February 27, 2006

Ahmadi Among Us: A Quest for Peace

by Sherry Harbert

Weeks have passed since the first calls of protest and violence erupted over the publishing of cartoons depicting Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. Both the publication of those cartoons and the calls for protests continue. The cartoons have become the latest crisis for retaliation between the Muslim World and the West.

It has also been weeks since the calls for peace and understanding were sounded by many Muslims and Westerners alike. Though the voices are not as loud as the clerics calling for the latest jihad against the West, there is a growing attempt by many Muslims to stand up and address their beliefs and views for peaceful coexistence.

One such Muslim group is the Ahmadiyya. The Portland, Oregon, chapter has sponsored several forums to bring together Muslims and the local community to better understand the other. The latest forum, held at Portland State University, Feb. 11, featured representatives from the Ahmadiyya, Portland Police Department and the FBI.

Entitled, “Living with Islam,” the forum addressed the need for understanding Islam and its precepts for peace. It is an ideal the Ahmadi have been striving to reach throughout the world. The Ahmadi sect of Islam was established in 1889 by an Indian Muslim, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadi profess their devotion to the Quran and all its teachings, but are not considered Muslim by the two major Islamic sects. Both the Sunni and Shiite branches consider their own ideology as the only true course.

The PSU forum was not about differences, but about the commonalities shared by everyone in the Portland area. It was the latest in a line of events organized by Ahmadi member Harris Zafar. Zafar is a young Muslim who wanted to do more than just talk about peace. He wanted to work it into his community.

It was in late 2004 when Zafar organized his first forum in the area. Entitled, “Murder in the Name of Allah?” the event brought together Ahmadi leaders from around the nation and local region to address where Muslims stood on violence, peace and world events.

Zafar started organizing meetings after September 11th. “There was much curiosity after 9-11,” he said after his first national forum. “We made presentations at mosques, schools, colleges and church groups.”

The first forum was in response to the beginning of the kidnappings, killings and beheadings in Iraq. The West was asking why a religion which professes peace could allow such acts. Zafar was determined to show the difference between the teachings of the Quran and the militants who he says were hijacking it for their own devices. The forum was significant in its subject matter and timing. It was held just before the annual Ramadan, the month-long fasting for Muslims for self-reflection in their faith.

Even at that time, Zafar and other Portland area Muslims were noticing a change in attitudes toward them. Saira Ahmad, a member of the women’s chapter of the Portland Rizwan Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community found it more compelling.

“America has been the melting pot of the world,” she said at a dinner opened to the public during Ramadan back in 2004. “But America is not accepting all as much as it was. The rights of all have diminished since 9-11.”

Ahmad’s perceptions are well in tune with what is happening in the U.S. As immigrants from around the world try to assimilate and give back to their new society, they are increasingly pointed to as problems. After years of ongoing government and media talk of terrorism and safety, many Americans are becoming less inclusive to immigrants from any other countries. Most polls today show a growing number of the population wanting tougher border and immigration laws. The Economist noted the growing desire of many Americans toward isolationism and protectionism in its Feb. 11th issue.

It was a very different world for most Muslims before and right after September 11th.

“We found Portland very open-minded,” said Zafar in 2004. “After 9-11, our mosque received three threats and 250 support calls. It was very touching. People sent cards and flowers. Even a security guard at the mall volunteered to help us.”

By the time of Zafar’s latest forum earlier this month, the attitudes of many Americans were even more shaped by the images seen on television and the growing movement against immigrants of all kinds. And the images all seem to look the same.

“We see the problem all over the world,” Zafar stated in the opening address. “There no longer seems to be any harmony between the groups. They either look at each other with disgust or in fear.”

Zafar was still positive about the Portland community. “I feel proud that we live in a city where we don’t have the problem as much. People are a little more open—a little more liberal.” He commended the audience for going out of their way to attend and learn about their religion and people. The audience of over 100 consisted of students, retired couples, families and even an Army soldier in his fatigues (casual military uniform). The questions after the forum from the audience were pointed and direct—a sign that everyone felt comfortable asking difficult questions about homosexuality, disenfranchised youth and other Islamic sects.

But outside the forum, Zafar pointed to one of many conflicts. “Whether they are in Islamic societies or non-Islamic societies, some people classify this as a case of secular western democracy against Islam,” he said. Zafar added that whether the media is to blame still does not negate that the behavior of some Muslims and Muslim groups has led people to blame the religion itself.

Ahmadi representatives, Rasheed Reno, President of the Portland Ahmadi Chapter, and Imam Daud Hanif, U.S. Ahmadi Missionary-in-Charge, emphasized the teachings of Islam were of peaceful means. Reno said that the acts of violence done in the name of Islam were not Islamic. “Islam is not a religion to create rebellion, but of peace,” he said.

Hanif reiterated the peaceful goals of his religion. “People should come together on common grounds,” he said. “There are lots of troubles in the world, but the world should stand together against wrong doers.”

The latest conflict over the publishing of the cartoons has most people in the West mystified over the reactions in the Muslim World. The images of violent protests are shown over and over with little context.

Zafar said the cartoons were extremely offensive to any Muslim, but the overt anger and violence was not Islamic.

“A typical reaction is anger and silence,” he said. “But not boycotts and condemnation. The Danish people actually feel threatened with the burning of their flags and embassies. And they just wish Muslims would take their apology. But it is a handful of Muslim leaders that are taking this. Muslims need to demonstrate love. They need to bring about the change themselves.”

Along with the Ahmadi, there are many other Islamic sects and societies who are against the violent protests over the cartoons. Jordan’s King Abdullah rejected the calls to violence over the cartoons at a recent visit to Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Pakistan has taken steps to outlaw all protests and public rallies over the cartoons. They have become the flashpoint for division between the West and Muslim World.

As much as the divisive acts of some Muslims are fueling the conflict, it is the lack of understanding by the West that propagates it further. To this cause, Zafar and others in the Ahmadi community reached out to the public. What brought a new dynamic to the event was the attendance of Portland Police Detective Mary Wheat and Bob Jordan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Portland Division.

Both law enforcement representatives closed the forum with their thoughts and knowledge. Wheat, who recently was assigned to head the Hate Crimes department, explained her departments focus and willingness to open communication with the local community. She said the work that began after September 11th with the Arab Muslim Police Advisory Committee (AMPAC) was continuing to provide connections between the two groups.

Jordan described his role as the lead for protecting civil rights after September 11th. He said only the four pilots knew exactly what they were doing that day. The rest thought they would be committing a crime, but thought they would live. Jordan said the FBI discovered that even the prayers recited by the pilots were very different from those of the others. He added that none of the terrorists that day had any contact with Muslim Americans. Those were lessons that Jordan carries with him now in continuing to protect the civil rights of Muslims and other minorities.

“Some people have hijacked Islam to commit crimes,” Jordan told the audience. “The Waco cult used the same basis. He was thumping the Bible, yet afterwards, there wasn’t any overall criticism of Christianity.”

He said communication between the groups was vital, both for their protection and to prevent future attacks. It is something the Ahmadi are hoping will continue.

For more information:

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community: http://www.alislam.org

Ahmadi Muslim Circle:  http://groups.msn.com/AHMADIMUSLIMCIRCLE