Campaign For Peace in Leicester
Ahmadiyya Muslims teach equality of all mankind, rejection of the concept of violent jihad and adherence to the laws of the society in which you reside. At the end of April, this message was brought to Leicester. Leaders of the different faith communities of Leicester were invited to witness the unveiling of the slogan ‘Loyalty, Freedom and Peace’ on buses which will be serving the Leicester area. The buses will also bear the campaign’s website: ahmadiyyauk.org
This nationwide campaign started earlier this year to promote peace and challenge the growing Islamophobia in the UK.
For at least two weeks people will be able to see the slogan on 25 to 30 buses. Also leaflets about Ahmadiyyah Muslims and their beliefs will be distributed to households in the local area.
Dr Habib Akram is the President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Leicester. When the buses were unveiled today, he spoke at the unveiling about how the Ahmadiyya Muslim community want to challenge the view of Muslims as “extremists”.
He said, “There are a lot of people who hold a negative view of Islam because of the portrayal in the media. We hope we can remove fear and prejudice in some people”.
He also spoke about the concept of jihad, saying, “The bloodless jihad of the pen is a better way of defending Islam than the jihad of the sword”.
He said that the media’s portrayal of Muslims as violent “makes the heart of every Muslim in the UK and the world sink”.
Pukaar News spoke to Imam Khadim, an Imam at an Ahmadiyya mosque in Leicester. He said, “It started in London and now it’s our turn to convey the message of Islam to the world. We want to achieve peace and harmony within society. We are law abiding citizens and we think everyone should be law abiding”.
Pukaar News also spoke to Saleem Ahmed, External Affairs Secretary for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Leicester. He said, “We want to deflect some of the bad news that is in the media generally such as terrorism and suicide bombing. We want to spread the true Islamic teachings. Islam means peace.”
