Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 92
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih ura (1914-1965) It is the variety of programs undertaken over the 51-year period of the second Khilafat, that of Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad ra, which reflects the true spirit of establishing formal systems of service to humanity. Noor Hospital - Not a single licensed ph ys ician, let alone a hospital, existed near Qadian at the onset of the second Khilafat. Thus, on June 21, 1917, Khalifatul Masih rr ra laid the foundation for Noor Hospital, which was completed in September 1917. On February 2, 1919 , Dr. Hashmatullah arrived from Patyala to serve at the hospital full-time. He subsequently added a women's ward to the hospital. Noor Hospital became the only hospital serving the general public in the area without regard to race, religion or creed. Orphans of war - Scores of children had been orphaned as a result of World War I (1914--1918). Thus, in 1918, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih rrr a provided 5000 rupees for the education of Muslim children who had become orphans because of the war. The Jama ' at already had a system and many programs in place for orphans, but this was a special and noteworthy contribution, especially when one considers the size and financial limitations of the J ama'at in 1918. Girls' School - In rural India, then and now, girls had far less access to education than boys. 2 Thus, on March 17, 1925, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih rr ra established a school specifically for the education of girls. Huzur ra taught the Arabic language himself due to the shortage of teachers. Male teachers would teach the girls from behind a curtain due to the lack of female teachers. His three wives and daughter attended the first class. Maulana Sher Ali ra taught English and Muhammad Tufail ra taught geography. Riot Relief - In May 1927, riots broke out in Lahore and Muslims were killed over a span of two to three days. Huzur ra immediately dispatched the Nazir Aala (head of administrative affairs), Zulfaqar Khan and the Nazir Amoor-e-Aama (head of social services), Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq ra, to assess the situation. Maulvi Fazluddin was sent to serve as legal counsel for victims. They established an "Information Bureau" and interviewed the injured and relatives of the martyred. Ahmadi physicians arrived to provide free medical assistance and treatment. 2 UNICEF: State of the World's Children 2007 - Women and Children: The Double Divide nd and Gender Equality. Onjune 6, 1927, Tarjuman, a non-Ahmadi weekly magazine, summed up the effectiveness of this service: "Mirzai [Ahmadi] Muslims helped the Muslims affected by the riots on a large scale in every way, meaning legal help as well as provided cash to help them. " Assistance to Kashmiris: The Muslims of Kashmir, then and now, suffered terribly at the hands of their non-Muslim rulers. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih rr ra, out of grave concern for their plight, suggested the establishment of a national committee of influential Muslims to advocate for their cause and provide them aid. This non-Ahmadi majority then unanimously elected him president of what came to be known as the All-India Kashmir Committee. My father, Maulana J alaluddin Shams, also served on this committee as the assistant secretary of the committee under Huzur. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih rr ra also established the Kashmir Fund to aid the oppressed people of Kashmir. The history of India and Kashmir notes this undertaking as a remarkable service to relieve the plight of Kashmiris and aid in their early struggle for freedom. General Education - In 1947, after the partition of British India, the Jama' at established the town of Rabwah in Pakistan. Even before the formal establishment of Talirnul Islam High School, Nusrat Girls School, Talirnul Islam College and College for Girls andjarni 'a Nusrat, temporary schools were established in Lahore and Ahmad Nagar to assure the continuation of education of the community. These institutions in Rabwah provided high quality education to members of the community as well as the non- Ahmadi Muslims who came from all over Pakistan. The institutions' high academic and disciplinary standards also attracted many non-Ahmadis, despite their different religious beliefs. Huzur's ra instructions were very clear to the principal of the college (who later became the 3rd Khalifa): Thejama'at should not use these institutions as means of conversion to Ahmadiyyat but only to provide the best education to any student who attended. It was under the guidance of the Khalifatul Masih rr ra that schools were also established outside of Pakistan. Schools were established for the benefit of the general public in Trinidad, British Guiana, Nigeria, Palestine, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius, Fiji and Indonesia. During the second Khilafat, more