Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I am here to speak about the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Recently I had the pleasure of attending an Australia Day multifaith dinner hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Victorian branch at the Bait-us Salam mosque in Langwarrin, an event which celebrates Australia Day and the coming together of people from different faiths and different cultural backgrounds. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community hold peace, reconciliation, harmony, love and mutual respect as their key values and, importantly, promote open interfaith dialogue to remove misunderstanding and to achieve inter-religious harmony. They have worked tirelessly to convey the peaceful message of Islam and to discredit supposed Islamic justifications for terrorism or extremism.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association have as their motto 'love for all and hatred for none' and they are deeply committed to upholding this doctrine. Despite this, the Ahmadiyya community face persecution in many countries around the world, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, where they are considered non-Muslim and, as a result, face serious breaches of their human rights, such as not having the right to vote and having their lives at constant risk because of their moderate beliefs.

In October last year I had the pleasure of meeting with his Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth Khalifa of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community, who expressed in his speech and powerful presentation the peaceful beliefs of the Ahmadiyya community and their enduring commitment to support Ahmadiyyas around the world and the communities they live within.

Globally the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has built over 15,000 mosques, 500 schools and 300 hospitals. It has translated the holy Koran into 70 languages and propagates the true meaning of Islam and the message of peace and tolerance through the internet, print and a 24-hour satellite television channel. The Ahmadiyya community is heavily involved in social welfare activities for the benefit not only of its members but of the broader community. It runs a number of schools and medical facilities across Africa and Asia. It also has a very powerful role and influence in Victoria.

Last week I met with a raft of important Ahmadiyya community members. The Victorian branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association are the largest chapter in Australia and they are actively involved in supporting the broader community. These are people who are putting their money where their mouths are, reaching out, trying to connect across faiths and across the community, promoting tolerance and understanding. Unfortunately, for their trouble, in other countries that I have mentioned they are being persecuted; they are literally being killed. President Obama mentioned this in a prayer breakfast speech in Washington. They are a great community; they are a community we should be holding and promoting. I congratulate them on their endeavours and look forward to working with them in the future.