TJSL Professor Bill Slomanson was honored to meet His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, one of the world’s leading Muslim figures at a reception on May 11. Ahmad is spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, an international religious organization with tens of millions of members in 180 countries.
The invitation-only reception was held at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was attended by numerous dignitaries, including half a dozen members of Congress, California’s Lt. Governor, State Contoller, former governor, and various Los Angeles area police chiefs.
In his address, the Ahmaaiyya Muslim Community’s leader Ahmad reminded all of the organization’s primary teaching: “Love for All, Hatred for None.”
“As I was seeing His Holiness speak—on the importance of nonviolence in the pursuit of peace—I imagined that I was hearing the like message of Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Professor Slomanson. “There remains so much to learn from both of these spiritual leaders.”
After meeting with Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the staff presented Professor Slomanson with two books which will be donated to the TJSL Law Library: Ahmad’s World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace: A Compilation of Speeches and Letters (Islam International Publications, 2012) and Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosques Around the World—A Pictorial Presentation (Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.S.A., 2008).
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Organization was founded in India in 1889. It later moved to Pakistan and then the UK, to avoid persecution.
In the June 27, 2012 Resolution 709, the U.S. House of Representatives “recognized Ahmad’s commitment to world peace, justice, nonviolence, human rights, religious freedom, and democracy.”
The Ahmadi Muslims have face persecution and violence in Pakistan, yet according to the Congressional Resolution, “the House of Representatives commends His Holiness for his perseverance in counseling Ahmadi Muslims to eschew any form of violence, even in the face of severe persecution.”
