Waqas Khurshid, Missionary, Kiribati
A few months ago, I received word that my posting as a missionary had changed from the United States of America to the country of Kiribati (read: Ki-ri-bas). I had heard of it before due to a close friend of mine, Khawaja Fahad Ahmad Sahib, being posted there as a missionary, but when I went to find it on Google Maps, the pin was dropped in what would seem like the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Only when I kept zooming in, was I able to see the outline of the island that was to be my new home.
Far from where I grew up and considered to be “home”, with a climate and culture I am still getting accustomed to, I found that same familiar “home” feeling on New Year’s Eve. In the new year, I was able to partake in one of the world’s first Tahajjud prayers read in 2025.
In order to understand how it was one of the world’s first Tahajjud prayers, we have to understand how dates and times are calculated in the world today.
There is a line drawn in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that essentially divides today from tomorrow, called the International Date Line. If it’s January 2nd west of the line, then it’s January 1st on the east side. There needs to be a start and stop line to our 24-hour day cycle somewhere, and this is that line.
Since the Earth turns in a counter-clockwise direction, the new day starts to the west of this line, continuing through nations you might know like New Zealand, Australia and Japan. (“Royal Greenwich Observatory: Science and Engineering Research Council”, oarval.org) That day continues through Asia, Africa, and Europe before finishing in North and South America. But if you zoom into the apparent nothingness that is the water around the International Date Line, you will find that that water is actually spotted with various Island nations that make up the population of the Pacific Ocean. One of these countries is the Republic of Kiribati, a collection of atolls in the central Pacific Ocean. Due to its location, it boasts one of the most unique collections of geographical oddities of any place on Earth.
It is the only country in the world that exists in all four hemispheres at once. Both North and South of the Equator, as well to the East and West of the 180th Meridian. Due to the fact that the islands of Kiribati are the first ones west of the Date Line, it is the first country that welcomes each and every calendar day, and by extension, the New Year as well.
By the Grace of Allah, Islam Ahmadiyya is established in many of these far off islands. Therefore, before the rest of the world could enter into the New Year, a humble group of passionate Ahmadi Muslims in Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji and the Marshall Islands had already begun 2025 with the remembrance of Allah.
On the evening of 31 December, Ahmadi Muslims gathered at the Baitul Ahad Mosque in Bonriki on the island of South Tarawa, Kiribati. The evening was spent engaged in activities such as Maghrib and Isha prayers as well as sports. However, the members most enjoyed a quiz competition reviewing facts about Islam and general knowledge between members.
In the morning, the mosque was full of worshippers, thanking Allah for the year that had just passed and beseeching His help for the days we are about to embark on. Following Fajr and a short dars, members were treated to a special traditional breakfast consisting of fish sandwiches and local style scones.
It is very heartwarming and speaks to the unity of Jamaat Ahmadiyya that the same way I grew up celebrating the New Year is also being practised in a place I had never even dreamt of visiting. Walking into the Mosque and seeing the faces of worshippers who preferred the company of their Lord and their brothers and sisters in faith over worldly pleasures, is a feeling I have experienced growing up and one that will never get old.
The familiar feeling of “home” is only due to the blessings of Allah that He has blessed us with a community that is reaching the corners of the Earth, with tens of thousands I consider to be my brothers and sisters in faith, even if our language, culture and backgrounds are different. The message of Islam Ahmadiyyat resonates with these people in a way that teaches me over and over again, that our claim of Islam being a universal religion is not merely simply a claim, but a reality.
May Allah accept the prayers of this Jamaat and may the true message of Islam spread further in the Islands of the Pacific. Amin.