Mohammad Arsalan
Correspondent Belgium
On 24 November, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Hasselt, Belgium had the privilege to organise its first open-day event.
A month before the event, invitation cards were distributed in the cities of Alken and Hasselt. The mayor, along with other dignitaries and religious representatives, were invited personally.
The programme started at 2pm and finished around 7pm, during which many guests came to visit the mosque.
After the reception, guests were given a guided tour of the mosque and the library, and at the end of the tour, guests were served with refreshments where they had the opportunity to ask questions on various topics.
According to the programme, at 5:30pm a sitting was planned. The programme started with the recitation of the Holy Quran, after which Dr Idrees Ahmad Sahib, Amir Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Belgium, delivered a welcome speech and thanked all the guests who had taken the time to participate in the event. In his speech, Amir Sahib, referred to the sermon of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa during his visit to the USA, which was regarding the importance and purpose of building a mosque.
A presentation in Dutch was shown to the guests on the introduction of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat and on the various activities held by the community in Belgium.
By the grace of Allah, more than 130 guests visited the mosque. Among them was the acting mayor of Alken and other political figures. School teachers, directors and priests were also there.
They were all extremely delighted by the hospitality they received. Some of them expressed their feelings that they were really happy to attend the event.
During an interview with MTA Belgium, Mayor of Alken Mr Marc Penxten said that our community was a positive addition to the city of Alken. He further stated that he looked forward to working with the Jamaat in the future also. He also expressed that he was very delighted to meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih when he came to inaugurate the mosque of Alken.
A retired priest said, “I am really happy to be here. You are those people who truly act upon what you preach. And that is a very positive point.”