Source & Credit: Clarion Ledger | June 6, 2010
By Gary Pettus | gpettus@clarionledger.com
Laique Ahmed died May 28 in Lahore, Pakistan, on the front row of a mosque, where he had kneeled to ask for God's blessing.
The gunfire that killed him exploded 8,000 miles from Mississippi.
But the pain it inflicted has reached into the heart of one of its residents: Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, a Brandon-area resident who practices medicine in Monticello, and one of the slain man's sons.
Speaking earlier this week by phone from Pakistan a few days after his father's funeral, Ahmed said he would like to know that his father's death, like his life, meant something.
"I am going to leave my revenge with my God," said Tanvir Ahmed, 46. "But I believe that here on earth, we need to make some changes. Some good has to come out of every bad thing."
For Ahmed, the good would mean changes in the way America regards the Pakistani government, the war against terrorists, and the religion his father died for.
Laique Ahmed was one of more than 80 people who died during a coordinated onslaught on two mosques by men affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.
Their religion was Islam, but they followed the minority Ahmadi sect, which in Pakistan can be fatal.
Even if you're a 72-year-old retired banker who brought up eight children but never raised his voice, never demanded anything, never complained about the sacrifices he made, said his son.
"That man did not eat out in 25 years, raising eight kids, sending three to medical school," said Tanvir Ahmed, one of the three who are doctors.
"There was no money for anything else."
With money from his father, Tanvir Ahmed at-tended medical school in the country of his birth, Pakistan.
He moved to America to complete his residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he now is an assistant professor of family medicine.
Since 2006, he has worked at Lawrence County Hospital while operating a medical clinic in Monticello.
"Anytime a small community can get physicians, they're well received," said Semmes Ross Jr., hospital administrator.
"Dr. Ahmed has a real compassion for his patients, which is unusual for doctors these days."
It took a short time before that feeling was reciprocated, said Sandra Royer, a licensed practical nurse who works with Ahmed at the clinic.
"We are a small town; we have one red light," she said.
"Him being a foreign doctor, people at first were saying, 'We don't need that.'
"But once they get to know him, they love him.
"A lot of his patients come to the clinic when there's nothing wrong with them. They don't need any medicine. They just want to see Dr. Ahmed."
This faith in Ahmed translated into an outpouring of sympathy from residents who heard the tragic news from Pakistan, Royer said.
In turn, the flood of support solidified his love for his adopted country, said Ahmed, who has permanent resident status and is on course to become a United States citizen.
"People not of my religion, not of my color, on the phone with me, e-mailing me, texting me, crying with me.
"These people are praying for me in their churches. And here, the country of my birth is killing my innocent father.
"These lunatics are saying, 'Blow up America.'
"What do they know about Islam? We are told that love of our homeland is part of our faith. My country is part of my faith, and my country is America.
"I will lay down my life for my country, because that is Islam - not killing innocent people in an airplane attack or in a subway ... . These people have hijacked the religion," he said.
Pakistani law says Ahmadis have no claim on Islam. It would be like calling Pepsi "Coke," or vice versa, Ahmed said.
In Pakistan, 4 million or so Ahmadis cannot even "act like" Muslims, he said.
Unlike many other Muslims, the Ahmadi sect holds that there have been other prophets since Mohammed.
For this, militant mullahs and the Sunni Muslim Taliban say Ahmadis must die.
More than happy to execute that sentence are men of the Taliban, which is said to have ties with radical Islamic religious schools called madrasas, or madrassas.
"They are told if they do this one thing, they will go to heaven," Ahmed said.
"This is just my opinion: Our government is trying to negotiate with Pakistan, but the war in Afghanistan will never be over until we take care of the madrasas in Pakistan, these breeding grounds for terrorists.
"I believe the government needs to go on a full-scale ground assault and wipe out these schools.
"Because what has changed in 10 years? What has changed since 9-11?"
On May 28, agents of the Taliban entered two mosques, where they carried out the deadliest attack in Pakistan since Dec. 31, when a suicide car bomber killed more than 100 civilians.
They assaulted the Lahore neighborhoods of Garhi Shahu and Model Town, where Ahmed's father loved to go on prayer day.
"He'd get up at the crack of dawn, check the oil and water in my baby sister's car, play with his grandson, say his prayers, read his newspaper. Have his tea," Ahmed said.
"He would dress up, use cologne, and get to the mosque very early.
"He sat on the front row, because he believed more blessings are received there.
"Friday was his most beautiful day."
Hundreds of worshippers filled the Model Town mosque that Friday.
They were joined by three gunmen who opened fire and hurled grenades at them.
The prayer leader told everyone to lie on the ground and pray for their safety, Ahmed said.
"These people became perfect targets for murder.
"As my father prayed, terrorist cowards shot him at close range. They exploded his chest. This man some people called an angel."
Ahmed's father-in-law was among the 100 or so wounded; he survived.
Sarwar Jahan, Ahmed's wife, was in Lahore visiting; she confirmed the news to her husband by phone.
Ahmed joined her in time for the May 30 funeral. He'll stay another two weeks in Pakistan, in the house he and his siblings built for their parents not two years ago.
" 'This is my dream home' - my father always said that," Ahmed said.
"He couldn't even live two years to enjoy it."
Read original post here: Pakistan violence hits home in Mississippi.
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