Interfaith Iftaar, 2023

On Saturday, April 1st, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC), Georgia Chapter held an Interfaith Iftaar at Baitul Ata Mosque on the topic, “A Universal Message of Peace and Security.” The program began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Mansoor Tahir, president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, GA Chapter, welcomed the attendees and said that this is the blessing of God that we live in this land where we can express our faith peacefully.

Tahir invited the first speaker, Tasleem Bhatti who gave the introduction to AMC. Bhatti said that AMC was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India who they believe as the Messiah of the latter days. Ahmad emphasized the teachings of love, peace, justice and sanctity of life. The purpose of his mission was to establish a community that was based on the unity of God and be sympathetic towards everyone without distinction of religion, race or color. The community rejects terrorism in all forms, believes in the separation of mosque and state, and also believes in the equality and empowerment of women. AMC has established 16,000 mosques, 600 schools and 30 hospitals worldwide as well as the translation of the Holy Quran into 70 languages. AMC is also at the forefront of disaster relief through our independent charity called Humanity First.

President Tahir next invited Danial Ahmad who spoke about the Islamic fasting month, Ramadan. He said that the word Ramadan is an Arabic word meaning hot or burning and there are few reasons for this. The first one is that the one who fasts becomes hot due to thirst, and the second is that worship and devotion in this month burn the traces of sins, and this devotion produces the necessary warmth of love in man for his Creator and his fellow beings. The true essence of fasting is primarily used as a mode of self-reflection, moral conditioning and spiritual advancement. The founder of AMC, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad stated:

“Fasting is not merely staying hungry and thirsty; rather its reality and its impact can only be gained through experience. It is human nature that the less one eats, the more one’s spirit is purified and thus his capacity for [spiritual] visions increase. The will of God is to decrease one kind of sustenance and to increase the other. A person who is fasting should always be mindful that he is not just required to stay hungry. On the contrary, he should remain engaged in the remembrance of God so that he can cut asunder ties of worldly desires and amusements and is wholly devoted to God. Hence, the significance of fasting is this alone that man gives up one kind of sustenance which only nourishes the body and attains the other kind of sustenance which is a source of comfort and gratification for the soul.”

Mansoor Tahir invited Cobb County Commissioner District 2, Jerica Richardson who said that she will share personal remarks on fasting. She said that fasting provides her the opportunity to recognize her Creator and drive that relationship in a deeper way through prayer and as a result one starts desiring things that were taken for granted and it leads to the appreciation of less fortunate people.

Fulton County Commissioner for District 6, Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said that she is the first Muslim woman elected in Georgia by the grace of God and she has been a Muslim since she was 26 years old and excited to share the iftaar with the members of AMC.

Imam Hammad Ahmad, Missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and keynote speaker of the event shared an incident where a group of Christians once visited the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in the city of Medina. These Christians carried gold crosses with them and heavily emphasized the worship of Jesus (peace be upon him). During the discussions inside the mosque, the time of worship came for the Christians, who thought it would be disrespectful to worship Jesus inside the mosque. The Imam then said that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said whomever and however they worship, they may worship in the mosque with full peace and security. After stating this incident, he fast forwards to the time of 1934 in India, where a mosque is being built in a town of predominantly Hindus. The 2nd Caliph and head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, leaves the headquarters which was in Qadian, India, and goes to this town to speak at the inauguration reception of that mosque. His Holiness states at that time, that the world is becoming increasingly divided. Some mosques do not allow Shia, Sunni, or Ahmadi Muslims, some mosques do not allow Christians, many Churches do not allow Muslims, and some synagogues do not allow Muslims. He continues to state that relating to the incident of the Prophet Muhammad, within the AMC, all people are welcome to worship in these mosques, and that they are open to worship anyone. Imam Ahmad emphasized that all Ahmadi Muslim mosques will be open to anyone and that peace and security is guaranteed to them.

Imam Ahmad narrated a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, who said, “A true Muslim is one from whose hands and tongue other people are safe”. The Prophet Muhammad didn’t just preach and vocalize these peaceful messages, but his actions were in alignment as well. When he entered the city of Medina, which had people of many religions and races, and he was accepted as a ruler, he made sure everyone had undeniable human rights. He wrote a letter to the Christians in a monastery which was not just a covenant between them, but should be a covenant that every Muslim upholds. In that letter, the Prophet Muhammad stated about the Christians that, “Near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers will defend them because Christians are my citizens.” This was a message on behalf of all Muslims of all times, to Christians of all times. Such a beautiful message of the Prophet, said Imam Ahmad, and even so that he acted on his words and maintained peace and security. He cited another incident, during the time of the second caliphate of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him), when Jerusalem came under Muslim rule. He said that the second caliph, Umar, entered the church of the Holy Sepulcher. As he entered, they welcomed him and had no problem with Muslim rule because they knew that Islam would grant them all the rights to practice their religion. However, when the Islamic time to pray came while he was in the church, he decided to leave the church, but the Christians welcomed his worship in the church. The Caliph Umar actually rejected them with beautiful reason., He said that if he were to stand there and bow and prostrate in the church, he feared that this would now set a precedent that one of his followers would annex it and forcibly convert the church into a mosque. It was his deepest desire that the church remained respected as a church, until the end of time. Until today, the church remains the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Imam Hammad ended his speech by bringing to light the reality of Islam, that it grants peace and security to anyone and everyone to worship whoever and wherever. He then thanked all the guests and concluded the program with silent prayer. More than two hundred guests attended the event with enthusiasm and spirit.