Islamabad, Tilford, 27 June 2021: Earlier today, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered an address at the conclusion of MTA International’s 2021 Conference.
Huzooraa addressed the conference from his office in Islamabad and MTA staff members listened from an array of countries, including Ghana, Germany, Indonesia, the Gambia, Mauritius, the USA, Bangladesh, Sweden, the UK, Kababir and Canada.
The concluding session began with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa inviting Basil Butt Sahib from the Canada studios to recite a portion of the Holy Quran. Umar Sharif Sahib, from the UK, was then called to recite an Urdu poem.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then called upon the Managing Director of MTA International, Munir-ud-Din Shams Sahib to present the conference report. He reported that every year, MTA International had progressed under the guidance of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. Eight satellite channels were being run throughout the world with cutting-edge technology through almost 20 international teams. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa had personally initiated various programmes for MTA International. This year, through a virtual experience, 30 countries participated in the MTA Conference, he said.
A video presentation was then shown. The video highlighted the successful spread of MTA studios throughout the world, under the guidance of Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa. 19 studios actively participated – along with various local teams too – in this year’s conference.
The presentation highlighted that the monumental progress of MTA International this year included the virtual mulaqats with Huzooraa, which Ahmadis across the world were able to benefit from – something that has never happened before. With the help of MTA, international conferences and events were also made possible.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa then commenced with his address.
Huzooraa said, “In this era, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, was sent by Allah the Almighty to revive the true teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to convey those noble teachings to all parts of the world.”
The Promised Messiahas stated that the era of the Holy Prophetsa was a time for the perfection of religion and the era of the Messiah was for this teaching to spread.
“In short, the great mission of the Promised Messiahas was to spread the teachings of the Holy Prophetsa to all nations and peoples. And to achieve this great objective, Allah the Almighty, Himself, provided the means.” Huzooraa highlighted.
The Promised Messiahas wrote a lot of books to push back against anti-Islam opponents. He replied to allegations and “each one of his books” showed the “timeless” and “pristine” teachings of Islam.
“The Promised Messiahas informed the world that only through Islam’s sublime teachings was it now possible to forge a loving and pure bond between mankind and its Creator. Only through Islam could human beings truly fulfil the rights of God Almighty. Similarly, he taught that it was only by acting upon Islam’s teachings that a believer could fully discharge the rights owed to one’s fellow beings.”
Huzooraa said it was the teachings of Islam that the Promised Messiahas gave through his books and discourses. The Promised Messiahas devised “an outstanding scheme” for the propagation of Islam. He utilised various means to spread Islam. As the print media, by then, was the most established and efficient means of information, the Promised Messiahas regularly published messages in newspapers so that the teachings of Islam could be spread far and wide.
“For the sake of the spread of Islam, the Promised Messiahas instructed his followers to gain an in-depth knowledge of their faith and beliefs and to then devote their lives for the sake of propagating and preaching it to others”, said Huzooraa.
“Until his last breath, the Promised Messiahas sought to complete his divine mission – to convey Islam’s teachings not just within his nation, but across borders and continents. Indeed, history bears witness to the fact that the message of the Promised Messiahas reached the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom during his life.”
For example, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa noted, how famous newspapers of the West reported on the challenges of the Promised Messiahas.
Huzooraa said, “It is clear that the Promised Messiahas frequently utilised print media for the sake of serving Islam and in the cause of imparting its noble teachings to a vast audience.”
Thereafter, following the departure of the Promised Messiahas from this world, Allah established the institution of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyyat. Great efforts were made for the message of the Promised Messiahas and Islam to reach all parts of the world during the very inception of Khilafat. For example, a missionary was sent to the United Kingdom to introduce to the message of Islam to the British people, during the era of the first Khilafat.
During the second Khilafat, tabligh efforts by the Jamaat saw a dramatic increase. “Great strides were taken as the Jamaat continued to flourish and expand,” Huzooraa said. However, due to a lack of resources, the Jamaat was not able to spread across the whole world, but Allah the Almighty continued to bless those limited means.
In 1938, a new chapter of the spread of Ahmadiyyat started when – for the very first time – the voice of the Khalifa spread through the loudspeaker. At that time, the use of the loudspeaker was considered a revolutionary means of spreading Islam. However, as people were rejoicing over the loudspeaker, the Second Khalifara prophesised and declared that “the time was surely near when the Khalifa of the time would deliver a speech in Qadian whilst simultaneously his voice would be heard in every nation and every corner of the world.”
Glimpses of that blessed future came into view as the years went along, Huzooraa noted. For example, missionaries were able to acquire occasional slots on radio stations and were “thus able to present the perfect teachings of Islam and Ahmadiyyat to a much wider audience”. Those radio programmes were seen as a great achievement by the Jamaat – the newspapers of the Jamaat would eagerly publish these missionary reports.
Huzooraa said that now, the Jamaat had its very own radio stations and channel, and no longer required slots at other radio stations. And now, through television, we were able to spread the message of Islam further.
When television started, it was very limited. “However, when Allah the Almighty provided our Jamaat with inspiration, resources and capability, He also created the means for satellite” and so our channel was able to broadcast to the whole world. This was the clear fulfilment of the prophecy given to the Promised Messiahas, that “I shall cause thy message to reach the corners of the earth.” By the grace of Allah the Almighty, now, 19 MTA studios had been established globally who were working under the central guidance of MTA International and the guidance of Khilafat.
In addition to the UK studios, we have established full studios in Qadian, Ghana, the Gambia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Germany, Canada, USA, Kababir, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Australia, Canada and Uganda, Huzooraa highlighted.
Due to government restrictions, Pakistan studios’ production was limited; however, Allah the Almighty had blessed the Jamaat with international studios elsewhere.
“With the grace of Allah the Almighty, a number of live programmes are now regularly broadcast from Qadian and from the Abdul Wahab Studios in Ghana. Similarly, the MTA Germany studios have launched some programmes in German.
“In fact, apart from our English and Urdu content, programmes are being produced in various languages such as French, Swahili, Turkish, amongst others.
“Therefore, with the grace of Allah, the message of the true Islam is reaching all parts of the world through MTA.
“If we analyse our financial and human resources in purely worldly terms, the truth is that we could never have accomplished all of this on our own. In reality, whatever has been achieved has been the result and fulfilment of that divine promise and revelation, that ‘I shall cause thy message to reach the corners of the earth.
“Each and every day we are witnessing, with our own eyes, the glorious manifestation of the help and favour of Allah the Almighty.”
Huzooraa said that where, initially, there was just one MTA channel, now Allah had enabled MTA to launch several channels. There was MTA 1 – the flagship channel. Apart from this, MTA 2 Europe, MTA 3 Al-Arabiyya, MTA 4 Africa, MTA 5 Africa, MTA 6 Asia, MTA 7 Asia and MTA 8 North America were all broadcasting simultaneously. These can be streamed online by anyone from any part of the world.
Huzooraa spoke about the recent advancements of MTA, for example, MTA broadcasting on terrestrial television in Suriname, the Gambia and Ghana.
Religious, informative and other interesting documentaries were now being produced and broadcast on MTA, Huzooraa said. More content for children was also being produced. The teachings of the Holy Quran and the books of the Promised Messiahas were also explained in various programmes.
Huzooraa said, “MTA programmes are also serving to introduce the teachings of Islam to people outside the Jamaat in an excellent way.”
Where MTA serves as a means of education and tarbiyat of the Jamaat, it is playing an excellent role in propagating the message of Ahmadiyyat, Huzooraa said.
Regarding the pandemic situation, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“During this [pandemic] period, I have not been able to travel on tours, nor have Ahmadis been able to visit me. Yet, through the blessings of MTA, the direct contact and communication between Khalifatul Masih and members of the Jamaat has not only continued but has increased and reached new heights, alhamdulillah.
“Apart from the weekly Friday Sermons, which are broadcast live around the world, a new avenue of mulaqats – the virtual mulaqats – have emerged during this period […]
“One day, I am meeting Ahmadis from Australia; the next day, from Indonesia or the United States, or from Qadian, Europe, Africa, Canada and other parts of the world. While sitting here in Islamabad, the words and voice of the Khalifa of the time are reaching every corner of the world.”
Huzooraa said that as we witnessed these blessings and observed the rapid advancements, we could not help but recall the prophecy of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra.
Many other programmes of Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa were being shown on MTA too.
Huzooraa said, “Many people send their feedback that having watched the mulaqats, their faith and bond with Khilafat has strengthened. Or that they have learned new points that would improve their moral and spiritual development. Others write that they have learned about the administrative system of the Jamaat through these programmes, while some write that they had long held questions in their hearts that were answered during the mulaqats. People also write that they have come to better understand the vision and views of the Khalifa of the time on particular issues, whether they be religious or contemporary matters. Many also write how these programmes have motivated them to personally reform and improve themselves and to strive to increase their service to the Jamaat and to play their role in ensuring that the unity of our Jamaat only ever increases […]
“Both from a spiritual and administrative perspective, MTA is playing a great role in conveying and amplifying the voice of the Khalifa of the time. It is eliminating distances, removing barriers and above all, ensuring that the Jamaat of the Promised Messiahas remains united at the hand of Khilafat and that Ahmadis across the world follow exactly the same religious teachings and beliefs.
“From one corner of the world to the next; from Asia to Europe; from Africa to the Americas; from the Far East to the various island of the world; from the east to the west; from the north to the south, the teachings of the Promised Messiahas and the instructions of the Khalifa of the time are reaching all nations and peoples through MTA”, Huzooraa said.
Huzooraa said that due to this, all Ahmadis should be thankful to the workers in MTA – whether the workers are paid a minimal amount or the volunteers. Huzooraa said these workers are saving the Jamaat millions of pounds each year.
Huzooraa said he recalled that during an event in America, a governor, after being told by Huzooraa that MTA received no state or commercial funding, was shocked and asked how this was even possible.
“Indeed, for worldly and material people, it is surely impossible to comprehend how MTA can only survive as a global channel, but actually thrive without any form of commercialisation. Yet, they do not realise that MTA is a manifestation of that grand promised of Allah the Almighty vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas that ‘I shall cause thy message to reach the corners of the earth’.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said, “I reiterate that both the permanent staff of MTA and every volunteer, wherever they are serving, are all deserving of our sincere appreciation and prayers. No matter what is asked of them, they continue to serve and do so with a smile on their faces and with great dedication. Certainly, my heart is filled with gratitude for all of you. May Allah the Almighty reward you and may He enable you to continue to serve with humility and selflessness.”
Huzooraa, advising MTA workers, said, “Never think that the success of MTA or the Jamaat is contingent upon your skills or your time, or that you are deserving of praise or material reward. Most certainly, if you remain forever sincere and devoted, and serve with true humility, you will attain the very best of rewards from Allah the Almighty himself.”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa, at the end, led everyone in silent prayers.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)