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Ahmadi Muslims, a Persecuted Mideast Minority, Find Religious Freedom in Israel
(JNS.org) Eliana Rudee - The Ahmadiyya community, a small Islamic sect numbering 20 million people, is a persecuted minority across the Middle East. But at the southern entrance to Haifa is Kababir village, home to 2,000 residents, 70% of whom are Ahmadi Muslims. In Kababir, Ahmadis enjoy full religious and cultural freedom and pray in the only Ahmadi mosque in the Middle East, opened in 1934. The safe haven they have found in Israel, as compared to the broader Middle East, mirrors that of the Druze, Bahai, and Christians. The Ahmadis are considered to be pro-Israel and leaders in coexistence efforts. Israeli Ahmadiyya community leader Muhammad Sharif Odeh says, "I am a Muslim, Palestinian, and I am here. It is a good thing that there is an Israeli state." "We are creating fanaticism in the West Bank and Gaza. It has become a greenhouse for terrorism and radicalism. Palestinians play with plastic and wood guns while Israelis play with dolls. Barbarism isn't the solution, we must respect peace agreements. You can't send people to kill others and say you want peace."