretelling the coming of a prophet after him whose name would be Ahmad (61:6). The name Ahmad in Arabic language refers to a person who is a highly praised and has the qualities of tenderness, peace, gentleness, forgive- ness, love, mercy and sympathy. All these qualities stand for the inner beauty of Islam and these were the qualities the Founder envisaged in his followers, the Ahmadis. I have the honour of addressing you all as the fifth, democratically elected spiritual leader and President of Ahmadiyya AnjumanIshaat Islam Lahore, the name which is translated into English as the Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam. It is a movement with no political aspirations but established with the sole purpose of the spreading of Islam through peaceful means. It was founded in Lahore in 1914 as a movement that, through necessity, became separated from the then Ahmadiyya Movement in Qadian because of some irreconcilable doctrinaldifferences. Our leaderMaulana Muhammad Ali and his companions could not reconcile with some newly introduced ideas into the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in particular the idea that he was a prophet after Prophet Muhammad. This we found contrary to the teachings of the Holy Quran, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad and even the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself, as he had most emphatically denied claiming to be a prophet even to a few hours before his death.Maulana Muhammad Ali left Qadian and established our Movement. Seventy years later, the name Ahmadiyya AnjumanIshaat Islam Lahore had to be amended to just Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore in compliance with the constitutional requirements of Pakistan which not only declared Ahmadisas being non-Muslims in our country but also disallowed the use of any term which was considered an ‘Islamic’term. I consider the passing of such laws against us did not only affect us but also harmed the democratic image of Pakistan in the international context. We suffered a double trauma because the basis of that declaration, however unfair, was 2 SPEECH BY HEAD OF LAHORE AHMADIYYA AT HOUSE OF COMMONS, LONDON belief in a new prophet,and that was not at all our belief! This law, along with the blasphemy law in Pakistan,hangs as a sword of Damocles over the heads of Ahmadis, while the blasphemy law also jeopardizes the lives and rightsof other Muslim minorities and followers of other faiths. Since our inception as a new community in 1914 we have continued and intend to continue propagation of peace, tolerance, goodwill and understanding among the peoples of the world. As a result of our propagation and dissemination of the message of peace, many prominent members of the society in the UK accepted Islam and worked with us in developing greater understanding among the people here. Our teachings are based on the Holy Quran which we believe to be the ultimate authority, being the word of God. Any other thing we accept if it is not in conflict with the Quran. The Quran teaches tolerance. It teaches that Muslims must live compassionately in peace, with all religions without prejudices or violence. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had stressed that, as in the modern times, attacks on Islam are through literature and by pen, its defence must be with the same weapon, not with the sword and aggression. It is widely accepted amongst non-Muslims that Islam spread by the use of the sword. The unfortunate behaviour of some Muslims who may be misguided or misinterpreting the teachings of Islam, or being taught so by those who may actually believe in violence, or be using it for their own personal gains, is defaming Islam and doing it great disservice. The heart-rending news of atrocities going on in the Muslim world these days, the hair-raising scenes witnessed on television, are putting to shame the Religion that was meant to bring peace on earth and providing strength to all those who believe Islam is violent. Please permit me to stress Islam is peaceful. The car is good, unfortunately some of those who drive it are reckless drivers. They should take time to reflect upon the very first two verses of the Holy Quran, which state: ‘All praise is for Allah Who is the Master of all the creation, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful.’ Now if one asks oneself in all fairness and judges impartially, can anyone imagine God introducing Himself with such attributes, and then benevolently smiling over suicide killers who blow up people while these innocent persons are prostrating before Allah in a mosque, kneeling in a church before the Lord, or standing in prayer before YHVH, the haShem, the Elohim in a synagogue, or those sitting in a monastery saying through their Mudra posture, ‘We will cause you no harm, we are submitting’; 3 ISLAM AND THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA COMMUNITY or those in a Sikh Gurdawara, observing ‘Sanghat’ with all devotion to their the Rabb, the only and one God — all praying to the same Supreme Being. Killing such persons can only be perpetrated by the ungodly who do not care for faith of a person, his gender or age. We and all real followers of Islam condemn violence as it is strongly stressed in the Quran: ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’(2:256) The verse of the Holy Quran that I have recited before the start of this address lays the foundation of a Universal Brotherhood and the basis of all interfaith dialogues which is a deep rooted teaching of Islam. It states: ‘And if your Lord had pleased, all those who are in the earth would have been believers, all of them. Will you then force people till they are believers?’(10:99) If there were any justification of compulsion in religion, why would such a verse be included in the Quran? We believe that in accordance with this verse one cannot and should not impose one’s own views on any person by threatening to take his life. If only they were to reflect on the Quran and read the following verse: ‘…We prescribed for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a person, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he had killed all humans. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the lives of all humans.’ (5:32) How can there then be justification for beheading persons for their beliefs, blowing up themselves to kill and maim innocent children, women and men in their prayer houses, shopping centres and their homes? How can they justify suicide bombings when Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, is reported to have refused to join the funeral prayer of a person who had committed suicide. He found this act abhorring. It must be stressed that the compilation of the text of the Holy Quran had begun in the time of Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, and it has remained unchanged since its revelation.