I gave a talk this afternoon on Ahmadiyya/Qadianism at the above venue. I haven’t been to Leytonstone in over three decades. It’s nicer than I remember and has almost a village feel and a non-threatening vibe, unlike some other parts of East London.
Unlike my talk at Morden Islamic Centre a few weeks ago, this one was shorter, punchier and delivered extempore, standing. I had brought my laptop along, but dispensed with it due to the time constraints. I’d never have fitted “A Fracture in Belief” into the limited time I had available in a packed programme.
I was preceded by some interesting speakers, one of whom related an all-too-close-to-home story of a Muslim `alim being conned into teaching Qadiani kids and only finding out too late (if ever) that his charges were not actually following Islam.
I was delighted to see Umm Zak there, she brought along her father.
I made the point that it’s senseless to wade into da`wah to Qadianis with shouts of “kaafir!” and “your prophet died on the toilet!”, though I admitted that had I heard the latter, it might have prompted me into some investigation about the actual circumstances surrounding Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s death sooner than I finally did.
So my approach was “little and often” echoing the quote that urges truth to be dispensed in limited doses only, because most people can’t take too much of it at once.
There was a reasonably mixed crowd of elders and youngsters, but just about all the faces were subcontinental in origin, not really a surprise. Good to see that some sisters came too and were not deterred by the lack of provision for them. I don’t think this was deliberate, but this kind of thing has gone on for a long time and we must be more inclusive everywhere, insha’Allah. An estimated 200 people attended, but the numbers kept climbing. The organisers said that if the tubes hadn’t been utterly knackered (as they seem to be every weekend) the attendance could well have been double that. There were people milling in and out and around the building, including the side offices and the back office.
Agha Sahib, the representative of the Indian Muslim Federation, was forthright about the importance of allowing women to be fully catered for at such events. The point was noted by the Khatmenabuwwah reps who organised the day.
If I can get any audio or video for this talk, I shall post it here. I mentioned for example, the message of congratulations passed on by the Ahmadiyya to the BNP on their Euro election victory in Sheffield. (Shame on you Sheffield. Shame on you Qadianis.)
My thanks to Sohail Bawa for inviting me to speak, jazakallah khayr.
Look out for some very interesting material on the Ahmadiyya over the coming weeks, some of it has never been uncovered before and appears to have been actively suppressed by the Ahmadiyya, including such wonders as the recipe for Divine Treacle to treat Bubonic Plague. I kid you not.
Comments on this entry are closed.