NOVEMBER 27, 2021
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Amritsar organized its maiden Peace Symposium on 26 November 2021 on the theme of “True and Sustainable World Peace”. The program was presided by Mr Shiraz Ahmed, Additional Nazir Ala (Executive Director) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, India and was attended by over 150 guests from different walks of life.
By evening, guests started arriving at M K Hotel Amritsar, the venue of the event. Badges specially designed for the event bearing the Community’s motto, “Love for All, Hatred for None” were given to guests upon arrival, which was well received.
The national anthem was played before the program started. After that, the formal session commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran which was done by Mr Zain Choudhary, In-charge, outreach activities, Punjab.
Thereafter, an introductory speech was delivered by Mr K Tariq Ahmed, the national president of Khuddamul Ahmadiyya (the young men’s auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community), India. He welcomed all the guests and explained the purpose of the event. Afterwards, the book A Message for Our Time was inaugurated. This book is a compilation of keynote addresses delivered by the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba during his 2018 Americas tour.
This was followed by speeches by five honourable guests. Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, Sr. SGPC member addressed the gathering and shared her views on peace in light of Sikh teachings. She said that for peace to be established in the world, we must always act remembering that there is a living God who watches our deeds.
Mr Jaswinder Singh Dhillon, former vice-chancellor Guru Kashi University spoke about his connection with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and acknowledged and commended the Community’s activities and efforts for serving humanity, not only in India but worldwide.
Mr Sunil Dutti, MLA North Amritsar addressed the audience and said that world peace cannot be achieved unless we find true peace within ourselves and our home. He also spoke about his relationship with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and mentioned his visit to Qadian and how he was deeply touched by the warmth and hospitability he received there.
Mr Badaradduja, HOD of the Department of Human Genetics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar addressed the gathering and shared his views on world peace in light of Islamic teachings.
Dr Swarna Singh, Principal, Guru Teg Bahadur Interfaith Academy, Batala, in his speech, emphasized the importance of promoting religious tolerance to establish peace in the society.
After this, Mr Mujahid Ahmed Shastri, missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the manager of the weekly Akhbar Badr Qadian addressed the audience. He gave a brief overview of the Community’s beliefs about peace in light of the teachings of the Holy Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophetsa. He also mentioned the endeavours undertaken by the Ahmadiyya Caliphs to promote peace in the world.
This was followed by the presidential address by Mr Shiraz Ahmad. He specially thanked all the guests and stated that their accepting the invitation and attending the peace symposium very well demonstrated their intense desire for peace to be established in the world.
The formal session also included a documentary that outlined the efforts of the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in promoting peace and justice.
With the participation of people from all faiths and no faith, the event truly reflected the values of pluralism, tolerance and mutual respect. The program provided a great platform for diverse ideas to be shared and exchanged. Most of all, the event created a very positive perception of Islam in the attendees and showed the relevance of Islamic teachings with respect to peace.
One of the guests Dr P K Pati, professor and HOD, Guru Nanak Dev University said that such events show the true image of Islam to the society. Another guest Dr Kalwinder Kaur, professor of Government College said that she is taking back a completely different perception of Islam from this event and that she will propagate this true message of Islam to others as well.
The peace symposium was attended by professors, doctors, government officials, political leaders, journalists and people from various other fields. Apart from this, the proceedings were also streamed live on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community India’s official Facebook page, which was availed by over 4000 people.
Report prepared by Naima Arif
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