Around 6:45 pm on Tuesday, March 11th, cars started pulling in the driveway of Bait-ul-Karim for a “Meet the Author” with Qasim Rashid. A lawyer and writer, Mr. Rashid is the author of The Wrong Kind Of Muslim, one of the first pieces of literature to truly reveal the persecution the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community faces in Pakistan.
The event kicked off promptly at 7:00 pm, with a recitation of selected verses from the Holy Quran. After a brief introduction by Faheem Younus, Mr. Rashid took the floor.
He began with describing his own story: that of an American law student who developed the need to aid the fellow Ahmadis in Pakistan. By describing his journey from having absolutely no knowledge of writing to ultimately self publishing a novel, Mr. Rashid inspired the nearly sixty Jamaat members in attendance.
After the lecture, Mr. Rashid hosted a question answer session with both women and men participating. Questions ranged from “Why did you write this book?” to “What was your college major” to “How do you publish a book?” while questioners ranged from six year olds to college students to long standing members of the community. Not only were Mr. Rashid’s answers honest and refreshing, his straightforward explanation of how he began to write really left no room for excuses and was a wake up call for all members in atttendance.
The event concluded with refreshments. The Wrong Kind Of Muslim, which can be found on Amazon, was also sold to guests in attendance.