Ahmadiyya Muslims Drive Home Message of Peace

Historic Peace Conference Sees First Islamic Peace Prize Being Awarded to Lord Avebury

LONDON, March 17, 2010 - A Muslim community is literally driving home a message of peace across
the country as part of its national campaign.

Hundreds of buses emblazoned with banners proclaiming the central ethos
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community -Love for All Hatred for None- have been
running in the capital and beyond, including Cambridge, Luton, Stevenage and
Watford. This week the bus campaign has been extended to Bradford, Leeds,
Huddersfield, Hartlepool, Dewsbury and Sheffield. In addition, a campaign to
personally deliver leaflets to 2.7m households with a message of peace has
begun, with 100,000 leaflets already distributed.

Now a national peace conference on Saturday 20th March is being staged at
the community's landmark mosque in south London - the largest mosque complex
in western Europe- where MPs, diplomatic representatives, councillors, and
other civic and professional leaders will be told that peace is not just
about words but equally about action.

The keynote speaker will be the worldwide leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
community, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who has said:

"A true Muslim can never raise his voice in hatred against his fellow
citizens, nor for that matter against the ruling authority or government of
the time… he should remain loyal and fully abide by the laws of the land of
which he is a subject."

"It is not sufficient simply to proclaim that Islam is a religion of
peace. It is beholden on every Muslim to be the living embodiment of this
golden Islamic principle - and to demonstrate it in their daily life," said
Rafiq Hayat, President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.

"The level of misunderstanding about Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims is
all too apparent. The campaign and its first key conference this week seeks
to address this head on."

The Peace Conference is historic, as for the first time, The Ahmadiyya
Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace will be awarded to Lord Avebury for
his lifetime's contribution to the cause of Human Rights.

Rafiq Hayat added: "Our peace conferences are held across the country and
bring together people of all faiths and of no faith with the common aim of
promoting peace. We stand opposed to extremism in all its ugly forms and our
efforts to champion the cause of peace reflect the true Islamic teachings and
values."

    Contact
    Basharat Nazir, Press Secretary
    Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK
    Baitul Futuh Mosque, 181 London Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 5PT
    Phone: +44(0)7703-483-384
    media@ahmadiyya.org.uk
    www.LoveForAllHatredForNone.org
    www.alislam.org

Contact: Basharat Nazir, Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, Baitul Futuh Mosque, 181 London Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 5PT, Phone: +44(0)7703-483-384, media at ahmadiyya.org.uk