Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 152
Khilafat Centenary God, but seldom did he find satisfaction. Encounter with Islam After a series of frustrating experiences in search of God, Rasheed followed the only thing he truly valued - money. Engulfed in an environment of hustlers, drugs, and crime, Rasheed came across an unusual sight on the streets of Chicago. A man was crying out that Jesus did not die on the cross. Rasheed was intrigued enough to ask where he could get more information. The man told Rasheed to go to the 'Muslim Sunrise' on 220 South State Street, or to the mosque located at 4448 South Wabash. In 1946, Rasheed decided to visit the mosque located on Wabash Avenue in Chicago where he met an Ahmadi missionary named Ghulam Yasin. Unlike the fancy attire of organized criminals, Yasin's clothes were simple and aroused Rasheed 's suspicion that this was some kind of set up to channel drug money. His suspicion grew as he mistook the aroma of curry being cooked as the preparation of narcotics. He also ran into some Punjabis who inhaled their cigarettes in an unusual fist formation with the cigarette sticking out of the other end of the fist - a method Rasheed surmised was unique for smoking opium. Rasheed was determined to get to the bottom of this moneymaking scam, so he kept coming back at all the times for prayers. Rasheed eventually was convinced of the truth of Ahmadiyyat and accepted it in the course of the year. He had written to the second Khalifa, Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad ra , who told him to come and visit Pakistan. Rasheed worked the next year earning $550, enough to purchase a freight liner ticket. However, Huzur ra informed him that would take too long and arranged for a Pan American flight going from New York to London to Rome to Brussels to Damascus to Karachi. With $50 in his pocket, Rasheed was off to a land where he could not speak the language and did not know anyone. He fully trusted Huzur ra and dropped everything in obedience to his word. Court of Inquiry pass journey to Pakistan Rasheed 's journe y to Pakistan in 1949 was anything but smooth. Instead of the flight landing in Damascus, Syria, it landed in Basra, Iraq. Rasheed, not thinking anything of it, left the airport only to be confronted by officers who interrogated him on suspicion of being a spy for the recently created state of Israel. The fact that Rasheed did not have an Iraqi visa did not help the situation. Needless to say, Rasheed missed his connecting flight to Karachi and the grand reception, which was awaiting him. The Karachi Ahmadijama'at (local community /chapter) was at the airport en masse, eagerly expecting to welcome its American visitor. One can only imagine their anticlimactic surprise of a no -s how! Meanwhile, back in Iraq , the wild imagination of the investigating officers was spurred on by the personal gifts Rasheed was transporting. These were gifts from his newfound Ahmadi brothers to their relatives in Pakistan. The officers initially contested Rasheed 's identity as an American , claiming that Americans do not carry two overcoats (he was wearing one and the other was a gift). The officers claimed that the second overcoat was for when Rasheed would set up shop in the desert and needed something to sleep on. They alleged that the