9/11 A Fateful Incident

Every year on the 11th day of September we as Americans commemorate with heavy hearts all the victims of the terrorist attack, the attack that affected thousands of lives. The victims faced various losses such as death, injuries, property damage, and long term trauma. Many were affected physically, mentally, financially, and/or spiritually.

As an Ahmadi Muslim and as an American, my heart is very sorrowful for the fateful incident. True Islam gives us the teachings of being loyal to our country and obeying the government. The Holy Qur’an states, “O ye who believe, obey God and obey the Prophet and obey those in authority from among you” (4:60). In fact, being faithful to our country and being dutiful to the government is a religious duty. In accordance with this the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) said, “Love of one’s country of residence is part of faith”. We are duty-bound to repay the country with our loyalty. His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community proclaims that, “As citizens of any country, we Ahmadi Muslims, will always show absolute love and loyalty to the State. Every Ahmadi Muslim has a desire for his chosen country to excel and should always endeavor towards this objective. Whenever a country requires its citizens to make sacrifices the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat will always be ready to bear such sacrifices for the sake of the nation.”

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA launched two major campaigns- “Muslims for Peace” and “Muslims for Life” after the 9/11 incident. The aim of these campaigns was to dispel misconceptions about Islam and Muslims because Muslim Americans were the targets of several hate crimes. The “Muslims for Life” campaign dealt with conducting blood drives all across the United States with the goal of collecting 10,000 units of blood in 2011 and every year thereafter to honor the innocent victims of the horrific attacks and to portray the true teachings of Islam which says that all life is sacred. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been diligently arranging blood drives every year during the anniversary of 9/11 as well as holding many symposia and conferences to spread the peaceful message of Islam. Those who commit acts of violence against their own country or others are not acting per the teachings of Islam. The Holy Qur’an takes violence against the sanctity of all human life very seriously. It is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that, “Whosoever killed a person … it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso saved a life, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind” (5:33).

Islam means the religion of peace. A person following Islam will find that he or she is surrounded by noble teachings, the aim of which is to establish peace between man and God, the Creator of all, between man and man, and between man and the rest of God’s creation. The word Islam literally means peace which is the antonym of terror and it is the obligation of every Muslim to uphold peace. This concept is so deeply rooted in Islam that the Holy Qur’an describes true Muslims as those who: “…walk on the earth in a dignified manner, and when the ignorant address them, they say, ‘Peace!’” (25:64). We are obliged to spread love, compassion and goodwill throughout society. We as Ahmadi Muslims are proud and grateful to be in America, where our religious freedom is protected and we have no conflict between being loyal to the United States and loyal to Islam.