Dear editor,
After a very long awaited two years, the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Community held its first Muslim convention after COVID-19, last weekend.
This convention is held annually worldwide by the Ahmaddiyah Muslim community with the purpose of spreading peace and love that Islam brings. This year marked the 38th convention, also known as Jalsa Salana, in Western Canada.
The community has been holding this convention annually worldwide with the first one dating back to Dec. 27, 1891 in the city of Qadian, India. The convention was held under the leadership of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him), and approximately 75 people attended.
For over a century since then, the community has held its annual convention, or Jalsa Salana, in numerous countries around the world. Tens of thousands of community members gather at these conventions at various times throughout the year. The principal aims of the annual convention are to facilitate greater spiritual awareness among community members, strengthen ties, and promote peace.
This year, the Eastern Canadian convention, also known as Jalsa Salana Eastern Canada, was held July 16 in Bradford Ontario. Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal party of Canada Justin Trudeau attended and gave a speech at the event. He also attended the convention in previous years right before the pandemic hit in 2019.
In his address Trudeau said the following, “The Ahmadiyya Community is an important part in helping us build a strong, diverse Canada.” Later on, he also mentioned how throughout these past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ahmadiyya Community helped serve on the front lines in areas of health care, as well as other fields.
He also recognized the efforts made by the community in Calgary and Airdrie when our youth launched the Neighborhood Helper' program, designed to help those members of the community who were unable to buy groceries and pick up medicine and prescriptions. You can watch the speech at youtu.be/iKxoB05gUfc.
This year, we welcomed both familiar and new faces, including Coun. Tina Petrow of Airdrie at the convention.
We continue to look forward to portraying the true message of Islam which is peace and love, in future conventions.
Kashifa Mahmood
Member of the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Association of Airdrie
