As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I am reminded of the many reasons why I am thankful. The concept of gratitude in the US began for us five and a half years back when we left Pakistan and came to America. The very first time I stepped on US soil, it felt like my mother took me in her arms. America became our new adopted homeland because life in Pakistan for us became too dangerous. The horrific day came upon us on …
On October 18th, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslims, the worldwide head of millions of Ahmadis. Over 30,000 of these Ahmadis, call Canada their home, majority of these Ahmadis migrated from Pakistani Punjab due to religious persecution, similar to the Sikh migration from Indian Punjab. This pattern of immigration intrigued Michael Nijhawan, a professor at York University in Canada. Professor Nijhawan ended up writing a book titled “The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya …
Pakistan will deport dozens of Turkish teachers employed at 23 schools linked to the controversial Gülen movement. The order by the Pakistani Interior Ministry came as Turkish President Recep Teyyep Erdogan arrives on a two-day visit to Pakistan. According to reports, the government has ordered all Turkish residents affiliated with ‘Pak-Turk Schools’ to leave Pakistan by November 20th and has also notified Immigration officials in this regard. The foundation which has been active in Pakistan since 1995 currently operates 28 Park-Turk …
Even though the U.S. presidential race has been dominated by anti-Muslim & anti-immigrant, rhetoric, many Muslims and immigrants have emerged victorious in local level elections across America. Raaheela Ahmed, a 23-year-old Pakistani Indian American from Maryland has won the District 5 school board race in Prince George’s county by defeating longtime school system administrator Cheryl Landis, 57 percent to 42 percent. Ahmed, whose father is from India and mother from Pakistan unsuccessfully ran for the same post four years ago …
It was a relatively cool evening in Rabwah, a few days ago. I was there on an invitation to attend an enthralling seminar on “The shroud of Turin”, held in a state of the art Auditorium of Nusrat Jehan College for girls. My host was the exuberant Faateh Bajwa, deputy director of Ahmadiyya community’s central education Department, referred to as Nazarat Taleem. After the seminar, I was shown around, and I must confess I was dumbstruck by the sprawling campus, …
Canadian Twitter was buzzing Monday afternoon as the ‘Khalifa of Islam‘ arrived in Ottawa to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The hashtag #CaliphinCanada started trending across Canada as the Khalifa of tens of millions of Muslims made his way to Parliament Hill. His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who is the worldwide spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was greeted by Members of Parliament upon his arrival at Houses of Parliament. Prime Minister Trudeau welcomed the Caliph to Canada and thanked …
The religious leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is set to arrive in Canada on October 3rd as the community marks 50 years in Canada. This will be his 4th trip to Canada since being elected Caliph in 2003. On Monday thousands will gather at Ahmadiyya ave in Toronto to welcome the ‘Khalifa of Islam‘. The Caliph will be welcomed by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, John McCallum. His Canadian tour will commence with …
Chairman of Pakistan’s “Ruet-e-Hilal Committee” Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman has called on the Government to execute Ahmadis as they do not believe in the finality of Prophet Muhammad. He made the comments on Saturday, while speaking at a KhatmeNabuwat rally in the village of Lalian. Mufti Muneeb ur Rahman said “According to the constitution of Pakistan, Ahmadis are deniers of KhatmeNabuwat (Finality of Prophethood) and are hence outside the fold of Islam, Since the punishment for not accepting the constitution is execution, …
A Virginia man linked to CAIR and the controversial Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque has been exposed as an extremist sympathizer after promoting extremist ideology in the U.S and encouraging murder. Zamir Ali Akhtar Kiani who resides in the Fairfax area is a regular at the infamous Dar al-Hijrah Mosque. It is the same Mosque where Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar Awlaki, served as an Imam (Preacher) from 2000 to 2002. Awlaki is known to have counseled at least two of the 9/11 hijackers. On …
Shaikh Yasir Qadhi is an American Sunni Muslim scholar and Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute. In a very passionate Facebook Post, Mr. Qadhi recently lamented the rise of sectarianism and the practice of Takfir (anathematization, or refusing to identify sect of Islam as Muslim) amongst Muslims. He said: “Sadly, sectarianism is still well and alive in the Ummah. Recently, a large group of scholars, primarily of a Sufi/Ashari trend, gathered in Chechnya for a conference whose pre-planned and coordinated conclusion was to claim …
Decades of persecution and a full ban on the Ahmadiyya faith has not changed the Government’s attitudes toward Pakistan’s most persecuted faith group. Ministers in Pakistan’s Provincial Assembly of Punjab continue to make sure the Ahmadis are not given any rights or recognition. On August 31st, Minister for School Education, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan came under fire over the alleged transfer of government schools to the Ahmadiyya community and organizations associated with it. In a fiery speech, Ghiyas-ud-Din said that …
Karlsruhe, a German city close to the French border is hosting Germany’s largest annual Islamic convention this weekend. Over 35,000 Muslims are expected to attend the Jalsa Salana, the 41st annual convention of Germany’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Thousands of Muslims have traveled from all over Europe to hear the keynote speaker, The Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Ahead of the convention, the Khalifa laid the foundation of two Mosques, One in the German town of Frankenthal and …