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1July2012

PRESSRELEASE

KHALIFAOFISLAMMAKESHISTORICADDRESSATCAPITOLHILL

UnitedStatesCongressintroduceResolutionwelcomingHadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadtoUnitedStatesandpraisinghiscommitmenttopromotingpeace

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On27June2012,HadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadwaswelcomedtoCapitolHill, in

WashingtonD.C.wherehedeliveredakeynoteaddressentitledThePathtoPeaceJustRelationsbetweenNationstoanaudiencefilledwithmorethan30membersoftheUnitedStatesCongress, includingHonourableNancyPelosi,theDemocratic

LeaderintheHouseofRepresentatives.

Also

in

attendance

were

members

of

the

Diplomatic

Corps,

White

House

and

State

Department staff, Professors, NGO leaders, religious leaders, media

representatives,Staterepresentativesandvariousothersectorsofsociety.

Followingtheevent,HisHolinesswasgivenatouroftheCapitolHillbuilding,before

beingescortedtotheHouseofRepresentativeswhereaResolutionwasintroduced

inhonour

of

his

visit

to

the

United

States.

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TheintroductoryparagraphoftheResolutionstated:

WelcomingHisHoliness,HadhratMirzaMasroorAhmad,theworldwidespiritualandadministrativeheadof theAhmadiyyaMuslimCommunity, toWashington,DC,andrecognizinghiscommitmenttoworldpeace,justice,nonviolence,humanrights,religiousfreedomanddemocracy.

Theeventbeganat9.55amwith recitationof theHolyQuranbyMaulanaAzhar

Hanif,beforeawelcomeaddresswasgivenbyAmjadMahmoodKhan,theNational

DirectorofPublicAffairsoftheAhmadiyyaMuslimCommunityintheUnitedStates.

SenatorRobertCasey(USPA)welcomedHisHolinesstotheUnitedStatesandsaid

thathewasgreatlyappreciativeathaving theopportunity tomeetwithhim.He

said:

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Your Holiness, I want to thank you for your great leadership and yourcommitmenttopeace,toleranceandjustice.

ThefirstMuslimCongressman,KeithEllison(USMN5)saidthattheUnitedStates

was honoured by the presence of His Holiness and he said that under theleadership

of

its

Khalifa,

the

Ahmadiyya

Muslim

Jamaat

was

proving

to

be

a

true

blessingforthepeopleoftheUnitedStates.

Congressman Brad Sherman (US CA27) said that he would be introducing the

CongressionalResolutionwelcomingHisHolinesstotheUnitedStatesintheHouse

ofRepresentatives immediatelyaftertheevent.HealsosaidthatHisHolinesswas

amodeloftolerancefortheentireworld.

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Katrina Lantos Swett, Chairwoman of the United States Commission on

International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said that she felt the entire roomwas

filledwitha special blessing andundoubtedly it isa reflection of the blessing HisHoliness brings to the Capitol. She went on to speak about and condemn thecontinuedpersecutionofAhmadiMuslimsinvariouscountries.

CongressmanFrankWolf(VA10)welcomedHadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadtothe

UnitedStates

and

said

that

the

Ahmadiyya

Muslim

Jamaat

was

ever

ready

to

supportallhumanrightsefforts.

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CongressmanMikeHonda(CA15)spokeabouthispleasureatmeetingHisHoliness

privatelytheeveningbeforeattheBaiturRahmanMosque.

HesaidthathehopedthatAhmadisremainedforeversafe intheUnitedStatesso

thattheycouldcontinuetopropagatetheirmessageofpeace.

Thereafter a copy of the Special Congressional Resolutionwas presented to His

HolinessbyCongresswomanZoeLofgren(DCA).

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DemocraticLeader,CongresswomanNancyPelosi said shewasproud that sucha

bipartisanwelcomehadbeengiventoHadhratMirzaMasroorAhmad.

She said the leadership of HadhratMirzaMasroor Ahmadwas characterised by

wisdom and compassion.She further said thatdespite facing gravepersecution,HisHolinesshasrefusedtoturntobitternessorvengeance.

TheNationalPresidentof theAhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat in theUnitedStates,Dr

Ahsanullah Zafar, spoke about how under the leadership of its Khalifa, the

AhmadiyyaMuslimJamaatneverrespondedtothepersecutionitfacedwithcruelty

butinsteadwithprayers.

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ThekeynoteaddressofHadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadcommencedat10.40am.His

Holiness enlightened the assembled audience about the teachings of the Holy

Quranintermsofinternationalrelations.

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HisHolinesssaidthatthekeyprincipleinmaintainingpeacewastruejustice.

HisHolinesssaid:

Thetruthisthatpeaceandjusticeareinseparableyoucannothaveonewithoutthe

other...

Yet,

in

general,

there

is

little

doubt

that

restlessness

and

anxiety

is

increasing in the world and so disorder is spreading. This clearly proves thatsomewherealongtheline,therequirementsofjusticearenotbeingfulfilled.

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His Holiness said that Islam taught that all people were born equal and were

deservingofequalhumanrights.

HadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadsaid:

IntheHolyQuran,GodAlmightyhasmade itclearthatwhilstournationalitiesor

ethnic

backgrounds

act

as

a

means

of

identity,

they

do

not

entitle

or

validate

anyformofsuperiorityofanykind.

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HisHolinesscontinued:

Thus, it is a clear teachingof Islam that thepeopleof allnationalities and allracesareequal.Anditisalsomadeclearthatallpeopleshouldbegrantedequalrightswithoutanydiscriminationorprejudice.Thisisthekeyandgoldenprinciplethat laysthefoundationforharmonybetweendifferentgroupsandnationsandfor

the

establishment

of

peace.

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His Holiness said that wealthy nations should make great efforts to assist the

developingcountries;howevertheyshouldnotdosoinanefforttofulfilvestedor

nationalinterests.

Rather they shouldactwithadesire to servehumanityandwith theambition to

endtherestlessnessandanxietiesofthoseinneed.

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HadhratMirzaMasroorAhmadconcludedwithamessagecallingforpeace.

HisHolinesssaid:

TheUnitedStates,astheworldslargestpower,shouldplayitsroleinactingwithtruejusticeandwithsuchgood intentionsas Ihavedescribed. If itdoessothentheworldwillalwaysrememberwithgreatadmirationyourgreatefforts.Itismyprayerthatthishopebecomesareality.

EndFurtherinformation:press@ahmadiyya.org.uk