Majlis Ansarullah Holds National Ijtema

Author: Pa Modou Cham

The Majlis Ansarullah of The Gambia under the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jammat, on Friday, held its 16^th National Ijtema with the theme ‘Khilafat as a source of world peace’.

The event that ended yesterday is organized annually by Ahmadis 40 years above. It’s a norm that allows elders to set their plans for the contribution to the development of Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jamat.

Speaking to Kemo Sonko, deputy president of Majlis Ansarullah, explained the importance of the event while underscoring that it brought together elderly members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamat across the country for three days to build brotherhood, share experiences and engage in the remembrance of God Almighty.

“The main objective is to come together to remember God and build relationships among ourselves,” he said while noting that the members most instilled the love for Allah in them and Hazrat Muhammad (SAW), acted on his Sunnah and brought their child in the best Islamic manner to ensure that they are the future generation of their Jamat.

Dwelling on the theme, he stated that without peace, nothing is possible. He added that the lack of peace is principally due to a lack of administration of justice, saying that if there was a soil in which peace can grow, justice would be that soil.

“We should be just to each other regardless of whoever we are. Wherever we are in the life of a Muslim, according to the teaching of the Quran, we should be just to even the people we perceive as our enemies. Nothing should deviate you from the cost just because you don’t share the same view,” he added.

In his words to the people with regards to the Jamat, he emphasized that the Ahmadiyaa is not a religion, noting that there is a misconception all around as people think Ahmadiyaa is a different religion. He clarified that Ahmad is the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) mentioned in the Holy Quran.

“The Prophet has two names in which Muhammad is manifested in his lifetime by instituting the religion of Islam on earth, practising everything and teaching the commandments of the Holy Quran to perfection. Nothing can be added to Islam and nothing should be subtracted from the practice of the prophet or from Islam. The prophet has two names and the Muhammadyat was in the beginning of Islam but his name Ahmadyat will be manifested in the later date of Islam,” Sonko explained.

Bilal Jaw, Chairman of the organizing committee expressed delight, stating that it took them over two months for the preparation to put all logistics in place.

He said: “Participants came from across the seven regions and contributions were made for the event while others went beyond to donors more as expected. The turnout is good compared to last year, although we faced some challenges to get more people from the rural area as it coincided with the harvest season.”