UK Ahmadiyya Muslims back Catholic charity’s call for action to stop religious persecution

The UK Ahmadiyya Muslim community has given its official support to a leading Catholic charity’s urgent call to the United Nations and governments worldwide to step up action to uphold religious freedom and stop persecution of faith minorities. 

Aid to the Church in Need (UK) national director Dr Caroline Hull has been invited to take the charity’s campaign for action for freedom of religion or belief to this weekend’s Jalsa Salana UK 2026, the Ahmadi Muslim annual convention and the largest Muslim gathering in the country. 

At the event near Alton, Hampshire, Dr Hull will be asking people to sign the ACN petition calling for the full enforcement of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which enshrines the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 

Ahead of the three-day event starting Friday 26th July until Sunday 26th, which is expected to attract more than 50,000 participants, Dr Hull said: “We are grateful to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community for their warm welcome. 

“Freedom of religion or belief is not a Christian cause or a Muslim one – it is a human one. And it is defended best when communities of different faiths stand together.

“We are glad to bring the Article 18 campaign to Jalsa Salana and we invite all who visit to add their voice.”

Rafiq Hayat, national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said: “We are honoured to welcome Aid to the Church in Need to Jalsa Salana.

“As Ahmadi Muslims, we know only too well the suffering that follows when people are denied the freedom to worship according to their conscience – and so we stand readily with all who are persecuted for their faith, whatever that faith may be.

“The defence of freedom of religion of belief is a duty we share and our motto, ‘Love for all, hatred for none’ calls us to nothing less.”

Ahmadi Muslims are one of the world’s most persecuted religious communities. Like ACN, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has championed the rights of persecuted faith groups for many years.

Distinguished Ahmadi Muslim jurist Sir Muhammad Zufrulla Khan played a vital role in the creation of Article 18 and its inclusion within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. 

•    To sign the petition, visit:  https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-right-to-believe-a-global-call-for-religious-freedom 

or https://acnuk.org/article-18-petition-religious-freedom-human-right-not-privilege