Perseverance — Page 165
PART III – My Return to the United States 165 Kunze went there and met a Christian preacher who wanted to accept Ahmadiyyat. This preacher accepted Ahmadiyyat along with two or three of his congregational members. Kunze also encountered some Blacks who claimed to be Muslims. They alleged that they were foreigners. Some of them claimed to be from Somalia, Ethiopia, and one from Qadian. One of these individuals even claimed that his grandparents were Jewish. Kunze attempted to teach these individuals Ahmadiyyat but he ran into opposition. These people did not want to be identified as local Blacks and they claimed that the Blacks that joined Ahmadiyyat were Negroes. It appeared to be a crisis of self-identity fueled by the segregation and discrimination in the United States against Blacks. In this case, these Blacks felt they could avoid being victims of discrimination by claiming they were from foreign lands. I received a letter from the Missionary in Charge to assist Kunze with this issue. As directed, I departed to the Chicago mosque and accompanied Kunze on his trips to Milwaukee. I also accompanied him on his trips to other missions he was responsible for, including Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Dayton. Kunze and I would present lectures and discourses on Islam and address any questions that the audience would have. The group of so-called Muslims in Milwaukee who were Blacks regularly attended our discourses, but they never formally accepted Ahmadiyyat with the exception of a couple of them. One of the members who accepted was Abdul Malik who passed away several years ago but remained a faithful member of the Milwaukee Jam ā ‘ah. His wife, Sister Mubarika, had met the President of the United States, Gerald Ford, in a group meeting. She broke ranks with the group and presented President Ford with a copy of the