Part II – Racial Reconciliation Series

Ahmadiyya Muslims host special event -
"Divine Leadership in the Latter Days”

Ahmadiyya Leaders

April 6, 2008, Norcross, GA…With “Love for all, hatred for none” as the centerpiece of its message, the Muslim Community hosted a special event in three ballrooms at Hilton Atlanta. Men congregated in one room, women in another, children in another. The overriding theme, peace and love, permeated the quarters, and guests who were not part of the organization were treated with respect, smiles, and gifts. All questions were answered sincerely and directly.

“You should choose a religion which makes you feel most comfortable,” said Arrifah Khan who formerly attended a Presbyterian school and sang in a church choir. Now a Trinidadian housewife with two grown children, she came to the US recently to care for a sick niece and will return home next week. Khan seemed not to mind that she was listening to men’s speeches via a video feed to the women’s ballroom. “I am very comfortable with Islam,” she said.

Leaders Interview

Following the informative affair, Tomi Johnson sat down with four of the organization’s leaders: Nafis Rehman, President of South East Region of Ansarullah, Atlanta, GA; Spokesman Zaki Kauser, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, Silver Spring, MD; Imam Daud Hanif, VP and Missionary In-Charge – USA, Bait-ur-Rahman Mosque, Silver Spring, MD; and Jamat President Hazeem Pudhiapura, Norcross, GA.

Johnson: This whole gathering was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of your religious leader. Is that correct?
Kauser: It was actually to celebrate his successors over that last 100 years.
Johnson: Leadership is very pivotal to what happened here today. There’s a saying in the black community that when a man can’t find a job or gets out of prison, the best job he can get is to become a preacher. How are Islamic leaders called to preach?

Hanif: Becoming a preacher means you learn the religion and what you are going to tell the people. First, you have to understand it, learn it, and then convey it simply to the people. This is how you become a leader. But now, there are leaders who become life devotees, those who devote their lives to the service of God, and they undergo training for some years. We have seven years training, and when we complete that training, we are at the disposal of the Ahmadiyya Movement, who is the supreme head of the Ahmadiyya community, and we call him the Calipha of the Messiah. He can post us anywhere in the world. So wherever he posts us, we are tasked with giving education to the younger people and relaying the message of our group.

Listen to the entire interview here