Source & Credit: Toronto Religion & Politics Examiner
By Ahmed Farooqi | June 5, 2010
The Journey from 1974 for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan:
In 1974 a leader driven by political control and the continuous support of the masses began a process that would alienate and leave the Ahmadiyya community vulnerable and prosecuted to the laws of the lands which the community helped form. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto began one of the earliest state-led prosecution campaigns against the Ahmadiyyas. His successor took this campaign to a new height with Ordinance XX in 1984.
Within 10 years, the Ahmadiyyas became a larger target for the state governments of Pakistan and various parties trying to gain popular support by uniting the masses against a small group. These tactics are not unknown to the Western World. One only needs to turn to World War 2 and Adolf Hitler’s unification of Germany which was possible through the persecution of innocent German Jews, which later expanded to all Jews in occupied Europe.
Ordinance XX prohibited members of the Ahmadiyya community from calling their places of worship a “masjid” and removing the Muslim declaration of faith from buildings or belongings. One must find this awkward and barbaric to limit a community from calling their place of worship a masjid or followers a Muslim in a day of age where such liberties are enjoyed here in Canada. However, the Ordinance has been in place since 1984 with strict penalties for Ahmadiyyas. These legal mechanisms and continued on-going problems within Pakistan forced the community to relocate its head quarters to the United Kingdom.
The recent attacks on this minority group echoed these difficulties as politicians, journalist and other members of the Pakistani community dealt with this issue. Many referred to the events as walking an awkward line “terrorism struck two places of worship of Ahmadis in Lahore” (The Daily Mail Pakistan), “death toll from the terror attacks on two places of worship of the Ahmadiya community in Lahore rose to 79 on Saturday. The figure was 74 on Friday” (Dawn Pakistan). Furthermore, many politicians and other state figures skipped the funeral arrangements for these innocent community members who were in mosques- following the same values that some 1 billion Muslim do as they attend Friday prayers as their Mosques.
However, being in a city such as Toronto and a Country as great as Canada, one can appreciate the simple privileges such as freedom of speech and religious freedom. I attended a Friday sermon at the Head office of the Canadian Ahmadiyya Community in in Maple, which the imam delivered a message of sorrow and sense of community. At one point, he said “that so many people have called me today asking me if any of my love ones have been hurt or killed, his replay which loved ones every last one of them were my brothers I have lost 80 of them”. Prime Minister Harper and many prominent Canadian political figures immediately denounced the attacks as barbaric terrorism on innocent Ahmadiyyas. Furthermore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his release stated “The Government of Canada will also continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan to promote freedom, democracy, the rule of law, freedom of religion and human rights.” The Minister further urged for the protection of minority rights to practice freedom of religion. Canadian Media outlets from News channels, papers and radio covered this event and some went to great lengths to explain this incident was not an isolated event but a reality many Ahmadiyya Muslims face everyday walking down the street.
The Ahmadiyya community motto is “Love for All, Hatred For None.” The community promotes peace, non-violence and prohibits the Jihad of violence and explosions, which has become the buzz word affiliated with Muslims around the world.
The continued persecution of this group may carry on but their resolve is stronger than ever. One does not need to look far to notice this community’s impact within Canada and abroad through the establishment of such charities such as Humanity First, Campaigning and raising funds for Hospitals (Run for Vaughan), running 24/7 Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) and building some of prominent Muslim Architecture in the Canadian skyline.
I urge other communities to denounce and condemn these acts of terrorism on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on May 28, 2010. Moreover, I urge individuals to denounce the on-going persecution of this community in Pakistan and now which is being exported to Indonesia and Bangladesh.
For More information on Ordinance XX: https://www.thepersecution.org/50years/paklaw.html
More about Lahore attacks http://www.ahmadiyya.ca/LahoreMosqueAttacks/
Read original post here: The Journey from 1974 for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan
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