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VOICE OF ASIA Over 26 years of dedicated service to the community
FRIDAY, July 25, 2014
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ong Term Care Funding By Way of Trust. Read on Page 15 Or Call: 713-771-2900.
Vol. 27 No. 30 Friday, July 25, 2014 Published Weekly from Houston 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com
IMAGH organizes Iftaar Indian Americans in Houston Meet at Ahmadiyya Mosque and Greet Chairman Ed Royce Consul General of India P Harish hosts breakfast in his honor
Latafath Hussain, the President of IMAGH giving his message on the occasion. by Dr. Jaseem Pasha
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OUSTON - The motto of the Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston (IMAGH) is “Fostering Amity Across Communities, Cultures and Religions.” Towards that end it organized a dialogue, Iftaar (breaking of the fast) and dinner on Sunday 20th of July. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Houston hosted a very educational inter-faith social evening, attended by a large crowd of Houstonians, representing all hues of Muslims from the sub-continent that included Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, and Ismailis, as well as Hindus, and Christians to share “Break the Ramadan Fast together”. The event took place at their beautiful mosque, the “Baitus Samee” in north Houston. The highlight of the event was discussion on “Importance of inter-faith Communal Harmony”
hib, the President of the Ahmadiyya Community welcomed the guests. Mr. Iftikhar Sheikh, the Vice President of Ahmadiyya Community, who also introduced the guest speakers, emceed the event. Dr. Ejaz Sheikh, was the first speaker. He gave a very informative introduction and a passionate explanation of ‘who is an Ahmadiyya”. Dr. Sheikh was followed by, Dr. Jaseem Pasha, who emphasized that the success of interfaith dialogue lies in establishing the common grounds of recognizing each other first as human beings and observing respect for human dignity, without excluding anyone. The next speaker was Mr. Shahzad Bashir who gave a vivid example of what separates humans from others, and his statement,’ that if you aspire for paradise, you should create a paradise here first’, were all very well received. The last speaker was Imam Mubashar Ahmad, Presi-
Muslims gather for Iftar at the “Baitus Samee” in north Houston on July 20th. by eminent Houstonians. Present were Dr. Maqbool Haq, the Chairman of Board of Directors of IMAGH, Latafath Hussain, the President of IMAGH, and Mr. Karim Maknojia, the Vice-President of IMAGH. More than seventy five members of IMAGH and their friends attended the event. The program started exactly at 7:00 PM. Imam Mubashar Ahmad Sa-
dent of the Ahmadiyya Community, who highlighted the importance of interfaith and intra-faith harmony. The guests were very touched by the warm hospitality that was extended to them by the members of the Ahmadiyya Community. The arrangements were impeccable, the quality of discussion was par excellent, and the food (cooked in-house) was absolutely superb.
Ed Royce, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs seen addressing Indian Americans in Sugar Land on July 20, 2014 as Sujeet Draksharam, President, IAPAC, (seated far left) looks on.
by Shobana Muratee community meeting with Ed Royce, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs was hosted jointly by the Indo American organizations with active support from US Representative Pete Olson (22nd District of Texas) on Sunday, July 20 at the Madras Pavilion in Sugar Land. Addressing the gathering Chairman Royce said that he was very optimistic about the newly elected Parliament in India in that is may be able to tackle the issue of corruption. “And I want to encourage this because I think that it will lead to more opportunities and economic growth in India,” he said. Royce, who is a founding member of the House India Caucus - which has grown from eight members to currently over 160 - said that the United States had in the last few years worked on LNG (liquefied gas natural) exports and before that on civilian nuclear power. “This will bring low cost energy to India, electricity to more homes and will allow more start-ups of businesses across the Indian sub-continent,” he said. “I think we have done a great deal but so much more is to be done, and by working together with the local community here and across US we can achieve great results.” Speaking of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to the United States in September this year, Royce said “I urged a visa for the Prime Minister and sent out a request for him to address the joint session of Senate and the House of Representatives (when in session). As the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs I’m trying to arrange
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L-R: Chairman Ed Royce with Consul General of India, Houston, P. Harish and Congressman Pete Olson at the Breakfast Meet at CG’s resident on July 20, 2014.
Congressman Pete Olson and wife and Nancy at the evening reception held in honor of Ed Royce at the residence of Sujeet Draksharam in Sugar Land.