Ahmadiyya Muslims from all over the country will be gathering on Saturday, January 18, to participate in its 31st Annual Convention and first after the Christchurch terror attack last year.
The theme for this year’s convention is ‘United in Compassion’ that is aimed at highlighting solutions to emerging divisions in the world and remembering the 51 lost lives in the March 15, 2019 attacks at two mosques in Christchurch.
The session will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday providing an open invitation to guests gathered at the mosque from different faiths and backgrounds ranging from dignitaries, Members of Parliament, faith leaders and members of the public.
Coming as a chief guest to the event, the District Operations Manager of Canterbury St John John, whose team made remarkable efforts following the Christchurch mosque attacks and will share some of his experiences from of the incident. St John Psychologist Adele Saunders will be present at the event speaking on the staff and welfare perspective.
The National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association from the UK, Imam Abdul Quddus Arif will deliver the keynote address at the event highlighting the importance of compassion in the time of emerging division in the world.
The National President of Ahmadiyya Muslim New Zealand Bashir Khan referring to the Christchurch incident acknowledged the rise of fringe movements in New Zealand and the dire need to address the root cause of these problems.
“The unity and compassion displayed by the New Zealand public after the horrific Christchurch Mosque attacks is a great way to counter the increasing hatred; however, we still need to work towards solutions to prevent the rise of extremism.
“…Religion and faith have a very important role to play in how we tackle the increasing misunderstandings and divisions in society, and the two-day convention hopes to enlighten the attendees on the importance of faith in these challenging times,” Mr Khan said.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a dynamic, fast-growing international revival movement within Islam. Founded in 1889, the community spans 213 countries with tens of millions of members. The New Zealand branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established in 1987.