Former Sadran- Abdul Shukoor Ahmad

What was your first Jama’at-related office?

What lesson(s) did you learn from that experience?

I arrived in the U.S. on March 23, 1988 and

served as Nazim Waqar-e-Amal of the Washington,

DC Majlis under the leadership of Qaid

Shahid Malik Sahib. It was a fairly challenging

work considering I had been in the country for

only 8 months and did not have many friends in

the Majlis and/or Jamaat. We scheduled a

weekly clean-up on Thursday evening to prepare

the mosque for Friday Prayers. The first lesson

I learned quickly was to stay positive and put all

your effort in any task you may be assigned to

complete. All tasks are important, and they must

be completed to the best of your

ability.

What was the most rewarding aspect of being a Sadr?

I had tried to be a good Khadim, and it was a

tremendous honor to have the opportunity to

serve as Sadr. The opportunity it provided me to

learn (how to lead an organization), to serve (to

make a difference in the lives of the membership),

to develop leadership (mentoring most of

our team members), and, above all, a sense of

responsibility towards my faith and community.

The training I received is worth more thanI could

have received attending Dale Carneige’s Leadership

Course.

What challenges did you face during your Sadarat?

Every day was an opportunity to do something

good, and every day had challenges / issues that

prompted all of us (myself and our team) to adapt

/ innovate and to serve for the greater good of

Majlis-e-Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya. We had several

challenges:

1) Keeping Khuddam/Leadership motivated

2) Increasing participation of Khuddam/Atfal

in MKA programs

3) Bringing every Qaid/National Amila Member

to improve their performance

4) Creating innovative programs

5) Instilling a sense of purpose /

responsibility in every Khadim/Tifl.

How did you manage to balance your work as a

Sadr and your family life?

Frankly speaking, my family life was put on back

burner. My take on this responsibility was completely

different. I had been given this responsibility

for a limited time: 2 years (1 term). I felt like

I needed to put in all I could in order to strengthen

MKA.

How has life as a member of Ansarullah been

different for you?

As they say, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

II always consider myself a Khadim who is ready

to serve. I needed some time to get a few things

taken care of which were neglected. I am getting

ready to involve myself. I certainly hope to

contribute as much as possible as Nasir.