A day or so before the Caliph had asked us to pray for the children of Gaza. Indeed he regularly asks us to pray for the victims of oppression – whether they live in the East or the West.
Source/Credit: Press Ahmadiyya
By Farooq Aftab | August 17, 2014
The violence has to end. But it will not end until public perception demands changes and that will not happen until there is a fundamental shift in ideology.
27 July 2014 was meant to be no different. It was to be a day of reflection as the holy month of Ramadan drew to a close for another year. It was meant to be a day of preparation for Eid. It was meant to be a day to pray for and raise money for the innocent children of Gaza. Above all it was a day to remember God.
In the end, it was all of these things, yet, it turned out to be anything but an ordinary day. The day had an unforeseen ending which could only be described as the cruellest of tragedies. It became the day that made me cry, that made me weep and feel entirely hollow. A story emerged that will be told for years to come illustrating how humanity had sunk into the lowest pits of immorality and inhumanity.
This story involves innocent, defenceless children, but not those suffering in Gaza. Rather, this tragedy relates to Pakistan, in a city close to my ancestral home.
The story goes as follows: As a long and draining fast on a hot summer’s day drew to a close I was looking forward to quenching my thirst as sunset drew close. It was then that I first heard that the homes of a number of Ahmadi Muslims in Gujranwala, Pakistan, were being burned to the ground by a baying mob. There were even reports of fatalities and casualties. It was all rather surreal, difficult to accept, shocking even. The news originally reached me through unverified sources and so part of me dismissed the reports with a sense of unfounded hope.
I am fortunate enough to live near the mosque where the Caliph, His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the world wide head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community leads prayers. And so minutes after the fast was opened the Caliph entered London's oldest Mosque to lead the Maghreb prayers. It was then that he solemnly asked those gathered to pray for their spiritual brothers and sisters in Pakistan as they were now under attack. My heart sunk. It was then that I realised that the reports had been true and that yet again Ahmadi Muslims were being attacked simply because of their faith.
A day or so before the Caliph had asked us to pray for the children of Gaza. Indeed he regularly asks us to pray for the victims of oppression – whether they live in the East or the West.
He never calls for retaliation or revenge. He even asks us to pray for the oppressors and for the tyrants – that they be rightly guided towards justice and towards uniting their nations as opposed to dividing them.
He admonishes Ahmadi Muslims against mass rallies, public protests or similar events. Rather, he constantly reminds us that patience and prayer are our sole weapons. And so even when facing the most adverse conditions, Ahmadi Muslims the world over, display patience and restraint – because they believe it is a necessary part of their faith. No one can accuse them of taking law in their hands - anywhere. That is a fact. They leave the matters in the hands of a Superior Being.
Anyway, returning to Gujranwala, later that evening the Caliph again asked the Ahmadi Muslims to pray fervently. It was now known that 3 people – a woman and 2 young girls - had been killed.
A young girl, Hira aged seven, her eight-month old baby sister Kainaat and their grandmother Bushra Bibi had suffocated to death whilst forcibly locked in a burning building by their assailants. O to humanity! An 8 month old girl! What had she ever done? What had the 7 year old girl ever done except serve food to guests breaking their fast the day before?
Eight houses were razed to the ground whilst eight other individuals, all women and children, were taken to hospital suffering from various degrees of burns or smoke inhalation. Shortly afterwards the news became yet more harrowing - a heavily pregnant mother had lost her unborn baby in the attack. She herself was in a critical condition – fighting for her life. How many more? I could not bear to think.
Mainstream Pakistani media refused to identify the victims or mention the word 'Ahmadi'. Some of them refused to even run the story. Mentioning ‘Ahmadi Muslims’ would be against the unspoken editorial rules drawn up by hate-filled Maulvis.
The Pakistani media reported the murders as ‘clashes’ between two religious groups. The clashes were due to alleged ''blasphemy'' committed on Facebook, they said.
But clashes they clearly were not - for that would require two sides to engage. Young children do not clash; a pregnant woman and an unborn child do not clash.
As the houses became engulfed in flames and children began to die, the baying mob were shouting and dancing. The police watched silently from the sides. Again, O to humanity!
This should not go on, but it does. This is the result of years of dehumanising and desensitising the Pakistani public regarding the vilification of Ahmadi Muslims. Last year alone, hundreds of anti-Ahmadi columns were published in Pakistan’s leading newspapers.
It is not just Ahmadi Muslims who suffer – Christians, Hindus and Shias also suffer as a result of the sectarian climate. But it is Ahmadi Muslims alone who are subjected to state-sponsored persecution in the name of Ordinance XX which criminalises the right of Ahmadi Muslims to even profess the Islamic greeting of ‘salaam’ and to practice the most basic aspects of their faith.
The violence has to end. But it will not end until public perception demands changes and that will not happen until there is a fundamental shift in ideology. It will not happen until the political and religious classes come to value justice over and beyond self-service.
The future of Pakistan looks bleak; in fact it has never looked so dark and desperate. However not all is lost. Some fair minded Pakistani individuals condemned the Gujranwala attack and have asked how they can help to rebuild their homes. An Ahmadi Muslim responded by asking them to donate to Gaza instead. Why? Because it is ingrained in Ahmadi Muslims to think of others even at times of their grief.
For all of humanity we must pray, we must love and we must help.
Read original post here: Gujranwala anti-Ahmadiyya attacks: A desperate day
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