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30th National Ijtema 2008: The Khilafat Ijtema

mkaflag.png30th National Ijtema 2008: The Khilafat Ijtema
Inshallah, this year's National Ijtema (Annual Youth Camp) will be held on August 22-24, 2008 at Hudson Valley Sportsdome. The event will also serve to echo this year's celebration of 100 years of Khilafat (Divine Leadership). Registration for the event is now open.
Click here for more info...          Click here to register...           Ijtema Program...
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Profile Ahmad Antar PDF Print E-mail
Br. Ahmad Antar – Charlotte, North Carolina

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Br. Ahmad Antar, the 27 year-old Regional Qaid of the Southeast Region, was born and raised in Sidon, the historic and third largest city of Lebanon, almost 30 miles south of the capital Beirut . He also serves as the publication secretary, in charge of the Charlotte Jamaat library and is the Editor and publisher of Charlotte Jamaat’s Newsletter. A frequent and friendly face at Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya USA events, it is often a surprise for others to find out that he joined Ahmadiyyat not too long ago.

The fourth child of his beloved parents, he has two older sisters, an older brother and a young brother who all still reside in Lebanon, a country he has not visited since he left for the United States in the year 2000.

He completed his High School Diploma in 1999 from a Christian Evangelical private school in Experimental Sciences. Then studied Computer Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and graduated in May of 2004. He went on to pursue a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the same institution specializing in telecommunications. Since his graduation in December of 2005 he has been working for Wachovia as a System’s Administrator. He also hopes to go back to school for a PhD in Management in the near future.

As a vivid reader of religion and comparative religion, he was first introduced to Ahmadiyyat by a student in his university taking a religion course with him. Curious to know more about Ahmadiyyat he started to do his own research on the subject. “At first I was very surprised to find a large number of Anti-Ahmadi resources, which easily out numbered the Ahmadi one.” said Br. Ahmad in a recent interview with the Department of Tarbiyat NauMobaeen MKA USA . After doing his initial research, he thought the best way to learn about Ahmadiyya Jammat is to visit the local chapter. At the time he was an intern at a company in Greensboro, NC which is a small town close to Durham , home to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) Jamaat.

After visiting the RTP Jamaat for the first time Br. Ahmad recalls, “I was impressed by the hospitality [of the RTP Jamaat] and found no difference in [their] Islamic traditions with the ones I knew. I was expecting the opposite because of the things I [had] read on the Anti-Ahmadiyyat websites.” He went on to explain that “When I started reading the Promised Messiahs’ (as) books, I was further impressed, which lead to more visits.” Eventually these visits became frequent and he felt at home meeting and praying with the Ahmadi brothers. Eventually, comfortable that the beliefs of Ahmadiyya jammat were the true beliefs, he signed the ba’it on his birthday 2nd of February, 2005.

When asked about what noticeable changes he has felt in himself since he converted, he said: “The biggest change I have experienced is how I now practice Islam. By the grace of Allah, I am now praying, fasting, working for my religion and fulfilling the ultimate goal of being human, which is worship! All these factors were missing [in my life] prior [to] my acceptance.”

A common hardship among many new converts to Ahmadiyyat is how their family and peers react to their new found spirituality. Br. Ahmad explained that his family can be best described as moderate Sunni Muslims living in a multicultural and multi-religious Lebanon , famous for its religious tolerance. He said they reacted with support when he told them about his conversion to Ahmadiyyat. He attributed this to the fact that “[My family] trusts me in every step I take and they know that I always study and research before I do anything”. His family’s support and love for him is evident from their trip to United States to attend his graduation.

Br. Ahmad married last year to a sister from the local jamaat, MashAllah. Between his career and jamat work, he said he has little time for hobbies but whenever he has some free time he likes to read books. Often he finds himself reading books about religion and books of the Promised Messiah (as).

When asked about his favorite food, he replied he doesn’t discriminate and that he considers himself lucky that his wife also shares his taste in food and they both enjoy foods from different cultures and taste. In sports too, he enjoys any good game and follows the Carolina Panthers Football team.

As a message for the other new converts he expressed hope that they too will get involved in jamaat activities as he has and will be nominated for positions of blessings and responsibility by their fellow khuddam.

Contributed by Department of Tarbiyat NauMobaeen – January 2007

 
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