A Message for Our Time — Page 59
Religious Tolerance And Freedom In Islam After reciting tashahhud, ta’awwuz and bismillaah, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba, the Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said: All distinguished guests, Assalaamo alaikum wa Rahmatullaahe wa Barakaatohu —peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. Before proceeding further, I would like to take this opportu- nity to sincerely thank all of our guests, for having accepted our invitation and joining us at the opening of this mosque. It is actually my religious duty to express my sincere grati- tude to you, because the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas, taught that a person who was not grateful to his fellow human beings could not be grateful to God Almighty. The vast majority of people living in this city are non-Muslims and the number of Ahmadi Muslims in this area is very small. However, irrespective of our small numbers, the county offi- cials and local people have permitted us to build this mosque and this demonstrates your open hearts and high levels of tolerance. In addition, the fact that you are joining us at this Islamic religious