I AM NOT AN AHMADI: [PLIGHT OF AHMADI MULSIMS IN PAKISTAN]

The original Urdu article by Nimer Ahmad was translated by Ahmadiyya Times News Staff. Ahmadiyya Times assumes full responsibility for any inaccuracies in the translation of this article.

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By Nimer Ahmad | Ajkal.com.pk | December 3, 2009

I AM NOT AN AHMADI

My apology to the readers for the [abrupt] title of this article - but the religious extremist faction is far too strong against a weak me and they have the power to legitimize anyone’s murder by declaring him or her an Ahmadi. With this essay my [only] aim is to get the word out about one weak Ahmadi docter’s predicament, whose life has fallen in danger.  However, I do fear a bit about my own self too; in that, due to my last name ‘Ahmad’, someone might take me for an Ahmadi, thus hastening my own fate.

Few days ago I happened to meet a physician in Lahore [Pakistan] who mentioned that he was the victim of an attempted murder on the 25th of November. This doctor is associated with a large medical organization and has been running a charity hospital in the area.  Few days ago people found out that he was an Ahmadi. As a first step, the local people immediately forbade all patients from receiving any treatment from his clinic, and then the mullah of the local mosque started issuing various fatwas against the doctor through the mosque loud speakers.  Although, a formal complaint was lodged against the mullah, no steps were ever taken to impede the nuisance.

Eventually, on the night of November 25, one young thug entered the clinic and fired several shots at the doctor and his nurse. Somehow, the doctor escaped alive and now he is hiding away for his life.

Although, the police report does mention the cause of attack to be religious contentions, surprisingly however, no action has been initiated against such elements that perpetuate religiously motivated hatred in the society.

The doctor’s children can no longer go to their school. The fact is that doctor himself cannot leave the house; much less to think about sending kids to the school. He is fixing to sell his house and move elsewhere, because ever since people have found out that he is an Ahmadi, not only that no one is willing to help him, none wants to keep any contact with him either.

When asked how people could not have known he was an Ahmadi where he has lived for decades, he said during the 1974 anti-Ahmadiyya campaign few agitators attempted to burn down his house but many people of the area stood up for him - to the extent that many of his non-Ahmadi neighbors stood guard at nights to protect him. “But it is no longer the same; as if everyone has changed and I have become a stranger in my own neighborhood”, says the doctor. “The people whose forefathers used to protect us, their children are new bent upon burning down our homes.”

This is not the first incident of its type. Back, on March 14, 2009, an Ahmadi couple was murdered in Multan [Pakistan] because of their faith. Dr. Sheraz Bajwa, 37, and his pregnant wife Dr. Naureen Bajwa, 29, worked for a Multan hospital. They had been threatened numerous times by the local religious extremist groups previously. Eventually, on the night of March 14th, the two were viciously murdered and the expected child also fell victim to the religious extremism - even before he was born.

In the 1953 Anti-Ahmadiyya agitation, the recognized leaders of the extremist groups were all arrested and an investigative commission, headed by Justice Munir, was formed.  When Justice Munir queried some of the very well-known religious scholars to define a Muslim, each one offered a different take on it; to the extents that few were altogether opposed to one another. It would be correct to assume that according to the each definition presented, all the rest of the so-called scholars were rendered non-Muslims.

Based upon the findings of their investigation, the panel prepared a voluminous report that did not recommend Ahmadi’s to be considered non-Muslim; and the reports came to be considered as the most fundamental document, explaining the religious extremism, and for understanding of the underlying divisive theologies.  The report, commonly known as the ‘Munir Inquiry Report’, is available in a book format is many bookstores.

In 1974, [finally] one such leader, whose own faith in Islam was questioned by the very religious scholars, declared the Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. The point here is not whether Ahmadis are Muslim or not; because I believe, the State has no authority to determine the faith of any of its constituents, nor any one citizen can force another in or out of a faith. The point here is only this – that at least as a minority, Ahmadis should be afforded their constitutionally due rights.

The Pakistani State is duty-bound to protect the lives and properties of its minorities; yet at every incident of ill-treatment of its minorities, the State remains silent, and for those who want to stand up for the rights of the fellow Ahmadi citizens, they must first declare that they are not Ahmadis themselves.  There is perhaps no other such group in Pakistan who has been routinely victimized for such a long time. Even among the progressive circles of the society, few raise this issue - fearing that anyone can be accused of being an Ahmadi and made to live miserably. One can easily imagine the true state of existence of an actual Ahamdi when viewed through the lens of the Aristotle’s logic.

Read more: I AM NOT AN AHMADI [URDU]

It is now about twenty-five years since the Ordinance XX was promulgated in Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has suffered a great deal after Dictator Ziaul Haq promulgated the Ordinance in 1984. The suffering continues unabated. It is a touching story and this Souvenir tells only a part of it covering upto 1999. (read it online)