Perseverance — Page 38
38 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american After a few days in detention, I was released. The Pan-American Airlines Office Manager, upon questioning me, recalled hearing about Ahmadiyyat in a similar situation involving a previous Ahmadi traveler, Dr. Khal i l Ahmad N as ir. The Office Manager then convinced the Iraqi Colonel that I was not a security threat. Thereafter, I was released. I embarked upon a KLM flight to Karachi, Pakistan, but I was unable to contact anyone in Pakistan for my arrival arrangements. Upon reaching the Karachi Airport, I received a limousine service to take me to the address I had written down: “Latif Ahmad Tahir’s house, opposite the boy’s school. ” However, the limousine drivers were confused, thinking “opposite the boy’s school” was the street name. They could not locate it. During the course of the ride, the two men asked me why I would come to Pakistan of all places. I responded that I intended to go to school. This perplexed the men. Why would a man leave the United States where the best schools are, to go to Pakistan – a newborn country with a hardly developed infrastructure – to get an education?! The men concluded I was insane. They determined to quickly rid themselves of this problem by throwing me to the Mirzais [i. e. , a condescending manner of referring to Ahmadi Muslims]. When I saw the picture of the Promised Messiah as I breathed a sigh of relief and told the men that this is exactly where I wanted to be and they could leave. It was two o’clock in the morning.