Friday, June 4, 2010

Stop killing Ahmadis in Pakistan

The Ahmadis, are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Ahmadis believe they are Muslims, but orthodox Muslims think otherwise. This is the case because the Ahmadis do not believe that the Prophet Mohammed was the final prophet; they believe that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community - Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839–1908), was the "Awaited One", foretold by Prophet Mohammed. In other words, the Ahmadis do not believe in the "finality of prophethood." It follows. therefore, that in Pakistan, the Ahmadis make up a religious minority community. They face untold discrimination, persecution and killings - simply because their belief is considered to be flawed. In Pakistan, Ahmadis are up against threats, violence and killings, engineered by Islamist extremists. The Pakistani government should take immediate steps to stop the killing of Ahmadis.

According to Human Rights Watch - on 28 May 2010, Islamist extremist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques -Baitul Nur Mosque and Darul Zikr mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. The attack left 94 people dead and many injured. On 30 May 2010, militants attacked an Intensive Care unit - where the victims of the previous attack were being treated. This time, 12 people were killed - mostly police and hospital staff.

No natural person should be killed or face persecution threats and violence, because of religious views. The killing of Ahmadis in Pakistan, and the impunity surrounding the killings, should be stopped by the government. Repeated attacks and threats against the Ahmadis, highlight religious intolerance in Pakistan, as well as the government's failure to bring perpetrators to justice.

It is worth mentioning that laws in Pakistan are discriminatory against religious minorities, and legalize persecution of Ahmadis. The Penal Code, for example, prohibits anyone from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” This, in my mind, targets the Ahmadis - who profess to be Muslims.

In Pakistan, blasphemy is a capital crime, punishable with a death penalty! As mentioned earlier, the Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the "Awaited one". In Pakistans, this belief is considered to be blasphemous. Consequently, numerous Ahmadis are charged under the Blasphemy Law and jailed.

It is true, that by failing to stop the killing of Ahmadis, prosecute perpetrators and repeal the repugnant Blasphemy Law - that discriminates against Ahmadis, the government of Pakistan has "emboldened the extremists" in Pakistan and worldwide.

Photo by CharlesFred

1 comment:

  1. Actually Ahmadis do believe in Prophet Muhammed saw to be the last Prophet infact he is the seal of all Prophets. Ahmadis say Prophet Muhammed saw was A Rasul and Nabi whereas Imam Mahdi Is not a Rasul just Nabi. There's a huge Difference between Rasul and Nabi as Rasul is much Higher in status. Nabi simply means reformer who will bring no new book but infact will revive Islam via the book (Quran) so Ahmadi Muslims do believe in Prophet Muhammed saw to be the final Prophet.

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