New York USA Souvenir 1989 — Page 25
Brother Abid Hanif also remembers the visit of Sheikh Amri Obaidi of Tanzania, who was a very active member of the Com - munity and visited New York as the leader of the Tanzanian delegation to the United Nations. Tanzania at that time was called Tanganyika. Since Brother Abid Hanif left New York, he has been the Presi- dent of Boston J amaat. BROTHER BASHIR AFZAL President, New York Jamaat 1960- 1972 Brother Bashir Afzal, who is among the early American Ah- madies, was born in a Christian family in 1904. From early age he had inclination towards religion and during his you th he served as a Baptist missionary. But as he was destined to embrace Islam, it so happened that one of his Christian friends mentioned about a religious seminar in which an Ahmadi scholar Dr Yousuf Khan gave a lecture on Islam. Brother Bashir Afzal listened to the speech with rapt atten tion and was greatly impressed. He always felt uncomfortable with the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus Christ and when he heard Dr. Khan that Jesus was a great prophet of God Brother Bashir was satisfied. That speech changed his life altogether. He did not take any hasty step and pondered over the matter for a couple of years. He accepted Ahmadiyyat - the True Islam in 1934 at Pittsburgh, Pa. Sufi M. R. Bengali was the missionary at that time. Brother Bashir Afzal came to New York in 1957. He was ap- pointed President of the New York Jamaat and served the Com- munity for a number of years. At present he is living a retired life in Mt. Claire, New Jersey. BROTHER MUHAMMAD SADIQ President, New York Jamaat 19 72-1973 Brother Muhammad Sadiq was born in a Christian family in 1911 at Newark, N. J. He grew up to be a musician and public entertainer. He was introduced to Islam by a fellow American 25