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SCHENECTADY
Muslims call for peace, dialogue
Ahmadiyya group promotes positive images
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net

    Zaki Kauser wants everyone to know that Muslims are good, peaceful people.
    The spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community said that people often get a negative image of Muslims — given all the news coverage of terrorism. However, he wants to change that.
    “We want to show we’re normal people who welcome our Christian, Jewish — whatever faith, friends, for better understanding,” he said.
    The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center on River Road held a dinner at its Bait-Un-Nur mosque on Sunday to outline its mission and encourage an interfaith dialogue.
    Although it has been located on Route 5S in Rotterdam Junction for 10 years now, Kauser said the mosque has not really spread the word about its faith.
    Kauser explained that the Ahmadiyya Muslims are a branch of Islam. They believe that a prophet named Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad came 120 years ago to show people the true Islam. He said they reject the notion of a jihad, or “holy war” and resorting to violence to change people’s religion. Instead, they want to promote peace and to fight back with words.
    “In this day and age, the only holy war is with the pen,” he said. Kauser said the word “jihad” actually means “self-reformation” and the purpose is to become self-righteous and turn to God.
    The movement has been in the United States since 1921, Kauser said. The organization publishes the magazine The Muslim Sunrise and has one of the largest numbers of mosques.
    Mainstream Muslims consider the organization a splinter group and some Muslims consider it heretical. Ahmaddiyya Muslims have been persecuted in places such as Pakistan, where there were large riots in 1953 and 1974, according to the Web site www.thepersecution. org.
    The branch also believes that whenever mankind goes astray, another prophet will be sent. Kauser said he is waiting for the return of the Messiah — much like other faiths. He believes that the Messiah will come to “unite all of the world in the true God in peace and harmony.”
    In the meantime, the mosque teaches people to take care of the community. This congregation runs a soup kitchen locally. It has been active in Hurricane Katrina relief, as well as earthquake relief in places like Bangladesh and Pakistan. The organization has hospitals and schools all over the world, primarily in Africa. They also believe in universal human rights and will not do volunteer work in any country that does not permit human rights.
The group does not get involved in politics.
“We’re a spiritual movement to reform mankind spiritually, not politically,” he said.
Mosque President Hafeez Rehman said that the mosque wanted to give people a little bit of an introduction to their faith. They worship every Friday afternoon for prayers and the children have class and sports at around noon.
    They have 95 members locally, 3,000 in New York and about 13,000 in the United States.
    Aftab Naz of Guilderland said he came to America in 1998 from Pakistan looking for opportunity and religious freedom. Pakistan has laws persecuting people who are Ahmadiyyas like himself.
    “In my country, I cannot say ‘Muslim’ by law,” he said.
    Marilyn Salvione of Gloversville said she attended the event at the request of one of the members. She appreciated the message of peace and the chance to learn about another religion.
    “It’s just trying to promote understanding,” she said.
    Wendy Russell said she lives just a few doors down from the mosque and wanted to learn more about it.
    “We’re all looking for the same thing — peace,” she said.     

I've seenthis "mosque" out in Rotterdam Jct.  Seems as though it's a previously used building of some sort.  Don't know anything about it besides this article and that I've driven past before.

I heard nothing about this until I read this article either. And I have never even seen it.

Quoted Text

Kauser explained that the Ahmadiyya Muslims are a branch of Islam. They believe that a prophet named Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad came 120 years ago to show people the true Islam

So are they like Mormon Muslims??????

Check out this site.....

http://ahmadiyya.us/