Jari Qudrat: The persecution of Ahmadi Muslims must end

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      Call yourself a Muslim—imprisonment for three years.

      Profess the Islamic creed—imprisonment for three years.

      The list goes on and on.

      That’s what life is like for Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, who are even sent to jail for worshipping in non-Ahmadi mosques or public prayer rooms, using the Islamic greeting in public, and publicly quoting from the Qur’an.

      The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a sect of Islam that believes in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to be the promised reformer sent from God for uniting all faiths. They are the fastest growing sect within Islam as their presence is in over 200 countries, and they number in the tens of millions.

      Ahmad was sent to re-establish man’s commune with God, and prove to the world that the God that used to speak, still speaks, and the God that used to hear, still hears. He brought Islam back to its pure and pristine teachings, and as a result there is everlasting peace within the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

      The cost of accepting him however, has been brutal persecution for the past century. Ahmadi Muslims are a group of Muslims that face state-sponsored persecution in Pakistan for holding certain beliefs. In 1974, constitutional changes were made to stop them from practising their faith. The second amendment states: “A person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)...or recognizes such a claimant as a Prophet or religious reformer, is not a Muslim...”

      Seem like an outdated issue (since the amendment dates back to 1974)?

      Think again. In 2008, two prominent Ahmadi Muslims were brutally murdered on September 8 and 9, right after a program was aired on Geo TV in Pakistan, encouraging and provoking the killing of Ahmadi Muslims on September 7. Since then dozens of Ahmadis have been assassinated and targeted.

      But in 2010, perhaps the epitome of persecution occurred in what are now deemed the “Lahore attacks”. Two mosques in Lahore, belonging to the Ahmadi Muslims, were simultaneously attacked, and around 86 members were killed, and over 100 injured.

      Now fast forward to just a month ago, when Canadian citizen and cardiologist Dr. Mehdi Ali was brutally murdered while he was pursuing humanitarian efforts in Pakistan. He left the comfort of his home in an affluent western country, and went to Pakistan to serve patients for free. One morning after prayers, he went to visit some graves of elders in his family, and on his way out he was brutally murdered—11 bullets pumped into his body, as his wife and child watched helplessly.

      The persecution of Ahmadi Muslims has become a very serious issue and is drawing international attention. After the killing of Dr. Mehdi Ali, Canadian MP Judy Sgro said at a press conference, which I attended, that this had been enough. She said we have spoken lots, but now it is time to take serious action and ensure that the Pakistani government repeals these laws.

      The only thing that Ahmadi Muslims can do is flee the country, but even that’s tough. It is difficult for Ahmadi Muslims to leave Pakistan for many reasons, the primary one being that you have to sign an agreement declaring: “I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be an imposter, and also consider his followers non-Muslim.”

      But even despite all the persecution, and all the hatred, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is still the fastest growing sect within Islam. They are also the largest group of Muslims united under one leader, the Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

      It seems strange, but when you consider that their universal motto—that they’ve been preaching and practicing all over the world—is “Love for all, hatred for none”, it makes sense.

      After all, hate begets hate, but love begets love.

      And as the late fourth caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community used to say, “Swords can win territories, but not hearts. Forces can bend heads, but not minds.”

      Comments

      12 Comments

      Anonymous

      Jul 17, 2014 at 9:40pm

      Fantastic articlel, perfectly outlining all the facts about the issues the Ahmadi Muslim's have to face ! Good job

      Naveed

      Jul 18, 2014 at 7:38am

      Nicely done. Jari has simply narrated facts about the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims. It is sad that how actions of these so-called Muslims paint a horrible picture of Islam to the world at large and Islam as a religion suffers in the end. If only, these so-called Muslims stopped calling themselves Muslims or stopped committing atrocities in the name of Islam. One day, the true Islam will prevail and no one will be able to stop it. Keep it up Jari.

      Dan Carkner

      Jul 18, 2014 at 8:47am

      Thanks for writing this, it's a topic that does not get much mention in the press. Ahmadis are also currently being persecuted in Indonesia.

      Faran Rabbani

      Jul 18, 2014 at 9:26am

      My buoy Jari. Props brother. Nicely done. Allahumma Zid Fazid.

      Anonymous

      Jul 18, 2014 at 11:22pm

      mashallah. a very well thought and addressed article that effectively appeals towards a necessary and overdue change against severe injustice.

      arsalan

      Jul 19, 2014 at 9:16am

      Muslims believe Prophet Mohummed pbh is the last and final prophet and messenger.
      We do not believe Ahmedi are Muslim. Yes some people persecute Ahmedis. If you wanted this persecution to stop you would be better of calling for it to end in spite of the fact you are non-Muslim then to try and force others to regard you as Muslim. Which they will never do. No sect or school of thought within Islam regards Ahmedi as Muslim. The only people who call Ahmedi Muslim are themselves. And even within themselves you have two sects who call each other Non-Muslim.

      Anonymous2

      Jul 20, 2014 at 1:18pm

      Lol @Arsalan .. No idea where you get your insight on Islam from. In war, some one killed a man that said I am Muslim, and when the incident was narrated to the Holy Prophet (sa), the response was did you take out his heart and see what he meant?

      No one has any right to call anyone Non-Muslim. And you're a real hypocrite if you say that just because we are "non-Muslims" we deserve to be killed. That logic makes absolute zero sense. Ahmadi Muslims will continue to call themselves Muslims, will continue to profess the Islamic creed, and will continue to grow very fast. The revolution is happening while you sleep. You tried to stop us in Pakistan, woke up and realized we're all across the world.

      Quit while you're at it.

      A Proud Muslim

      Jul 20, 2014 at 9:25pm

      "La illah ila Allah" I am a proud Ahmadi MUSLIM - the only Islam with a True Khalifa!

      Anonymous

      Jul 20, 2014 at 10:51pm

      An article is only credible as the amount of references used to back up the information within the article. I'm sure you made up this statistic: "They are the fastest growing sect within Islam as their presence is in over 200 countries, and they number in the tens of millions."

      Next time you decide to write an article, just do a little bit of research beforehand. I just did a 2 second Google search and found the Ahmediya community is just above 10 million people, from which 4.9 million still live in Pakistan. So don't say there is a revolution happening while the others sleep, because half of you are still in Pakistan and barely anyone agrees with what you believe in. I know some Ahmedi's who tried converting me by saying things that they don't even believe just to get me on their side.

      Anyway, learn the basics of journalism before writing anything more.

      Anonymous3

      Jul 21, 2014 at 3:38pm

      @Anonymous I'm not going to stand up for the author here, but what you said is absolutely incorrect. The Ahmadi Muslims are the fastest growing sect, and far more than 10 million. 10 million exist alone in Africa. Your google searches are probably from hate sites, or news articles that mis-heard or misrepresented the figure. And don't point fingers at Ahmadi Muslims because one tried "converting" you by professing what he believes not. You don't even want me to get started on what some Sunni's have told me - wow. And the revolution is happening while you sleep. The theological flaws in your perception and understanding of Islam increase day by day, while through education the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at is spreading vastly. Beliefs like Jesus will descend from the heaven is mere folklore dude, and the best part is it's no where in the Quran.