October, 16, The HOPE Bulletin.. Health, Ongoing Projects, Education. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

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1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful... The HOPE Bulletin.. Health, Ongoing Projects, Education Jalsa in Utrecht October, 16, 2011 Church converted to Mosque

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Akbar Ibn Abdullah, Editor We are indeed indebted to our dedicated brother, Dr. Jawad Ahmad, beloved son of our respected brother Nasir Ahmad Sahib of the United Kingdom, for providing us in a timely fashion these photographs taken at the Utrecht Mosque Jalsa on Sunday, October 16, Jazak Allah! However, there were no captions available with these photographs. In order for you to link the names and scenes to these photographs we are pleased to reproduce for your information our earlier report on the Utrecht Conference which was made possible for us to publish with the help of valuable information provided via phone in a timely fashion from our dedicated brother AAS Santoe Sahib, AAIIL European representative. Jazak Allah! Dear Brothers and Sisters in our worldwide Jama ats: Assalam-o-Alaikum wrwb. UTRECHT JALSA REPORT Today, Sunday, October 16 th, Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum, Prof. Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed Pasha Sahib, his entourage and other foreign delegates were invited at the Jalsa staged by the Utrecht Jama at of Holland. The members of the Utrecht Jama at converted a church into a mosque with a large, spacious hall that can accommodate several hundred members at a time. Zafar Abdullah, Chaudhary Abdul Sattar and I attended an international convention there in 1994 when Maulana Jaggoe Sahib was alive and celebrated his 80th birthday. My second visit was in 2002 when the Utrecht Jama at launched an ambitious project to beautify the entrance and considerably expand the seating capacity of the main hall. As in the past several days I was fortunate enough to talk to Brother AAS Santoe Sahib, European Representative of the Central Anjuman, before he retired for the night. Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum had two commitments for the day: he was to visit the Utrecht Jalsa in the mid-afternoon and later in the evening he was to attend a gathering at the Amsterdam Jama at Center. In the Utrecht Mosque the devotees started their combined Zuhr and Asr prayers at 2:00 PM. The Jalsa began a little after 3:00 PM, which was ably chaired by Brother Lal Mohammad, President of the Utrecht Jama at. The keynote speaker was Rajendar Bhagwan Bali, Professor of History and Sociology in Holland. He is originally from Suriname and did considerable research on the indentured labourers from India introduced in the colony of Suriname. Prior to his taking the podium, Brother AAS Santoe Sahib introduced him to the audience. In his introduction Santoe Sahib outlined the achievement of the professor and stated the degree of respect he commands in the Dutch literary community with his research work and historical writings, especially about the indentured labourers and their families in Suriname. 2

3 Based on his book, Professor Bali outlined the history on how and when the indentured labourers were introduced in Suriname, the torture and hardship they had to bear; some of the details were quite gruesome. The professor went on to say that in his research he discovered that there was a Muslim woman who took a stand against the colonist and resisted against their repression and their flagrant disregard of human rights. The Professor s talk was very impressive, informative and entertaining, to the great delight of Hazrat Ameer and the audience. Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum appreciated the research dissertation on the repression of Surinamese indentured labourers community by the colonists, and went on to infer a similar oppression and persecution that the Ahmadis had to bear from other Muslim communities since its very inception until this day. Hazrat Ameer quoted from the Holy Qur an on how we must handle such prejudices and oppression against our Jama at. He also lauded the bravery of the Muslim woman who fought colonist for their ungodly repressions and injustices without regard for their human rights. Professor Rajendar Bhagwan Bali was very impressed with Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum that at the conclusion of the jalsa he went to Hazrat Ameer and knelt to secure his ashirbad, that is, blessings from Hazrat Ameer. After Hazrat Ameer-i-Qaum, several delegates from abroad spoke on their subjects and projects. Brother Robbert Bipat, President of SIV, stated his Jama at s intention to hold an international convention in November of Dr. Jawad Ahmad of the UK also commented on the theme of indentured labourers and where the Ahmadis came from. Brother Noer Sadar, President of Stitching Jama at, The Hague, presented a Holy Qur an in Dutch to the Hindu scholar, Rajendar Bhagwan Bali, Professor of History and Sociology. All the guests were served a sumptuous meal and the programme of the day in Utrecht ended at about 5:30 PM. It was a very good jalsa. Since Br. Santoe Sahib did not attend the Amsterdam gathering I will not have a report on it until the next time. Allah Hafiz. Br. Akbar Ibn Abdullah Humble seeker of your prayers 3

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12 CONTACT INFORMATION Akbar Abdullah Editor, The HOPE Bulletin Mailing Address: P.O. Box Sacramento, California , U.S.A. Address: Telephone Number: (773) ISLAM stands for I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND 12