The US Embassy Malta hosted its annual Iftar Dinner on Thursday 25^th August with about 100 guests including the Imam of the Paola Mosque Muhmmad El-Sadi and the National President Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta, Laiq Ahmed Atif.

The Chargé d’ Affaires of the US Embassy Mr. Richard M. Mills and his respected staff welcomed the guests at the dinner.

America is known for its diversity and freedom of faith and expression and it has accepted and honoured people of different colours, races and religions. And leaders of this nation show respect to the traditions and customs of different faiths. This Iftar Dinner was also a great manifestation of great human values and dignity.

U.S. President Barack Obama recognized this very fact in his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.  He said:

“Freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one’s religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.”

Both Muslim religious leaders thanked the Chargé d’ Affaires of the US Embassy Mr. Richard M. Mills and his respected staff for their great gesture and honour. They also prayed for the success of the great work they are carrying on. May God the Almighty reward them from the best. Ameen

Tolerance, harmony, respect, human dignity, justice and    fair and equitable dealing in all circumstances are the    values of a civilised and educated society. And no doubt, these values are the backbone of the progress and success of any society. A society, barred from these fundamental qualities, cannot remain prosperous and competitive. And a brief analysis of the current developed and under-developed countries’ position will make it absolutely clear that those who abide by these values are progressing rapidly, and those who do not practise these qualities are barred from all sorts of progress and achievements.

Pakistan is also amongst those countries where intolerance is increasing rapidly and all the stakeholders of the country as politicians, lawmakers, the judiciary, the police and mostly the religious clerics and leaders are responsible for that. The latter have diverted their priorities from teaching religion and moral values, towards spreading hatred, issuing fatwas (religious edicts) against mankind, and promoting violence and bloodshed. Very sad!!!

A few days ago, just because of one single statement by a minister, which was totally impolite and provocative, against a political party, people of that political party came out in the streets protesting and many innocent people were killed and dozens of cars and buses were set on fire, buildings and infrastructures were destroyed. The result was a huge loss to the economy of the country. If one commits a mistake, others try to correct it by making another mistake, and even a bigger one.

One major aspect of this increasing intolerance is that all the main stakeholders of the country are only working for their interests and motives, preaching hatred and intolerance to their people, prioritising personal agendas and neglecting the national interests and are not showing broadmindedness. They exploit the people’s ignorance and vulnerability, they toy with the sentiments of people of other faiths and all sorts of intolerance is preached openly and loudly and the government turns a blind eye to what is happening so as not to lose its votes.

The result is that many people have started deciding their matters in streets, on the crime spots by themselves. And they try to take the law into their own hands neglecting the best interests of their country. The country therefore is facing disorder and lack of rule of law.

Let me give you an example by telling you of an incident, which is too terrible to be seen or to be narrated, as it was so heinous and was a grave insult to mankind. However, that directly relates to my subject and that is one clear example for this intolerance. A few days ago a drug addict entered a mosque and tried to steal a water pump and the imam of the mosque saw him and together with other people arrested the thief and they took the law into their own hands and punished the thief on the spot. The extrajudicial punishment they decided is a clear example of an intolerant and violent attitude of the ordinary people as well as the religious clerics. And that punishment is considered one of the worst and grave humiliations in Asian societies. They took the thief and cut the hair of one side of the head, shaved part of his moustache and the eye brows, coloured his face black, hung many torn shoes around his neck, they rode him on a donkey (which is a symbol of grave humiliation) and finally they marched him around the town with a crowd of people chanting slogans and raising voices against him. They humiliated him as much as they could and left him dying out of humiliation every day. This incident was shown on television, believe me, it was hard to see and I turned my eyes away from the TV screen and only listened to what had happened.

And this was not the first incident of this kind, but, similar incidents take place on a regularly basis but mostly remain unreported.

How nice it would have been if the state had provided security and easy justice to all the citizens so that such incidents could be avoided. And also, how nice and civilized it would have been if the people and the imam of the mosque would have handed over the thief to the police and he would have been brought to justice.

By the sheer grace of Allah the Almighty Ramadan has come once again in our lives to strengthen our relationship with God the Almighty and to serve His people.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta wish you all a very happy and blessed Ramadan.

Please find the schedule of Ramadan, for further information please contact: amjmalta@gmail.com

Source/Credit: The Times of Malta: Thursday, July 28, 2011 , by 

Death is as real as life and death is an integral part of life. The life of a human being is limited on this earth and everyone has to leave this world to join the hereafter. It is true that death physically separates a person from its dear and loved ones but those who live in hearts cannot ever be separated from them.

Mary Fenech Adami, a great person, highly respected and loved, was a real example of this, because she was a person who lived and no doubt lives in the hearts of thousands.

The former First Lady lived her life with great determination, passion for serving others, feeling others’ pain and helping the needy. She dealt perfectly with her public as well as family life.

She brought up five children, giving them all the attention they needed, and at the same time meeting with people, asking about their problems, offering them help and support, listening to the ordinary people and giving them proper attention. She was a courageous and strong person. She was an example of honour and dignity for the country. She was a woman Malta should be proud of.

A few months ago I read the news about a head of state who went to the US with his delegation to demand aid and help for the country as the country was suffering from a bad economy. But I was astonished to read that the rent of the hotel he was staying at was $5,000 a night.

Isn’t it very strange? Begging for help and staying in such a luxurious hotel!?

What a great and positive example we have in the shape of Mrs Fenech Adami. Peppi Azzopardi wrote that when she went to visit Maltese patients in the UK, she instructed staff to keep expenses to a minimum: “Mrs Fenech Adami, sitting on a bench in the centre of London, making sandwiches for us to eat. When I saw passers-by looking at us, I said to myself: ‘They would never believe that she is Malta’s First Lady’!” Because of deeds such as this she will live forever in the hearts of people.

She was a great but humble lady, who was loved by all. Her death is a great loss to this country.

We want to show our sincerest condolences to President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami, her son Beppe Fenech Adami, member of Parliament, her daughter, sons and her friends and to all her dear ones. May God bless them with the strength to deal with this tragedy.

We pray that her beautiful soul will rest in peace forever and may God bless her with His everlasting love and pleasure. Amen.

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Mrs. Michelle Muscat, wife of the Leader of the Opposition in Malta, delivering speech in the “Seminar about Women”, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta, on Friday 17th June 2011 at the Waterfront Hotel Gzira.

 Source: The Malta Independent, Wednesday, 20 July 2011.

BY GODFREY MAGRI – Attard MALTA

The annual convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was held in Karlsruhe, Germany, between 24 and 26 June. Over 30,000 members participated and prayed in a great community spirit.

The Leader of the Community, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, made two inspiring speeches. In the first speech he emphasised the loyalty to one’s nation, explained that suicide was against Islam, warned that terrorism only creates disorder and leaves behind it bloodshed, widows and orphans and that we must pray God for guidance and protection. The message of the Quran is a message of peace, love and respect.

In the concluding speech and the message for the future, the Head of the Community, spoke about Satan’s free hand. However, we must pray God to help us, as His Messengers have suggested, and God will respond. We must have fear of God and obedience to His laws. The modern electronic devices, if badly used, can be poison. We must distance ourselves from evil and misdeeds. Our journey in this world has to be justified; there must be fear of God in both letter and spirit. God wants love and brotherhood. Fasting is not enough, one must lead by examples and by the way one lives.

Piety and soft hands do more good than violence. He finally concluded by reminding us that our prayers to God will help us to remove our weaknesses and to reform ourselves.

Although these speeches were made to the members of the Ahmadiyya Community, they also appeal to all humanity.

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Source/Credit: The Times of Malta: Friday, July 15, 2011 , by Laiq Ahmed Atif

Human beings have explored more civilisations with the passage of time and we are now in the 21st century. But, in some countries and societies that is merely a technicality and nothing more. The archaic and often criminal notions of justice and honour, particularly the treatment meted out to women, speak of a society that remains mired in a mediaeval mindset. This is evident judging by news from different countries and societies and because the world has emerged as a global village such news and stories are easily accessible.

Respect and tolerance towards each other is one of the great human values. It is said that “love creates love”. I also believe that “respect creates respect”. And when everyone tries to respect one another and when men and women are equally respected in a society, then the social and family system will become stronger and healthier.

Women constitute almost half of the world population and are one of the main stakeholders of a society. Women play a great role in the social and family system. Sometimes, a woman appears as a mother, sometimes as a wife and sometimes as a daughter. All these roles are respected and dignified.

But, most unfortunately, we sometimes find that women are not treated well and are dishonoured and, in some countries, the situation is even worse. A recent survey by the Guardian indicated that Afghanistan is the worst place in the world for women to live and that the Congo, Pakistan, India and Somalia also fail females, with rape, poverty and infanticide being rife.

Violence against women is rampant in all corners of the world. Such violence is a human rights violation that manifests itself in a number of ways, including: violence against women in custody, women trafficking, forced and unwilling marriages, acid burning, dowry and inheritance deaths, genital mutilation, domestic violence, stoning to death and so-called honour killing.

Also, it is a bitter reality that, every year, thousands of women become victims of these crimes. According to Amnesty International, at least one woman in every three has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime around the world. Every year, violence in the home and the community devastates the lives of millions of women. Gender-based violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer.

Here, I strongly and categorically condemn and share a recent story of a middle-aged woman who was pulled out of her house by at least four men, stripped naked and dragged through the streets in Neelor Bala village in Haripur district, Pakistan. Reportedly, the entire village witnessed the ugly and inhuman spectacle but no one dared intervene because the assailants were armed and declared that if anyone came forward to help the woman, they will be shot. One wonders what her crime was. Why was she dishonoured and became the victim of a heinous crime? It is reported that one of the offenders accused her son of having illicit relations with his wife but there were no accusations against her.

This continued for a full hour and those ill-natured people paraded her naked and kept beating her in front of the entire village. The woman says: “Through­-out I was asking myself why this curse had befallen me from nowhere. What had I done? I was begging them to stop. But they didn’t listen.”

And, finally, after all the humiliation, when they released her, she ran to her home, covered herself with clothes and went to a forest and spent the whole night there with her younger son because she couldn’t face her family members. She describes her position saying: “Before all this, I was poor but I had a respectable life, I was happy. But after something like this, my life is finished.”

This incident and the words of that woman are indeed saddening and every sane and sensible person would certainly feel pain at this barbaric act. This act was beyond humanity. Even animals show more respect than these people. This act and every similar act of mistreatment of women are condemnable. Women deserve more respect and dignity because they are as equal as men in respect and honour.

Sadly, the underlying issue remains a barbaric and heinous mindset in which an innocent woman is held for personal interests. It was a case in which people took the law into their own hands and, with the power of a gun, abused the dignity of a woman. The police investigated the case and arrested some of the suspects. But different questions arise: Will the culprits be punished? Will justice be done? Will such humiliation and violence against women end? Will that woman regain her honour and dignity?

amjmalta@gmail.com; The author is president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta.

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Laiq Ahmed Atif, President Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta in ‘Lenti’ programme on TVM. Programme was presented by Mr. Albert Marshall.

Download the English Translation of this leaflet:

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta strongly condemns the Human Rights situation in Pakistan. In recent weeks media has reported many incidents of human rights violation and provocative acts in Pakistan; and so-called religious clerics and extremists are spreading hatred throughout the country, which already has caused thousands deaths of innocent people. Some clerics and hardliners are demanding the banning of the Holy Bible[i], in the country. Infamous blasphemy laws are being misused and innocent people are becoming the victims of those laws. Tolerance, freedom of religion and speech is lacking rapidly and extremists are fulfilling their agenda. Provocative and hate campaigns are started against minorities and people of other faiths.

Most recently, a hard-line Islamist “Khatme Nabuwwat” Organization (organization Prophet Hood Seal) in Pakistan has launched a campaign in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, in order to kill Ahmadi Muslims (the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat). They have been distributing leaflets calling for the murder of Ahmadi Muslims and calling it a real Jihad; and orchestrating a boycott of Ahmadi businesses, doctors, teachers and all prominent members of the community. And they are repeatedly calling the Ahmadi Muslims “Wajib-ul-Qatal” means “liable for death”.

The brochure promotes the open murder of Ahmadis and explains that this is a meritorious act, protective spirit of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) with honor and reward in paradise[ii].

The Asian Human Rights Commission issued a press release under the title “Extremists are planning openly to kill hundreds of Ahmadiyys, the government turns a blind eye”, on Saturday, 11^th June 2011[iii].

The organization has issued an open letter and published a list of the elite among Ahmadiyya Muslims, ie doctors, teachers and businessmen in Faisalabad. It has motivated, inspired and manipulated the society with the message:

“Wake your conscience! And be fearless, holy warriors of Khatme Nabuwwat, kill the followers of the Ahmadiyya doctrine and get martyr status.”

In Faisalabad, the situation is very unstable and dangerous. No Ahmadi is guaranteed safety or security. Nor the Pakistani government, police or judicial system have issued any official statements on the announcement of the open message that is causing this tremendous fear. Children are afraid to go to school and businessmen are afraid to open their daily businesses.

A few months ago four Ahmadi Muslims were shot dead in Faisalabad because of these types of statements.

The federal government has not taken any effective action to halt and eliminate the extremist activity that continues to undermine the values ​​on which Pakistan was founded on.

Political parties in Pakistan have not shown any signs of confronting religious fanaticism, extremism and violence that has shattered the social and economic fabric of society.

Human Right situation in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the situation of human right is not different from Pakistan. Few months ago some members of the Ahmadiyya Community were killed very brutally[iv]. The government is not taking any positive steps to assure its citizens the freedom of faith and religion; also their safety is not assured[v].

We would like to draw attention to this serious matter, to make it substantially clear to the Pakistani government that this is against the basic human rights, and all the citizens must be given their all basic human rights and depriving them from these rights is clearly against the United Nations Rules and Regulations to which Pakistan is a member state.  So, we can avoid any new massacre of the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as it happened on 28^th May 2010, where 86 innocent Ahmadis were killed in Lahore Pakistan, on the basis of their faith.