by Zohaib Zafar

March 23rd marked 129 years since when the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded. It has been a tumultuous journey for our community. Hundreds of Ahmadi Muslims have been killed by so called Muslims and many of us have been forced out of our homes into exile. All of this has happened because we accept Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian as the long awaited Messiah that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad peace be upon him had foretold, which many extremists believe makes Ahmadi Muslims worthy of persecution.

This year on March 23, which fell on a Friday, many Ahmadi Muslims decided to take the day off from school and work. They were out on the streets trying to have dialogue about Islam and the challenges the world currently faces. It is no secret that terrorism in America done in the name of Islam has been steadily decreasing in the past couple of years. We can now completely eliminate what is left of both Islamophobia and extremism within the Muslim American community through more dialogue and acceptance of all Americans regardless of religion or race.