Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 172
Khilafat Centenary below outlines the financial sacrifices made by Jama' at- e-Ahmadiyya USA in the last 50 years. 50 Year Financial Sacrifice of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih III 'sru vision described above started to materialize during the era of the fourth Khilafat. The first financial scheme announced by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih N rta was to build 100,000,000 ~----------------------- -----, fi ve mosques and mission houses in the USA. Huzur ra appealed to the 10,000,000 1,000 ,000 103,269 100,000 10,000 56-57 61-62 66-67 71 -72 76-77 81-82 86-87 91 -92 Budget Year In 1976, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih rn r• visited the US Jama'at. During the visit Huzur r• strongly felt the need for community centers in chapters, publication and dissemination of the Holy Qur'an and US Jama 'at's own printing press. Elaborating his vision in the Friday sermon of October 22nd 1976 , Huzur r• said, "In fact, I went to America to make preparations for the Ahmadiyya Centenary Thanksgiving Celebrations. I told them. . . that the initial task is to purchase at least 20 to 30 acres of land in 15 provinces, called 'States' in America, to build community centers for collective life of the Jama' at. Within fourteen to fifteen years, tens of thousands of copies of the Holy Qur 'an's translation will be published. Four to five million copies of the Holy Qur'an will reach American homes. . . The Americanjama'at should try to have its own printing press. . . because presently America is at the top of the list of all countries that are free in the true and full sense. " This was indeed a great blessed vision that would breathe new life into the US Jama' at by bringing about more cohesiveness and integration. This would also make it, with the grace of Allah, more active and robust on various internal and external horizons to serve Islam. 13,800,706 7, 860 , 181 US Jama'at to donate $2,500,000 for mosques & mission houses in Washington D. C. , New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit. Ahrnadis in the USA opened up their hearts and contributed man y times more than the original target given by Huzur ra. A mission house was acquired in Queens, NY and nam ed Baitul Zafar. Baitul Hameed Mosque was built in Chino, near Los Angeles, CA. A grand mosque, Baitur Rahman, as well as the 96. 91 01. 02 00. 01 National H ea dquarters of the S Jama'at were built in Silver Spring, MD. Baituljammeh Mosque was built at Glen Ellyn, IL. The last building in this project, a mosque in Detroit, MI is under construction, and is expected to be c om pleted soon, lnsha 'Allah. After L h is humble beginniu g, many ad ditional mosques and mission houses in various local chapters ofjama'at -e -Ahmadiyya USA, were either acquired or built. Pr esently, there are 1] mosques and 32 mi ss ion houses all over the countr y. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih N rta appointed Hadhrat Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad as Amir Jama' at Ahrnadiyya, USA injune 1 989. During his tenure (1989-2002) , the US Jama'at's Finance Department saw a revolutionary change at an accelerated pace. Hadhrat Mirza Muzzafar Ahmad , a renowned financial & economic expert who had served both the government of Pakistan and the World Bank for several years, instilled a new spirit, enthusiasm and a sense of devotion in the US Jama' at. After becoming Amir, Sahibzada Mirza Muzzafar Ahmad expressed his desire, in early 1991 , to bring the USA Jama' at at the forefront of worldwide Ahrnadiyya jama 'ats. To fulfill his dream, Majlis-e- Shura, USA decided to strive hard to achieve first position in Waqf-ejadid collections worldwide. ( It was a great challenge but with pra yers, and under