A group of 30 Muslim youths chose to welcome this New Year in a slightly different manner by deciding to unleash a war against litter on Auckland streets.
Starting early at 4 a.m. on January 1, this group of young enthusiasts gathered in the largest purpose-built mosque in New Zealand, Masjid BaitulMuqeet, located in Manukau and continued to work until early afternoon.
The group, armed with litter pickers, brooms, dustpans, and garbage bags embarked upon their Jihad against litter on Auckland streets.
Their mission was to strive to liberate their communities from rubbish and litter, beautify the parks and beaches, and fulfil their pledge of sacrifice to their country of residence.
This mission was a part of a global Jihad against litter organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslims all around the world.
All around the world in countries such as Germany, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Indonesia, Australia the USA, the UK, groups of young Muslims gathered during the early hours January 1 at a local Mosque, offered prayers of global peace, and commenced the cleaning drive.
The idea behind this mission is to demonstrate Ahmadiyya Muslim’s commitment to their local communities and countries of residence.
These groups around the world were hoped to remove the negativity that surrounds the term Jihad making people around them aware of its true meaning.
Jihad literally means to ‘struggle’ or ‘strive’.
Jihad is to strive to reform one’s self, morally and spiritually, to strive to establish peace in the world according to the true Islamic teachings. Jihad, for this group of Muslims, also stood for fighting the negative image presented by some extremists.
Azeem Zafarullah, a young professional who also serves as the president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) in New Zealand, said that cleaning the streets was the Muslim way to welcome the New Year. He added,
“Loving one’s country of residence is part of the Muslim faith. New Year Day is a day when we see lots of festive waste, so we decided the best way to love the country at this time would be to do litter picking.”
Mr Zafarullah further emphasised, “Regular attendance at the mosque and engagement in our charitable work and community service allows the youth to see and experience the peaceful and pluralistic teachings of Islam. They become integrated into society, and it becomes impossible for them to be influenced by extremist clerics.”
So while we may hear of the violent actions of the so-called Muslim extremists around the world, that there is a Muslim community waging their peaceful Jihad under the banner of ‘Love for All Hatred for None’.