Message To Participants
attending the 24th World Religions Conference,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
from His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V,
Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Suppreme Head of the
Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah
Peace and blessings of God be upon you all

I am pleased that the World Religions Conference will try to define a need for religion in the present age. Religions have to co-operate with one another to combat irreligion. The concept that as a result of religion becoming redundant, the situation of the world should. improve, has failed. Either world problems were caused by religions themselves or we need to search . for some other cause. However, we are told that attendance at religious gatherings across many faiths have declined. It is up to these religions to find why their attendance has declined. But is it not more likely that the lack of religion and the absence of truth in pseudo-religions have caused an irresponsible attitude in society? Values once held high, no longer exist. We seem to be heading towards injustice and anarchy.

Belief is a natural instinct in man. When communism tried to do away with religion, all that it bred was a people given to fear of the unknown, superstition and belief in the occult, Unfortunately, dying philosophies are filling that vacuum rather than ways that encourage a true relationship to develop between man and man and man and his Creator which are the objectives of any responsible religion.

The Holy Qur'an defines belief as:
The believers are only those who truly believe in Allah and His Messenger, and then doubt not, but strive with their possessions and their persons in the cause of Allah. It is they who are truthful. (Ch. 49: V 16)

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be on him, states:
"The harm that has been done to the world by pure reason is not a hidden matter. What made Plato and his followers deny that God is the Creator? What made Galen doubt the immortality of souls and the reality of accountability? What made philosophers deny that God has knowledge of all particulars? What made great philosophers worship idols? What led to the sacrifice of roosters and other animals before idols? Was it not reason unaccompanied by revelation? It is not correct to state that many people became pagans even when following revelation and fashioned for themselves new gods. This was not the fault of true revelation, but was the fault of those who mixed falsehood with truth and preferred the worship of their passions to the worship of God. Yet, Divine revelation did not neglect their reform and did not forget them Fresh revelation reformed the matters which had led them astray."
(Brahin i Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khazain vol.1 pp 163-164)

I pray that God enables all of you to understand and come closer to Him.

Yours sincerely

MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD
Supreme Head of the Worldwide
AHMADlYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY
September 24, 2004