Voice of British Muslim Women

Eisha Sohail, Farnham

What is it all about?

UN Zero Discrimination Day is a day of equality, a day to celebrate the diversity in our world and to recognise the fact that everyone is different, and everyone is valued. It is a day to promote equal rights of people with different nationalities, religions, beliefs, races etc. and embrace those differences with love and acceptance.

This movement of change is symbolized using the butterfly. A widely used symbol of the change and journey we make towards a more peaceful society. Its also used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards a positive transformation.

Zero Discrimination Day was first commemorated on 1st March 2014 after UNAIDS, a UN programme on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013. Now it is an annual event marked globally by the UN every year in an effort to move towards positive change.

What does Islam and the Ahmadiyya Community say about Discrimination?

First and foremost, Islam is against all forms of racism and bigotry. The Qur’an teaches Muslims to respect each other and not to bring emotional or physical harm to one another on purpose, be it a Muslim or a non-Muslim.

The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (peace be upon him), said that there were 2 reasons why he established this community:

1.To make mankind aware that there is One Creator by accepting God Almighty.

2.To make mankind recognise the rights of each other, irrespective of the fact that the other person may be a Jew, Christian or Hindu, or the follower of any other faith.

Every individual has rights, and irrespective of the other individual’s religious orientation, they should be given their due rights. Whenever they are in any sort of need, they must be helped. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community wants to service mankind with no discrimination with the use of the slogan ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’. The current leader of the Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad , expresses this message of welcome and peace wherever he goes.

On April 10th, 2017, His Holiness  inaugurated the Aafiyat Mosque in Germany; it was the 50th mosque built by the Ahmadiyya Community over there. In his address, His Holiness spoke about the reasons for the building of mosques and the true teachings of Islam.

His Holiness said:

“Moreover, we serve others without discrimination. Ninety percent of the patients in our hospitals are Christians, and similarly ninety percent of the students that study in our schools are either Christians, people of no faith or belonging to other faiths. We also award scholarships to those students among them who are very talented and again this is done without any sort of discrimination or bias.” 

 [Key address delivered by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad; current head od of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on April 10th, 2017. Summary available at URL: https://www.alislam.org/articles/serving-humanity-without-discrimination/]

This is only one of the examples of the many times His Holiness has outlined the true meaning behind Islam and how the claims of Islam being discriminative are anything but true.

The Ahmadiyya Community has and will always continue to serve mankind with no discrimination. The people we serve aren’t from any one race, ethnicity or belief, they are simply human; an aspect we all relate to and understand. It isn’t difficult to help someone, it requires no training, just an open mind and even more open heart.