Parliament Welcomes Muslim Youths who Raised £1.5 Million for British Charities

MKA-House-of-Lords-2237-1200x520

Muslim youth from the world’s largest organised Muslim community were hosted at the Houses of Parliament with their charity partners and dignitaries by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon today, to mark their contribution to charity and volunteering in British society.

MKA-House-of-Lords-BarnadosRep_AMCPresident_AMYAPresident1-1200x520

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) presented 45 cheques to UK based charities totalling £340,000 that they have raised through fund raising activities throughout last year. This figure brings the total funds raised by AMYA for UK charities to £1.5 million. The list of charities includes the Royal British Legion, Barnado’s, NSPCC, British Heart Foundation, Humanity First, The Silver Line, CLIC Sargent and MacMillan Cancer Support. The majority of the funds are raised through AMYA’s annual flagship charity event called the ‘Mercy For Mankind’ Charity Challenge. ‘Mercy For Mankind’ refers to the title that was given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Qur’an and serves as the inspiration for all charitable work carried out by the group.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: “The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association is reflective of exactly the kind of contribution that many groups make, of different faiths, of different communities, who do the right thing, who do not see that there is a division between society but also recognise that their role in society is to contribute to the society of which they are an integral part and in doing so they make it an infinitely better society and the efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association in this respect are there for all to see.”

MKA-House-of-Lords-JustineGreeningMP-1200x520

Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening said: “It goes beyond just raising money, I think what the youth association has really done is to be part of us responding to crisis when they hit. I’ll never forget the discussion around young people in the Ahmadiyya Community going as far afield as down to Devon to help people affected by the floods and closer to home in Surrey, helping people, just being part of that response to those crises I think told me a lot about just how a fantastic group of people they are and I think why it gives us so much hope as we look to the future.”

The Caliph of Islam, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, sent a special message for the event. He said: “Since it was founded in 1889, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been constantly engaged in serving humanity throughout the world without any discrimination to creed, caste or colour. We practice and preach a message of Love For All Hatred for None based upon the teachings of the Holy Quran”.

“Furthermore the Holy Quran has deemed the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as a ‘Mercy for Mankind’. And so it is because of these teachings that we Ahmadi Muslims are obliged to serve humanity without any distinction of religion or background.”

“[The Promised Messiah] taught that his followers should not rest until they have solved the problems of others and they should be ever ready to bear personal difficulty or anxiety so that others could live in peace and comfort. Thus, this is the spirit that underpins the humanitarian efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.”

“I would like to assure all the dignitaries and guests in attendance that as loyal citizens of this country we Ahmadi Muslims will always seek to help those who are in need and will fully co-operate with all organisations that are involved in humanitarian relief.”

Recent events have placed the spotlight on young Muslims and their role in British society. AMYA has shown that not only are young Muslims proud of their country, they go out of their way to make sure they do their bit to contribute. AMYA have various nationwide initiatives that have included blood drives where more than 6000 pints of blood have been donated, over 100,000 trees planted, more than 30,000 food packs distributed to the homeless, visiting the sick and elderly, charity events, peace conferences and interfaith meetings. For more information about the humanitarian efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslims Youth Association, visit http://www.muslimsforhumanity.org.uk. For more information on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, visithttp://www.alislam.org

Hi-resolution images for use by print and online outlets available here:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5c38bd4vhmwwgca/AAC9hOoc_xPd6souDIY82oima?dl=0

Additional messages:

1. David Cameron, Prime Minister stated “Your presence in this country is a living example of how Britain has become a true home to people from all corners of the world. Your tremendous charitable services that you have delivered to old and young alike, your care for the environment by planting thousands of trees each year, your Feed the Homeless project and blood donation drives are just a few of the many reasons that Britain can be proud of you. This is true faith in action”

2. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated “This volunteer work represents an essential part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s really important contribution to UK national life – whether through helping to raise wider awareness and understanding of the Islamic faith, or fundraising and feeding the homeless, donating blood, and other charitable acts.”

3. Siobhain Mcdonagh MP said: “It’s extraordinary. The more cheques I saw coming out the more I kept thinking how did they raise that amount of money, but however you did it we are all enormously grateful. Grateful for the contribution you make to all our communities and all our organisations and for the breadth and depth of your heart for so many people, in so many difficult situations. Thank you so much.”

4. National AMYA President, Mirza Waqas Ahmad said: “Islam teaches us that we should be loyal to the country we reside in. It is through integrating the youth into their local communities and encouraging them to do good works that radicalisation can be eliminated. This event is a culmination of all the fundraising efforts of our youth throughout the year and the amount raised is a testament to their dedication.”

For media enquiries please contact the AMYA press office:

The event was held between 12.30 and 2.30 pm in the Cholmondeley Room at the House of Lords

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/parliament-welcomes-muslim-youths-who-raised-15-million-for-british-charities-290183231.html