Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 82
his father, Khalifatul Masih n ra. During this time he obtained further post-graduate education attending the School of Oriental and African Studies,at the University of London. He then returned to Rabwah in 1957 , where he was appointed secretary, and later Nazim Irshad, (officer of communications) of Waqf- e- J adid. That same year he married Hadhrat Syeda Asifa Begum. Other high positions to his credit were Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya Markazia (Central), Director of the Fazle Umar Foundation, and Sadr Majlis Ansarullah Markazia (Central) which he held until he was elected Khalifa in 1982. Time of Khalifat Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad rta was elected the fourth successor to the Promised Messiah as on June 10, 1982, after the sad passing of the beloved Hadhrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih rn ra. Within months of becoming Khalifa, Huzur initiated the Baiyootul Hamd Scheme to provide construction of suitable homes for the needy in Rabwah. He also traveled to Europe to inaugurate the first mosque in Spain, joined by Sir Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan and Professor Dr. Abdus Salam. He would also travel to Singapore, Fiji and Australia the following year. In 1984, persecution against Ahmadis in Pakistan reached a fever pitch and the government under General Zia ul Haq passed an ordinance, declaring Ahrnadis as non-Muslim. In what proved to be perhaps the most dramatic sequence of events in Huzur's Khilafat, he was able to successfully migrate to London from Rab wah under the Divine cloak despite government orders that Huzur rta was not to leave the countr y. On the sixth anniversary of his Khilafat, Huzur rra would go on to challenge General Zia ul Haq to a Mubahala, or prayer duel. This was a manifestation of the fulfillment of the Promised Messiah's as revelation "Ba'd gyarah, Insha'Allah '', meaning "After eleven, if God wills. " Allah brought a sudden end to General Zia's 11 year reign , as we were all witnesses on that blessed August morning in 1988 when the president of Pakistan perished in an aircraft explosion within 2 months of the challenge. Investigations into the cause of the mysterious crash, which also involved two American officials, were inconclusive, and to this da y the entire event remains a mystery. Mi ss ionary Achievements During Huzur's rta Khilafat, the number of constructed mosques in the world grew at an astonishing pace, from 1000 worldwide in 1984, to 3000 by 1994 and over 13,000 mosques by 2003. In 1984, Huzur rta invited members of the Jama'at to contribute funds for the establishment of various mosques and mission houses in Europe and America. Specifically, he called for the construction of five mosques in the United States - Detroit, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC, where he inaugurated Baitul Rahman Mosque in 1994. Baitul Hamid Mosque in Los Angeles will forever have a special connection with our beloved Huzur na. He laid the foundation stone for the mosque in 1987 , and made a return visit in 1989 to inaugurate the mosque. During the inauguration, he stated, "Our life is tied up with mosques alone. " In 2003, within hours of Huzur's rta sad demise, the mosque sustained a structural fire as mourners gathered to grieve Huzur's passing. The very mosque that Huzur rta founded had gone up in flames the same day he left this world and returned to Allah Almighty. But toda y, by Allah's sheer Grace and Merc y, under the direction of our beloved Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih y aba, Baitul Hamid Mosque is under new construction and expansion, Alhamdolillah. In 1987 , Huzur rta launched the Waqf-e-Nau Scheme. To date, there have been over 34,000 boys and girls who have devoted their lives for the cause of Ahmadiyyat. Huzur's wife passed away on April 3, 1992. Four months later, the first transmission of Muslim Television Ahrnadiyya (MTA) was launched and, in the process, a new chapter in the storied Khilafat of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahrnadr ta was scripted. Today, millions of Ahmadis worldwide can watch Huzur's Program, Darsul Qur'an and a wide variety of educational and spiritual programs from the comfort of their homes 24 hours a day. MTA, the original brainchild of Huzur rta and run entirely by thousands of tireless volunteers, has become a powerful source of knowledge for young and old, and a highly effective means of propagation. The International Bai'at, now an annual feature in