3nd Annual USA Jamaat Public Relations Seminar Saturday, February 28, 2009 Bait uz Zafar, 188-15 Maclauhlin Avenue, Hollis, NY 11423 The Third Annual Public Relations seminar was held on February 28, 2009 in Bait uz Zafar, NY, NY. The seminar is organized to bring public relations and chapter presidents or their representatives from all branches (69) in the United States to discuss matters requiring national efforts and organization. 110 Jamaat members from across the nation attended the two day seminar. This includes 85 Khudam/ Ansar and 25 Lajnat The meeting started promptly at 9:00 am with recitation from the Holy Quran. Naib Ameer and National Public Relations Secretary Mr. Zinda Mahood Bajwa Sahib opened the meeting with a previous message from Khalifatul Messih V, which was sent in 2006 at the occasion of the first annual PR seminar. This message was just as important at the third Public Relations seminar as it was then. Hazoor encouraged the Public Relations members of their important task. At 9:35 am a presentation on USA PR Status and Future Direction was made by Missionary Azhar Haneef defining the obligation and important duty each member of the National PR team held in establishing a connection to the community at large. Specific recommendations were made to the PR department to engage the new administration of Barack Obama with the views of the Ahmadiyya Community given the renewed policy of diplomacy and understanding / reasoning with the Muslim community as a whole. Following the presentation by Mr. Haneef, Mr. Bajwa outlined the importance of complying with the direction set forth by Khalifatul Messih V and provided examples of such instructions by Hazoor over the past years playing an important role in the guidance of the PR department activities.
After the initial address to the delegates, a presentation was made by Mr. Arif Humayun of Portland Oregon on the current status and recommendations for the future direction of the PR department. Specific recommendations on future direction are as follows: Education about Islam; Define plan and prioritize Contact elected officials re: persecution Community participation Constant, ongoing communications with legislators, President, Secretary of State Networking, Community involvement Refresher course for new PR members PR strategies, specific avenues, medium How to keep constant contact with legislators Share information amongst PR team members Invite non-ahmadis to annual convention Involve college students in PR activities Letter campaign to HR groups and US govt. Provide guidance for writing letters in Urdu Mr. Humayun defined the following suggested improvements and Public Relations Objectives for consideration by the National team. Key message below is to influence the perceptions about our community through materials, effective communication, networking, managing the message, responding to media, influencing policy, and reacting in a timely manner. After a short break for afternoon prayer and lunch Mr. Bajwa requested the delegates to take a more proactive role in ownership of a particular country that had ongoing concerns of persecution. The delegate should become an expert on socio-economic, political, and cultural aspects of the country so that each delegate can guide us in the event of a problem that
requires immediate action. He or she also has the responsibility of tracking current events and proactively engaging the Congress and Senate in bringing to light issues of persecution and mistreatment of Ahmadi Muslims by the governments and citizens at large of the country. The following agreement was established: Country Champion Jamaat Indonesia Chris Komari Bay Point Intan Suci Nurhati Malaysia Dr. Chairul Bahri New Orleans Bangladesh Moyenuddin A. Sirajee San Diego Kazakhstan Jilal Malik Atlanta Kyrgyz Dr. Tariq Pasha Malik Albany Saudia Arabia Atia Nasir Syracus Serwat Malik Sri Lanka Syadah Mansoora Oakland Pakistan Nasir Bukhari Mujeeb Ijaz Detroit Detroit India Hazeem Pudhiapura GA/SC Bulgaria Lubna Malik Lajna In particular, Mr. Bajwa requested that the delegates volunteer for active cases and form teams to bring justice to those Ahmadi s in Pakistan who are incarcerated. The stated goal is: following through the case to conclusion. The assignments agreed to by the delegates are as follows: Following the assignment of specific cases, Mr. Bajwa requested that the PR delegates take a central strategy for meeting with States Congress and Senate with emphasis on the Senate. To accomplish the idea, a super delegate volunteered to lead those states which have multiple Jamaats to ensure that meetings and continuous dialogue could be established within the local office of the senators of that state. Lajna offered to meet with all female senators. The following table captures the agreement made in the meeting:
Media Team The Media team presented a well received messaging strategy for the Public Relations team that consisted of three key new themes approved by the respected Ameer USA and by Hazrat Khalifatul Messih V: 1. Consistent use of the US Ahmadiyya logo 2. Consistent use of Muslims who believe in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (AS) tag line 3. Message map that allowed members to define who the is and what we represent sticking to key points on the map The Day 1 of the seminar was concluded with silent Prayer by Missionary- in- charge Daud Hanif Sahib followed by Maghrib & Isha prayers and dinner. Public Relations Seminar Day 2 The meeting started at 8:45 AM with Tilawat by Imam Inam ul Haq Kauser. Imam Sahib elaborated on how the commitment of the delegates is required and to work in PR to assist the National PR Secretary is an important duty. Mr. Zinda Bajwa requested the delegates to establish a team for writing professionals with rapid response capability to support the proof reading and immediate release of letters to the Jamaat when critical events occurred. The Lajna supported this request with the following names: Letter Writing Team: 1. Sabahat Raseed 2. Mansoora Shah Zaeem 3. Nusrat Jahan Bashir 4. Wajiha Choudhry 5. Rabia Choudhry Discussion points captured: Layyah case details were captured by Mr. Arif Humayun and will be sent out to PR Secretaries Suggestion to come through OIC at UNHRC Geneva on the issue of human rights. Theme of OIC is that No one can discuss Islam and Sharia in these meetings. OIC is bringing this issue up in their meetings. Need to have awareness of what various bodies are doing on issues of Human Rights. Immediate goal is to meet the International Committee and Foreign Affairs committee of House and Senate members as soon as possible. Discussion should include the root causes of terrorism in various Muslim countries. Suggestion of Day on the Hill : We will all go to our respective representatives. Bajwa Sahib will get permission from Ameer Sahib. Perhaps people can come on Thursday before the Shura and we can visit the Hill as a group. Bajwa Sahib stated that the plan to deal with Ordinance XX in Pakistan as a group is not clear and we will seek guidance.
Indonesia Decree Practically it amounts to banning the Jama at activities in Indonesia. Mr. Chris Komari is going to Indonesia soon and will report back the current situation impacting the rights of Ahmadis. Long term goal is to have a branding of Islam so that Ahmadiyyat comes to mind when Islam comes to mind. Bajwa Sahib requested Presidents to provide direction to their local secretaries in PR matters. March 1, 2009 - Day 2 Peace Day Seminar Concluding remarks were made by Imam Daud Hanif. We must convey the message of Allah to all mankind regardless of what capacity we are in. We need to follow the methodology of the Holy Prophet SAW in conducting our PR activities and conveying the message of Islam. He first addressed the common people and gradually reached out to kings via letters. Similar examples exist from the times of Promised Messiah AS. The delegates raised issues for awareness to the guests such as persecution in Pakistan and the recent arrest and exile of 29 Ahmadi Muslims in Saudi Arabia on December 29th, 2006. After understanding these and other points respected Naib Ameer Sahib and Missionary Sahib led the team in a discussion and Q & A that lasted for over one hour. Following the conclusion of the PR Seminar the delegates were lead by Mr. Asad Bajwa in welcoming guest speakers to present on various topics. The first presenter was Mr. Arif Humayun of Portland on The Radicalism of Islam A White Paper. The following thesis was proposed: Radicalism of Islam - Root Causes Outdated educational system Poor governance; lack of economic advancement opportunity Absence of human rights in Muslim countries Result: Disillusionment, hopelessness, isolation The next speaker, Moshe Ulmen represented the Jewish perspective outlining the obligation of humanity to pursue peace and the excellent reputation of the locally as well as in Israel. The Rabi quoted from the Promised Messiah s (AS) book A Message of Peace My countrymen, a religion which does not inculcate universal compassion is no religion at all. Similarly, a human being without the faculty of compassion is no human at all. - The Promissed Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
He then went on to quote from Hazrat Khalifatul Messih IV s book Murder in the Name of Allah defining the commonality between Muslims and Jews emphasizing that in the Jewish religion God was known by Seventy names one of the names was Peace as is the case in Islam. Following the Rabi, State Assemblyman Mark S. Weprin spoke representing Queens County. He spoke of the diversity in Queens County and the fact that men, women, children of many creeds get along with each other and that he respected the Ahmadiyya Community for promoting open dialogue and reaching out to the community. Mr. Weprin remarked that at early stages of maturity the communities found common ground and that it was only in adulthood that hatred would form out of ignorance of not knowing and understanding who the other is. Following Mr. Weprin, State Senator Frank Patterson spoke on how America is a place formed on the basis that people could practice religion in peace. The result is a society where the best technology, medicine, and business leadership are available as America attracts the best minds in the world. America s greatness is defined by the people as its greatest resources. The State Senator stated that we are all the sons and daughters of Abraham One God Monotheism and that he recognized how Jesus Christ (AS) is recognized as a great prophet in Islam. He further stated, We are all one humanity on earth we must find a way to get along together given the shrinking world by technology and transportation. He stated that he knows the Ahmadiyya community very well and appreciates our reaching out to the community to promote educational awareness and our peaceful interpretation of Islam. The session was concluded with a presentation by Missionary- in- charge Mr. Daud Hanif Sahib in which he spoke of Peace in Islam, Peace in families, and how God Sent his prophets to all people with the concluding message being that the is striving to communicate that to all people. END REPORT