"Muhammad-Messenger of Peace" Conference served as an eye opener for locals!

Muslims across the globe deem their Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to be sent as “mercy for mankind” as mentioned in their holy scripture, the Quran but, how the general public perceives him may be different. With repeated attacks on his character in the past many years, which Muslims believe to be inconsistent with his real character, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.S.A felt there is need to bring awareness to his life and practices to the American public by having conferences in all 73 chapters across the country. A website www.muhammadfactcheck.org was also launched to provide an arena of education about Muhammad (PBUH) and his practices.

One such conference was held on March 16th at Baitul Baqi mosque in Norcross. After giving the opening remarks and welcoming the guests in attendance, Mr. Hazeem Phudiapura, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (GA Chapter) President gave the floor Dr. Khalid Noori who chaired and moderated the event for the evening. Following the recitation of the holy Quran, a video about Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was shown that introduced the audience to the founder of the community, history of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.S.A and showcased successful campaigns like “Muslims for Peace”, “Muslims for Loyalty” and “Muslims for Life” launched by the community in the post 9/11 era. It also brought attention to its sister organization “Humanity First” and it’s humanitarian relief efforts both globally and here in the U.S.

Three young girls then took center stage to read a few couplets from an Arabic poem by the founder of the community along with its English translation.

Next, a community member from Augusta, Mr. Mahmud Ahmad gave a passionate speech highlighting various aspects of Muhammad’s (PBUH) life and gave many examples of his peace loving nature. This was followed by a video presentation about ‘Humanity First’ and its achievements across the globe. The program concluded with a question answer session from a panel that constituted of Mr. Ghayyur Manan, Mr. Nafees Rehman and Mr. Qamar Ahmad Zafar. Some of the questions that came up were about Shariah, asking for clarification on the differences between Ahmadi and non-Ahmadi Muslims and total number of Muslim sects etc.

The host also displayed a poster exhibition about the Prophet of Islam depicting various events and sayings from his life for the interest of the guests. There was also a bookstall set up with community publications on various topics for the interest of the visitors.

The gathering of about seventy included forty four guests from various faiths including Christianity, Baha’i faith, Sikhism, agnostics and non-Ahmadi Muslims. For most, this was a first time opportunity to learn from fellow Muslim Americans about a person who some call “the most influential man in history” while others believe to be a “militant fighter”. Some of the guests included Ms. Suzanne Sen from “Khabar” magazine, Democratic Party Cobb County Chair Melissa Pike and a group of six guests from North Dectur United Methodist Church.

The event served as an eye opener for most of the guests and therefore they expressed the need for similar educational events to be held on a frequent basis. Mr. Gogi Basi representing the Atlanta Gurdawara expressed his delight and said, “It is always a pleasure to be among those who care for the entire human race and not just the followers of their own faith.” He furthered added, “I enjoyed it immensely. Would always love to be part of such events."

This one of a kind event brought people from different faiths together and they were able to find commonalities between them. Muslims believe that unlike prophets prior to Muhammad (PBUH) who were sent for specific groups or nations, the Prophet of Islam was sent for the whole world. His purpose they believe is to create unity among mankind. Ms. Ann from the Cobb Faith Parternership was amazed to see many similarities between different tenets of Islam and Christianity but impressed her most was the Prophet of Islam’s concern about women rights, something unperceivable looking at the state of Muslim women in various Islamic countries today.

The evening concluded with refreshments and every guest was sent home with a copy of the book “Life of Muhammad (PBUH)”.