More than 230 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community from 13 countries attended a convention at the Chrysalis Academy in Tokai last month.
The 54th Jalsa Salana (annual convention) was a chance for members from different centres to meet, and there were speeches, poems, prayers and various religious activities. Keynote speaker Tommy Kallon, from London,
is the president of the Pan African Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (PAAMA).
His speech, “Achieving Peace and Harmony: Role of Religion”, reflected the theme for the convention.
Other invited speakers included: ward councillor Penny East; Reverend Mcebisi Pinyana, from the office of the Archbishop of Cape Town; Dr Graham Thomas, of the Quaker Community; Professor Charles Villa-Vicencio,
Emeritus Professor in Religious Studies at UCT; Swami
Vidyananda, of the Rondebosch Ananda Kutir Ashrama; James
Ellman, of Faith Hope Love
Communities; Rabbi Kalman Green, of the Jewish community, ANC youth leader Kama
Mesuli, and music composer Nic Paton.
