Muslims for Life 9/11 Commemoration to include presentations, blood drive
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Muslims for Life campaign, which, in partnership with the American Red Cross, honors the lives lost on September 11, 2001, through annual blood drives.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, with branches in Glen Ellyn and Zion, will continue its remembrance this year with a virtual event featuring speakers who will address the significance of 9/11 in light of the pandemic and national discourse about injustice. Speakers at the Muslims for Life 9/11 Commemoration at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, will include: Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Member of Congress and Co-Chair, Ahmadiyya Muslim Congressional Caucus; a few members of Congress; and Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President, American Red Cross Biomedical Services
"Now more than ever, our nation needs something to unite behind," said Amjad Mahmood Khan, National Director of Public Affairs for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. "As a Community that lays roots in America since 1920, we feel an obligation to bring our fellow Americans together around the common value of human life and standing for peace. Through this campaign, we illustrate that the only blood that should be shed is to save lives."
In 2011, memorializing the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA launched the Muslims for Life campaign as an annual initiative to save American lives by donating blood. The campaign has run in over 200 locations with numerous partners and collected thousands of pints of blood.
With over 5,000 pints of blood donations, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community values their ten-year partnership with the American Red Cross. Blood drives will continue to be held this year in Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques and community centers nationwide. The current virtual event is substituting the annual blood drive at the US Capitol on or around September 11th.
To sign up for a blood drive with the Red Cross, visit www.muslimsforlife.org.
About the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community:
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a dynamic, reformist and fast-growing international movement within Islam. Founded in 1889, the Community spans 213 countries with tens of millions of members. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, established in 1920, is the oldest American-Muslim organization.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the only Islamic organization to believe that the long- awaited messiah has come in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) of Qadian, India. Ahmad claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide, whose advent was foretold by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. The Community believes that God sent Ahmad, like Jesus, to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace. Ahmad's advent has brought about an unprecedented era of Islamic revival and moderation. He divested Muslims of fanatical beliefs and practices by vigorously championing Islam's true and essential teachings.