The Virtual Mosque

2010 a record year for Anti-Christian violence

VirtualMosque — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:55:55 +0000

The Holy Quran says that there is no compulsion in religion because the difference between the right path and the wrong one is clear to see.

This means that members of every religion living in countries where most of the inhabitants are Muslims should be able to practice and to propagate their religion, as they see fit. Sadly, this is not the case. In these countries Muslims, mostly Sunni Muslims, always restrict the freedom of the religious minorities to even practice their religion, let alone propagate it.

Islam is a religion whose truth can be proved by argument and there is no need for such un-Islamic behaviour. Below is a news item which should make every Muslim feel ashamed and want to apologise to Christians.

2010 a record year for anti Christian violence

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Friday 30th July: Follow us live

VirtualMosque — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:12:20 +0000

Today we will be broadcasting live via ustream at 1.00pm (GMT) as usual, to watch our live prayers and speech and be a part of the virtual mosque click on the link below.

If you miss the broadcast, then we will be putting the videos up in the next few days for people to watch at their leisure.

Live Prayers

Ismail Peck returns to his Maker

VirtualMosque — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:50:37 +0000

President of our branch in South Africa writes

“We advise, with grief, the passing away of our dear brother Ismail Peck in the early hours of this morning. Mr Peck passed away at home with his family after spending several weeks in hospital recovering from a stroke and heart attack.

Mr Peck was a legendary figure in our Jamaat, a stalwart in the Ahmadi Case and will always be remembered for his sincerity and firmness in serving the cause of our Jamaat. He will be sorely missed.

Inna Lillaa hie Wa inna ielayhie Rajioon.”

It is with the greatest sadness and regret that we announce that, on July 28, 2010 at 4 in the morning, Ismail Peck the great stalwart of the Lahore-Ahmadiyya-Movement in South Africa returned to his Maker. His funeral prayers and internment took place the same day in the afternoon. Ismail Peck, a very dedicated and enthusiastic member of the South Africa branch, was one of the two plaintiffs in the first South Africa Case. The other plaintiff was our sister organisation in that country.

The basic point of dispute in that case was whether members of the Lahore-Ahmadiyya Movement were Muslims or not. At first our Sunni opponents kept using legal tricks to have the case struck out and to avoid debating religious issues in front of an independent court.
They succeeded in having removed the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam as a plaintiff, leaving only Ismail Peck. This meant that if the court decided in favour of our opponents they would be awarded costs running to hundreds of thousands of pounds which Ismail Peck would be responsible for. His life was threatened several times by our opponents during the case but he refused to back down. Without his support and willingness to be a plaintiff, the Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat could not have proceeded with the case because of legal technicalities.

When the Sunnis failed in having the case struck out completely, on the day hearing of the substantive issue was to start i.e. whether Ahmadis are Muslims or not, the Sunni ran away from the court saying that a secular court did not have the right to decide on religious issues. In his decision the judge commented that a secular court was the best place to decide such issues because of its independence and impartiality. The judge commented that this case was the story of two remarkable and great men; one Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the other Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali. He then proceeded to discuss religious issues and declare Lahore-Ahmadis to be Muslim. This caused such a furore in Pakistan that the decision was removed from the law book which contained the list of important international decisions.

In that case, our great scholar, and missionary, Hafiz Sher Muhammad Sahib was the main witness appearing on behalf of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. The evidence he presented was later published in the book, The Ahmadiyya Case.

When the Second South Africa case started Ismail Peck was back again with help and support. This case was between two Sunni Imams. One imam regarded Lahore-Ahmadis as Muslims and the other did not. For so doing, Sheikh Jasseim, who regarded us as Muslims was called a heretic by the other. Hafiz Sher Muhammad returned to South Africa to give evidence on behalf of Sheikh Jasseim. As part of their campaign to prejudice the Christian court, our opponents put before the court some critical statements by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in his books about Christianity and Jesus. Our stand was that everything Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad said was based on the Testaments. However, despite great effort, we could not find some of references in the Testaments. Ismail Peck was the person who found support for every single statement made by Hazrat Mirza Sahib in a reference from the Old or the New Testament, which he seemed to know by heart. Again, the court decided that to call Sheikh Jasseim a heretic because he believed Lahore-Ahmadis were Muslims was to insult him and the caller needed to pay a penalty by way of compensation.

The only Ahmadi in his family, Mr. Peck was also the author of several books on the comparative study of the Holy Quran and the Bible.

Mr Peck was a friendly person with an engaging personality and a great sense of humour.

May Allah accept the great sacrifices he made for the sake of this Jamaat and grant him a high station close to Himself. May Allah also grant us all the strength to follow Ismail Peck’s example and make great sacrifices for the cause of Islam.

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Bhutto: The Benazir Bhutto Documentary

VirtualMosque — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:47:52 +0000

Through Bhutto, the documentary..traces the fate of her family, dubbed Pakistans Kennedys.

It is a family dominated by her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former president and prime minister hanged by a military regime.

Assassinations, violent deaths or unexplained ones, internal conflict, glory and exile this roller-coaster ride forges the Bhutto legend.

You cannot have a conversation about those families without also asking what would have been. What would have been in a JFK (John F. Kennedy) second term, what would have been in a BB (Benazir Bhutto) third term? Baughman said.

But the film is also proof that Bhuttos two terms were already enough to fill history books.

Her legacy will be debated for the generations to come

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Sirat i Mustaqeem (The Straight Path)

VirtualMosque — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:16:46 +0000

by Hazrat Amir Dr Abdul Karim Saeed Pasha

“Guide us on the Right Path” is a verse of the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Al Fatiha. This is preceded by attributes of Allah and is the first prayer found in the Holy Text. The straight path is the shortest path which leads man to Allah. The verses which follow asking Allah to save us from going astray like others. We always point to other people who went astray but these verses apply to Muslims also. So, it includes those Muslims who do not act in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran as much as other nations who distorted and corrupted the teachings of their religion.

The verse says: Guide us on the Right Path. It uses the plural rather than the singular. So when saying this prayer one is not only praying for one’s self but for the whole humanity. Islam is the only religion whose most important prayer which is recited in every salaat has a supplication for the whole humanity. It is incumbent upon a Muslim to recite these words otherwise his prayer is incomplete.

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Friday 23rd July – Follow us live

VirtualMosque — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:54:15 +0000

Today we will be broadcasting live via ustream at 1.00pm (GMT) as usual, to watch our live prayers and speech and be a part of the virtual mosque click on the link below.

If you miss the broadcast, then we will be putting the videos up in the next few days for people to watch at their leisure.

Live Prayers

Lahori Ahmadis’ promoting true Islam to West

VirtualMosque — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:40:07 +0000

It is easy to mock and to ridicule. This does not require any effort and does nothing for the propagation of Islam.

Our opponents have mocked and ridiculed us, like court jesters but what have they done to promote the image of Islam in the West or, indeed, anywhere in the world? The picture below seems to sum it up.

In his recent book the independent historian and scholar Eric Germain looks at the way The Ahmadiyya Movement, with few resources, devoted itself to the propagation of Islam. The question then arises : Why did we expend such effort for propagation of Islam if we are not Muslims?

Keep mocking, we do not care. We will keep working to bring the true message of Islam to the people.

Excerpts from the book can be read here

‘Ask The VM’: Do women have to wear the veil?

VirtualMosque — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:20:30 +0000

So the hot topic seems to be about the full veil. The fact that some Muslims women cover themselves up from head to toe has offended some European countries so much that they are passing laws to prohibit them being worn in public places! Freedom indeed!

Jason emailed us and one of the things he asked was

Do Muslim women have to wear the full veil? Is it a rule of Islam?

Well Jason The Holy Quran says:

24:30 Say to the believing men that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexual passions. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is Aware of what they do.
24:31 And say to the believing women that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexual passions and do not display their adornment except what appears thereof. And let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms.

The first thing to notice is that the Holy Quran starts of by telling men to behave modestly (e.g. lower their gaze). It then repeats the same command for women. Men and women are both required to cover their heads but women are told to throw their head covering over their bosoms for modesty. The rest of the verse simply talks about behaving modestly and not drawing attention. This is the only place in the Holy Quran that I know, where the so-called “veil” is mentioned. The full body covering frequently seen on the TV is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Book.

Further, we know from history that in early Islam women played an active role in the life of the community. The Holy Prophet’s (s) first wife was a business woman. She had, in fact, employed the Holy Prophet, to manage her trade caravans to neighbouring countries. At the Battle of Badr, the first set battle between Muslims and idol-worshippers, women tended to the injured, collected armaments (swords, arrows, shields) from the battlefield and brought water for the soldiers. You could say nursing started at this time and not with Florence Nightingale! Women of Medina worked in the orchards and fields alongside their men. It is difficult to imagine that they could do these things if they were covered in a tent like garment.

Because of their special position and because enemies of Islam were constantly trying to foster disunity amongst the Muslims the wives of the Holy Prophet (s) were made an exception to this rule and told to observe seclusion and full covering. This was a sensible precaution as can be seen from the false rumours spread by the enemies of Islam against Hazrat Ayesha (r) when once she got lost in the desert.

However, these restrictions did not stop her from playing a full role in the community. She ran her own seminary and many learned men, as well women, attended to learn from her details of the Holy Prophet’s (s) life. It is said that at least one third of our knowledge of Islam comes from the courses she ran. She was consulted by the khulafa (Heads of State) in important social and political matters. For example, it was on her advice that length of a soldier’s tour of duty was fixed. When differences in the community led to open warfare she led an army in support of one faction.

The point is that even the section of women who had to use a complete covering and seclusion, was not to exclude them from public life. On the contrary they played a full part in it. So, dressing modestly is not meant to restrict a woman in any way but to protect her.

The Islamic view is that it is demeaning for a woman to display herself like a product or a piece of meat in a shop window. A woman is to be recognised for her ability, her knowledge, and her achievements and not just by her physical appearance.

Critics of Islam say that purdah, burqah and veil ought to be banned because women are forced to wear them. It is strange that the contradiction in their own argument does not strike them. If it is wrong to force someone to do something then why do they want to force women who want to wear a veil to go uncovered. Surely, they are just as wrong to do so. The better course is to remind Muslims that the Holy Quran says : “There is no compulsion in Religion.”

Qaid-i-Azam’s funeral – A reply to Qadianis.

VirtualMosque — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:05:30 +0000

After our youtube post about the Qadianis admitting that they do not consider non Qadianis as Muslims a member of the Qadiani jamaat sent us a video in reply to our video where it was said that Sir Zafarullah did not say Qaid-i-Azam’s funeral prayers.

Here is a reply to the feeble Qadiani attempt to explain the reasons for Sir Zafarullah not saying these funeral prayers.

Importance of time keeping

VirtualMosque — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:42:57 +0000

The Holy Quran tells Muslims that times of the five daily prayers are fixed and that Muslim must pray at the fixed time.

The guidance in the Holy Quran is meant to allow us to practice what it teaches.

Praying at the correct time is meant to develop in us respect for time because once lost, it does not return. Yet, though we pray at the correct times Muslims are not punctual when it comes to doing other things. If obeying this command does not train us to do everything in our lives at the appointed time then we have missed an important lesson this verse teaches us.

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