On 25 March 2017, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivered the keynote address at the 14th National Peace Symposium hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.
The event was held at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in London with an audience of more than 1,000 people, from 30 countries, including over 600 non-Ahmadi guests comprising Government Ministers, Ambassadors of State, Members of both Houses of Parliament and various other dignitaries and guests.
During the event, His Holiness presented Ms. Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima bomb survivor and peace activist, with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace in recognition of her outstanding efforts in campaigning for nuclear disarmament.
During his address, His Holiness condemned the recent terrorist attack in London as a “barbaric atrocity” and labelled all forms of extremism and terrorism as a complete violation of Islamic teachings.
Further, His Holiness expressed his grief at continued warfare in the Muslim world, as well as voicing his fears about increasing tensions in the rest of the world. His Holiness also called on world powers to curb the sale of weapons and arms.
His Holiness said it was a cause of great regret that extremist Muslim groups had turned certain Mosques and Madrassas into “centres of extremism”, which had fuelled fear and misconceptions about Islam amongst non-Muslims. In stark contrast, Holiness said that an inherent part of the worship of God was to serve mankind and to live peacefully with the people of all faiths and beliefs.
Based on these Islamic teachings, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has established humanitarian projects in various parts of the world, each serving mankind and bringing relief to those in need.
His Holiness also spoke about certain individuals or groups from amongst non-Muslims who are “fanning the flames of division and hostility” and cited a Foreign Policy article that described Islamophobia as an ‘industry’ in itself. His Holiness called on world leaders to speak with wisdom and integrity at all times.
Referring to the theme of the Peace Symposium 2017, ‘Global Conflicts and the Need for Justice’, he said a lack of justice had “plagued every segment of society” and that whilst it was undeniable that today certain Muslim countries are at the “epicentre of wars and cruelties”, it was wrong to say that the rest of the world was immune from disorder.
He condemned the international arms trade, which he said was a means of fuelling warfare and ensuring that the world remained bound within a perpetual cycle of violence.
His Holiness deemed the argument that the sale of weapons may ‘encourage’ peace by working as a ‘deterrent’ to be “completely senseless” and said such justifications had “caused the world to become embroiled in a never ending arms race”. He also said that no nation should think it is “immune from danger” because history taught that wars “evolved rapidly and often unexpectedly”.
The event concluded with a silent prayer.
