Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 184
Khilafat Centenary Realizing the great communication tool the internet would become , MKA, USA was the first entity to receive approval for creating its own website from Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, Naib Amir Jama' at USA and International Chairman of the Internet Committee. Today, the website provides Khuddam with a resource of Majlis-related information, news, and upcoming events; as well as event registration, Majlis reporting, and a variety of other tools. Financial Sacrifices As with the growth of any organization, MKA, USA was not exempt from its growing need for a larger budget to completely accommodate the large number of khuddam and atfal (plural of tifl , meaning a boy aged 7-15) attending the National Ijt ema. In 2001, Majlis-e-Shura (consultative bod y) sent a proposal to Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV 1 a to increase the rate ofljtema Chanda from $12/year to 1% of I-month's income. Huzur ra graciously approved this proposal, and chanda collections increased from a baseline of $143,000 to $198,000. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih y aba in his Friday sermon of November 3, 2006, gave a discourse on spending in the way of Allah, as the Tahrik-ejadid (scheme to raise funds annually towards propagation) year had ended (10 /3 1). Huzur aba noted that the USA per capita donation for the Tahrik-ej adid fiscal year was £91 whereas for UK it was £45. 85. He said, "land plots are being purchased for building mosques in USA as well, and although their earnings are higher, so is their sense of sacrifice. UK's per capita was half of that of USA although the exchange rate of the pound sterling was double of that of the US dollar!" If there is one defining feature that we have consistently displayed over the years in our histor y, it is our sense of financial sacrifice by spending in the way of Allah. This is brought about merely through Allah's grace and blessing. When the Khalifa of the time asks for enhanced financial sacrifice, the USAJama'at is always one, if not the best, contributor, masha'Allah, for man y of the schemes for Jama' at. The current USA National Secretary of Tahrik-ejadid, Anwer Mahmood Khan stated, "The Khuddam of the United States are the main reason why we come out on top amongst mo st countries in Tahrik-ej adid collection. Khuddam are consistent in giving (financially) and the numbers keep going up. " In answering the call of the Khalifa, the Khuddam of the US are the shining stars in financial sacrifice as Allah blesses many with well-to- do businesses and jobs. In the FiscalYear 2005, 1307 Khuddam participated in the Tahrik -e jadid scheme. In 1996, Majlis-e-Shura sent a proposal and received approval from Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih JVr ta for creating the Department of Waqf- ejad id. Although this was later merged into the Department of Atfal, Khuddam still continue to be regular participants in this scheme. According to Dr. Waseem A. Sayed, current, USA National Secretary Waqf-ejadid, "Khuddam play an integral role in also keeping the USAJama'at among the top contributors worldwide for Waqf-ejadid. "