Muslim Youth on the streets while you are asleep on New Year’s Day

New Year’s Eve is marked by celebrations the world over. The parties ushering in the New Year will inevitably result in a lot of work for sanitation workers before the New Year morning. For several years now, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Associations the world over have spent the New Year’s morning cleaning up the mess left behind from the night prior. Likewise, the New Zealand chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) has continued this New Year’s Day clean up tradition for a number of years.

This year, the members of AMYA NZ will rise early on 1 January 2018 and congregate at the mosque for the pre-dawn prayer to supplicate for peace, harmony and coexistence in the world and then proceed to Auckland CBD to clean Albert Park, Myers Park, Grafton Cemetery and adjoining streets.

The New Zealand President of AMYA, Azeem Zafarullah, explains the motivation for this annual initiative:

“We clean the parks and streets of New Zealand because we are proud Muslim New Zealanders who love our city and our country. Throughout the year, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association New Zealand organises blood drives, feed the hungry and assist the elderly so that we can better serve our nation and our neighbours. By cleaning the streets in the early hours of New Year’s Day, we set the standard for the rest of the year of how we will make it a meaningful year. No matter what, we will continue to sacrifice our time for the sake of our nation. When our youth rise at 3am to take part in this noble cause, they will be waging true jihad, that is, a struggle to better themselves and serve their country.

Whilst explaining the concept of Jihad he said: Jihad, unfortunately, is a very misunderstood term and actually means to ‘strive’ or ‘struggle’ for any cause. The Prophet Muhammad had stated that ‘love for one’s country is part of faith’ and also emphasized the need to serve humanity. Thus, the first and greatest form of jihad in Islam is to improve oneself and help to uplift all of humanity. Therefore, our greater Jihad is to manifest this love through service at different occasions and drive a counter-narrative to the increasing negative perceptions of Islam throughout the world.

The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, The Caliph of Islam, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has repeatedly emphasised this message:

‘Our Jihad is not a Jihad of swords, guns or bombs. Our Jihad is not a Jihad of cruelty, brutality and injustice. Rather, our Jihad is of love, mercy and compassion. Our Jihad is of tolerance, justice and human sympathy. Our Jihad is to fulfill the rights of God Almighty and of His Creation’.

Members of the public are welcome to approach the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association members on duty with any questions they may have. In the spirit of partnership, nonMuslim individuals and groups are also welcome to participate in the clean-up.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a dynamic, fast-growing international revival movement within Islam. Founded in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) whom the community believes is the long-awaited Promised Messiah, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community spans over 210 countries with membership exceeding tens of millions. Its motto of ‘Love for all and hatred for none’ is evidenced through the peaceful actions of its millions of followers. The current worldwide spiritual leader of the community, the Khalifa (Caliph) resides in London.

The New Zealand branch of this community was established in 1987. It is a registered charitable organisation and endeavors to be an active and integrated community within New Zealand society. ====ENDS====

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