Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 79
tabligh (preaching) activities in their Jama 'ats and emphasized that they should place copies of the Holy Qur'an in various libraries. Huzur 'a said that there should be no library in the USA where copies of the Holy Qur 'an are not available for the readers. After staying for four da ys in the West Coast region, on September 15 , 1980 , Huzur ra left for Washington, DC. Mir Mahmood Ahmad Nasir and Maulana Ataullah Kaleem accompanied Huzurra in the airplane. Upon arrival in Washington, DC , Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad , Missionaries, Mian Muhammad Ibrahim, Major Abdul Hamid, Abdur Rashid Yahya, Muzaffar Ahmad Zafar, National President, and Haji Ameenullah welcomed Huzur'a at the Airport. Sahibzadi Sayy ada Amatul Qayyum and some other Lajna members welcomed Hadhrat Begum Sahiba. Huzur 'a came out of the airport in the area where a large number of Ahmadis were waiting to receive Huzur 'a and he shook hands with all of them. Huzur ra and Begum Sahiba stay ed at the house of Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad. During his stay in Washington, DC, Huzur 'a met more than 1,000 member s of the East Coast and Mid-West regions. He led Friday Prayers, and had meetings with Missionaries and Presidents of all the Jama ' ats in the USA He also addressed a large gathering of Lajna Imaillah who had come from cliff erent areas to meet and to listen to Huzur ra. In addition to the Missionaries, Mir Mahmood Ahmad Nasir, Maulana Ataullah Kaleem, Mian Muhammad Ibrahim and Abdur Rashid Yahya, the following Presidents were also present for a combined meeting with Huzur ra : Abid Hanif (Boston) , Abdul Kabir (Chicago) , Umar B. Ibrahim (New York), Yahya Sharif (York) , Munir Hamid (Philadelphia),Jamuilur Rahman (Pittsburgh), Nasir Mahmood Malik (Detroit), Munir Ahmad (St. Louis) , Allah Bukhsh Chaudhary (Washington, DC), Abu Bakar (Racion), Abdul L. Malik (Willingboro) Muhammad Sadiq (New Jersey), Latif Ahmad Malik (San Francisco) Basharat Munir (Athens, OH), Abdul Hafiz (Baltimore), Dr. Usama (Cleveland) , Muzaffar A. Zafr (Dayton) , Ali Raza (Vaukegan), Rashid Ahmad (Milwaukee), Dr. Laeeq Ahmad (Virginia). Mubashar Ahmad , National Finance Secretary and Munawar A Saeed, Auditor, also attended the meeting. Huzur ra emphasized to all of them the importance of buying land to use as Eidgah(s) (place to offer Eid pra y er) outside the populated areas. He said that 4 to 5 acres of land should be purchased in various outlying areas for open air mosques and community centers which could be used for Eid Prayers, training of the children and picnics, and other large-scale functions. Huzur 'a also asked about the progress made in the project of distributing 40 ,000 copies of the Holy Qur'an. He pointed out that millions of foreign tourists come to the United States. To introduce them to Ahmadiyyat, pamphlets should be printed in the native languages of these tourists. He instructed thatJama'at USA should print 50,000 such pamphlets and distribute these. Huzur 'a went to sightseeing in Longwood Gardens on one of the da ys he visited Philadelphia. On September, 18, 1980 , Huzur'a attended a dinner arranged by Sahibzada Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad at the World Bank Building. Several World Bank workers and high-ranking officers attended the function. Huzur 'a discussed the world economic system with the World Bank Economic Officials. On September 19, 1980, Huzur'a delivered the Friday Sermon at the Fazal Mosque. A large number