Islam
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Fezia Haq, London A flock of birds. A forest of trees. A galaxy of stars. There’s something about the natural world that is inclined towards sticking together. Nature not being separate from religion, it is understandable why faith has laid so much emphasis on remaining united. Ijtema is one of those events that gives…
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Rabia Salim, Ash, Surrey On Friday 6th August 2021, the Annual Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was upon us once again after a two year COVID 19 hiatus. Day 2 as per tradition brought ladies the joy of the address of their Khalifa, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may God be his Helper) in…
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Danila Jonnud, Hampshire For over a year now, everything has been “From Home”. Work from home, school from home, our community meetings from home, Ramadan, Eid Prayers, Friday Prayers all from home. Everything had to be done from home. This included our annual Jalsa Salana – a convention usually of over 30,000 people travelling from…
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Iffat Mirza, Raynes Park Growing up, the high status of the Khalifah was never underestimated. My parents and grandparents consistently reminded us of the magnificence of Khilafat and though I was only four, I remember the tears streaming down everyone’s face as we heard of the sad demise of His Holiness Mirza Tahir Ahmad (may…
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Maleeha Mansur, Hayes If one cares to deliberate on gender segregation, the knee jerk reaction is to associate the concept of segregation with oppression, specifically female oppression. However, should one look closer, one sees elements of segregation is many aspects of society in the West. Washrooms, changing rooms and sporting events, to name but a few areas of segregation. Indeed, taking the timely example of sports with the Olympics in full swing, segregation is…
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Kholood Tahir, Morden In the past few months, we have lived through unprecedented times which will indeed make it to the history books . Covid-19 has rattled the world in such a way that people from all walks of life – the elderly, the young, the rich, the poor – are left fearing for their…
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Nooresahar Ahmad, Hartlepool Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, it is estimated 1.6 billion people are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed”. In contrast, the number of billionaires in the world has reached 2095- none of whom, I would assume, will feel any impact on their economic livelihoods. Previous to the pandemic,…
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Arfa Yassir, Swindon Just as in the physical world there is also progress and outcomes of our actions in the spiritual world without which everything will lose meaning. A seeker of God derives pleasures from every upgrade and steps ahead towards Him, this ‘progress’ and it’s pleasure never lets a seeker tire of his quest.…
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Fateha Khawaja, Tilford. A month of fasting sounds daunting when looked at from a distance. A month of depriving yourself from some of the most necessary means of human survival from sunrise to sunset. A month of exercising your patience to immeasurable lengths. A month of bettering yourself and feeling empathy with those who are…