Ahmadi Muslim leader slams military spending

The Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has  condemned governments across the world for prioritising defence and military spending above and beyond social welfare and humanitarian projects.

“In order to protect ourselves and to save mankind, we need to turn towards God Almighty and we need to attach ourselves to that Living God who did not forsake the Prophet Moses and his people, nor did He forsake Jesus and his disciples,” he said. 

Hazrat Ahmad was delivering the keynote address at the historic Conference of World Religions in London last week on the theme, “God in the 21st Century”.

The conference, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the UK as part of its centenary celebrations, was attended by nearly 500 participants, including Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Budhist and Islamic religious leaders from various countries, politicians, diplomats, academics and representatives of various NGOs involved in peace and reconciliation. 

They considered what role religion could play in today’s world and whether religion continued to be a force for doing good and His Holiness’ address sought to answer those questions in the light of Islam’s true teachings. 

President John Mahama was represented by Alhaji Baba Camara, Senior Presidential Adviser, and Professor Danso Boafo, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Hazrat Ahmad observed that the urgent and critical need of the world today was to establish peace and faith in God. 

“If the world understood this reality, then all countries, whether large or small, would not, in the name of defence spending, allocate millions and billions of dollars to expand their military capabilities. Rather, they would spend that wealth to feed the hungry, to provide universal education and to improve the living standards of the developing world,” he noted.

The spiritual leader of Ahmadi Muslims said all the major religions in the world taught the worship of God and love and compassion for mankind in their original form, adding that if those original teachings were upheld today, it would lead to a harmonious society, free from conflict and war. 

Hazrat Ahmad said there was no contradiction between Islam’s peaceful teachings and the fact that some wars were fought during the early years of Islam, explaining that those wars had been defensive wars, fought not only to protect Islam, but also to protect the people of all religions.

His Holiness appealed to people of all religions to work together towards creating a just society based on mutual respect and tolerance. 

“I hope and pray that we, who are the representatives of different faiths and religions, and who have gathered here today to practically demonstrate these loving teachings, all strive towards worshipping the One God, by treating His creation with justice and by fulfilling their due rights. Certainly, these are the original teachings of all religions,” he added. 

The Most Rev. Kevin McDonald, Archbishop of Southwark in Britain, representing the Roman Catholic Church, spoke about the World Day of Prayer for Peace, organised by tPope John Paul II in 1986 and said the conference was another moment of the coming together of the people of different religions in peace and justice.

The Archbishop also read a message of support from Cardinal Peter Turkson, the President of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice.

Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber, representing the Chief Rabbi of Israel, said “humankind in the world are not their masters but their custodians. Let us return to the simple notion of faith and the sanctity of God.”

The conference received messages of support from Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister David Cameron, both of the United Kingdom.