New entrant to Movement
writes to us

Saturday, 28 August 1999

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman:

As-Salaam-Alaykum

Recently, I had the luxury of joining the Ahmadiyya Anjuman upon Samina Sahukhan's visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm still overwhelmed with emotion. When I first heard of Sister Samina coming to Albuquerque, I wasn't sure what to expect. I have had bad experiences with Muslims before, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen when meeting this Muslim sister that I had read so much about. However, upon meeting Mrs. Samina, all feelings of nervousness completely disappeared. I immediately felt at ease as she greeted me in Peace, and I returned the same greeting. I could tell that she was being guided by some special force, and that force was the love of Islam and the message of friendliness and peace.

As I sat talking with Mrs. Samina, I couldn't help but think that this was the same woman who just completed the major undertaking of presenting the Qur'an in Russian to the Russian people. This is the woman I had seen on the internet pages and The Light Magazine spreading the teachings of Islam and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to the world, and here she was visting this one little man in the small city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. All Praise is due to Allah. I was even more surprised with the books she gave me to read from the Ahmadiyya Anjuman. I've already started reading Christ is Come by Mirza Masum Beg, and plan on reading the other books as time allows. I must say thank you again to both Sister Samina and the Ahmadiyya Anjuman for providing these books of spiritual truth. As for a little information about myself.

I first heard of Islam when my family was teaching Bible Study in the local prisons. One of the Muslim prisoners had mentioned something about Christ and recognition of other prophets of Allah. Like other Christians, we were told that Muslims hated Christ and the other prophets of Israel. Yet, what I read in the Qur'an and in other Islamic literature went against this false story. I then took it upon myself to learn more about Islam. After years of reading various books, including Maulana Muhammad Ali's book The Religion of Islam, I converted to Islam, while attending undergraduate school at New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, NM, in 1991.

I attended the local mosque in Las Cruces as well as the mosque in Albuqerque, and I immediately began to see the corruption of Islam by certain Ulama and Imams. There was a lot of fighting between the Muslims and racism was also beginning to set into the mosque there. Because of all of this, I was forced to stay away from the mosque and basically started worshiping on my own. It wasn't long before I realized that this wasn't working. However, I couldn't go back to the mosque. I slowly began to stop saying my prayers and began looking into other religious faiths. I had investigated the Jehovah's witnesses, Sihkism, and the Baha'i Faith, but none of these religions could satisfy my soul. I had heard of Muslims, whom upon being humiliated by Christian Missionaries, went back to worshipping saints and idols. While I didn't go as far as worshiping idols, I did begin to feel misplaced in my faith in Islam. Upon doing some praying and fasting, I asked Allah to guide me on the right path. In answering this prayer, it was in 1996 that I first heard of the Ahmadiyya.

While searching for research material on Islam at the college library, I came upon the Ahmadiyyah Anjuman magazine The Light. I knew I had seen the name before, but couldn't quite place it. Then I went back and looked in my Qur'an and there it was in my Maulana Muhammad Ali translation of the Qur'an, "Ahmadiyya Anjuman." I had no idea that the Ahmadiyya Anjuman was an Islamic group. I knew I had to find out more about this Islamic group. After graduating from New Mexico State in 1996, I went back to my hometown of Albuquerque and began working as a teacher. This kind of took me away from my mission. And it wasn't until about two years later, after being accepted into graduate school, that I began to complete this mission.

I began reading everything I could on the Ahmadiyya Anjuman. A friend of mine even told me about your web site. Using both the web site and the books, I began to investigate Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's claim of being a Mahdi. Having studied different Islamic sects and religions, I knew that the Mahdi would have to be of Persian descent, and that he would have to fulfill certain signs such as breaking the cross, and fulfilling the sign of the double eclipse. After doing much reading and research, I was amazed to find out that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad fulfilled all of these expectations. I was so mesmerized by this fact, and so content on these teachings that I finally had to write a letter to the Ahmadiyya Anjuman expressing my wishes to join. Now, as of Friday, August 27, 1999, my prayers have finally been answered.

I can only give thanks to Allah for guiding me to the Ahmadiyya Anjuman. As Qui-Gon said in Star Wars, Epsiode I, The Phantom Menance, nothing happens by coincidence or mistake, everything happens for a reason. We never know how Allah answers prayers. However, like Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad teaches us, we should have complete faith in Allah in answering our prayers. There is no doubt in my mind, since Sister Samina's visit, that my prayers have been answered.

As-Salaam-Alaykum

Salih Abdur-Rahman