Founded in 1986 by the then Supreme Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, the Pan-African Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK is a subsidiary Association within the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK. Underpinned by its motto ‘Love For All, Hatred For None’ this is a unique, dynamic and vibrant Association serving not only the needs of its members but British society as a whole and the continent of Africa at large.
The Association is comprised of all Ahmadi Muslims of African origin living in the UK. With its own National Executive and Regional Heads as well as a parallel National and Regional administrative structure for female members, the Association has at its organisational apex a National President.
Objectives
The raison d’etre of the Association is that of uniting together Ahmadi Muslims of African descent in the diaspora under one umbrella. Under the auspices of the Association, its members come together in affectionate ties of brotherhood and sisterhood and carry out programs designed to promote intellectual discourse and dialogue, facilitate religious education and training, and engender service to humanity.
One of the principal objectives of the Association is the inculcation of moral and spiritual values in its members through a mixture of religious and secular activities. It is dedicated to ensuring its members develop and excel in qualities such as piety, righteousness, honesty, justice and fair dealing so that they can better contribute to the society in which they live.
The Association also seeks to create a platform where its members can engage and exchange ideas with the intellectual elite of Africans in the UK with a view to promoting mutual respect and finding common grounds to enlighten the people of Africa about religious affairs and secular matters.
Mission
The mission of the Association remains lofty and transcendental. It seeks to propagate, by words and actions, the true and pristine message of Islam as advocated by its Holy Founder, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa and to preach, in the face of misrepresentation, misunderstanding and misguidance, the Islam of peace, the Islam of justice and the Islam of truth.
The members of the Association stand upright, resolute and determined to reform themselves, to reinforce righteousness and to defend the dignity of Africa.
The members of the Association seek to make their way to their Lord, the Creator of the Universe, and take with them the vast multitudes caught up in the nexus of materialism and irreligion.
The members of the Association have a noble ambition of bringing hope, guidance and enlightenment to the continent of Africa to enable it to realise it’s true potential.
Activities
Though a Muslim organisation, the activities of the Association are not limited to the Muslim community. It serves the needs of all members of society irrespective of colour, race, religion or creed and promotes interfaith dialogue and co-operation in order to promote peace and harmony in society at large.
The activities of the Association range from serving the needs and welfare of its members through religious and recreational events to involvement in the wider community through social enterprises and charitable endeavours.
Events and Functions
The Association has held many high profile events most notably a traditional dinner at the Annual International Convention hosted in honour of the delegates to the Convention from the African continent and a series of “Africa at 50” events wherein the 50th Independence Anniversaries of African nations were commemorated. These included the 50th Independence Anniversaries of Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Togo, Mali, Madagascar, Congo, Somalia, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon, Nigeria, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Algeria, Uganda and Kenya.
These events were graced by the august presence of the Supreme Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who delivered the Keynote Address articulating the great emphasis which Islam places on the independence of each nation and each people, and on the act of freeing others from servitude and oppression which it upholds as a great form of piety.
Interfaith Dialogue
The Association is known for promoting interfaith dialogue and works with external agencies including voluntary and public sector organisations to promote peace, tolerance and harmony in society.
The Association is involved in a number of programmes and social projects ranging from public lectures to question and answer sessions and organises visits and open days to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s mosques to encourage social cohesion.
Islam Awareness
The Association is actively engaged in promoting the peaceful message and true teachings of Islam given the current misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the faith. It firmly believes that tolerance, engagement, interaction and debate are vital to understand the true teachings of Islam.