The relationship between Ted Hakey, members of the state’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the city was on full display recently during a national convention that pointed to the partnership as an example of interfaith cooperation.



Hakey and Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati were among thousands of guests at Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA’s 68th annual convention, held last weekend in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to talk about the relationships they’ve built with the state chapter, which has its mosque in South Meriden.



Zahir Mannan, community outreach director for the Baitul Aman mosque, 410 Main St., said the guest list shows the efforts of Ahmadiyya Muslims, politicians and community leaders to promote peace and tolerance.



“We’re not building walls, we’re building bridges,” he said.



Salaam Bahtti, national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya community, estimated that more than 8,000 people attended the three-day convention, which ended Sunday and is the longest running Muslim convention in the country.



The convention focused on the community’s “True Islam” campaign, which promotes the Ahmadi Muslim belief that Islam is about peace and forgiveness as a way to fight religious extremism.



During his speech at the convention, Hakey urged all people, not just Muslims, to read the Quran and learn that “there is no such thing as an Islamic extremist.”



Hakey, who fired four bullets from a high-powered rifle at the mosque after the November terrorist attacks in Paris, also credits the entire Ahmadi community for following Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmad’s leadership in forgiving him.



“Nobody is more surprised than me that I’m here today,” Hakey said during his speech, while touting the True Islam campaign’s message of “love for all and hatred for none.”



“I’m living proof that it works,” he said.



Hakey is scheduled to report Aug. 15 for a six-month federal prison sentence, having pleaded guilty in February to destruction of religious property. He has worked closely with the mosque since winter, attending several events.



Members of the mosque asked that the judge not sentence him to prison.



Hakey’s dramatic change is “one of those things that you’ve never seen before,” Bahtti said, but many Ahmadi have had similar experiences in their own life.



Bahtti said he and his parents had a “very awkward” relationship with one of their neighbors after moving to Harrisburg right after Sept. 11. He said the neighbor, a former Marine like Hakey, even built a memorial to the victims of the attack in between their homes, but the two families eventually became friends.



Other speakers at the convention included former Baltimore mayor and presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Commissioner Jackie Wolcott, and politicians from Pennsylvania, among others.



While the event focused on bringing political and community leaders together, Mannan said the focus of the event wasn’t political and that Ahmadi Muslims aren’t looking to support or oppose individual politicians. Scarpati said Hakey’s new relationship with the Ahmadi community shows the positive outcome that can come from promoting peace and forgiveness.



“The outcome is what we want to see happen in the world,” he said, adding that he was honored to attend the convention and show his support for the Ahmadi community in Meriden. Scarpati said he hopes to attend the community’s upcoming international convention in London.



Mannan said the mayor’s attendance shows the relationship the mosque has with the city. Mosque members regularly attending events like Tuesday’s National Night Out and foster a positive relationship with police, he said.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino





