Bai’tul Islam Mosque (the largest mosque in North America) built in 1992, and its vast grounds, in the town of Maple in Vaughan, were the scene of gathering for over 10,000 people over three days (July 6-8) celebrating the 25^th Jalsa Salana (25^th Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya community in Canada. There were people from the United States and Europe.

Over 25000 Ahmadiyya Muslims in Canada practise their religion freely. (In 1974, they were officially declared heretics and non-Muslims in Pakistan.)

Peace and tolerance was the central theme of the convention, which was attended by federal and provincial ministers, mayors, members of federal and provincial parliament

Nawab Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Director of Ahmadiyya Foreign Missions, presided over the event and reiterated that ‘Muslims are not terrorists and Islam is an accommodating religion… the motto of the Ahmadiyya community has always been – Love for all, hatred for none.’

There were lectures by other scholars, including Ibrahim bin Yaqub from Trinidad and Muniruddin Shams from London, England.

Ijaz Ahamd Qamar, Secretary External and Media Relations, is proud that “the basic message of Ahmadiyyat reached over three million Canadians, according to some conservative estimates, through the unpaid media activity in the month of June and July 2001”.