Faith & freedom: Stop the religious violence in Pakistan

The solution put forward by the panelists to the problem of violence in Pakistan, is to engage the public into taking action by speaking against the unjust laws which exist. Naseem Mahdi summed it up in his speech by beckoning all to come together and work towards a common goal.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Germantown Islam Examiner
By Shahina Bashir | June 16, 2010

A Muslim religious leader, a doctor, an activist, a businessman, and a social worker, made up the panel at a press conference held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on June 14. The agenda was to talk about religious persecutions in Pakistan and how to bring an end to the cycle of violence which is consuming the country. A country, which was created to give its people freedom to practice their faiths the way they believed.

The conference was organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, whose headquarter is located in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was a response to the recent tragic event in Lahore, Pakistan when two mosques belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were attacked on May 28, 2010, by terrorists and as a result more than 80 worshippers were killed. It was a call to the moderates to come together on the same platform to condemn these acts of violence against the minorities and find a solution to the problem that is plaguing Pakistan.

"None of us is talking about revenge, but all of us want to change the laws in Pakistan that promote violence," said Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad, the moderator.


The laws, which Ahmad was referring to, come under the general title of "blasphemy laws". According to these laws, a person who defames Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death. Although the blasphemy laws have been used to target the Christians in Pakistan, it is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who has felt the brunt of them. These laws prohibit the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Communtiy from calling themselves Muslims or calling their places of worship 'mosques'.

The panelists at the conference on Monday came together to urge the general public to speak out against the human rights violations in Pakistan. The first speaker, Naseem Mahdi, vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA, pointed out that, "The moderate forces of Pakistanis and the moderate forces of Islam should come together and unite on this issue that we will not let the bigoted mullahs to hijack the agenda of Islam and Muslims." He further added that, the Islam which is being preached in Pakistan is not the Islam which was preached by Prophet Muhammad.

Dr. Riaz Haider, clinical professor of medicine at the George Washington University said that, terror has been used to gain popularity amongst opposing political parties. He said that all the different terrorist groups are coming together as one.

"It is time then that the people of Pakistan, in Pakistan, and the Americans of Pakistani origin, and all the other people speak with one voice. The time has come for the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan with human rights, and minority rights, to protect the minorities from the tyranny of the majority," Haider said.

Nasim Khan, an active member of ADAMS (All Dulles Area Muslim Society) of Virginia was there to speak from her heart. She was there to offer her condolences. "It really is sad as to what is happening in Pakistan and it is sad that our preachers, and our mullahs are inciting violence against minorities and it is time that we get angry about it and translate our anger into action," she said. She started to vocalize her feelings about the attacks and began talking to whoever she came in contact with. She found a unified voice- everyone was eager to take action and do something about stopping the violence in Pakistan.

Hanif Akhtar, a financial consultant, expressed his disappointment with the Pakistani education system which strayed away from the secular system and became replaced with false history of Islamic tradition. "The bigots are destroying Pakistan," he said. He further said that the government is not abiding by the Islamic teaching which demands protection of the minorities.

"Religious persecution is a crime against humanity," said Joyce A. Higashi, a social worker. The solution, according to her, is to speak up and say that it is a crime against humanity. "It must not be allowed and we must do something. I think this panel is expressing this over and over again...," Higashi said.

Bishop Jonathan Rehmat understood the plight of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community very well. He is a Pakistani Christian. On July 31, 2009 Christians were attacked in Gojra, Pakistan.

"I literally shed tears, you know, because we didn't yet forget our recent attacks on Gojra and in that area, where about 100 homes and Christians, they were just burnt alive. This is another one attack on our brothers, Ahmadiyya," the bishop said. "We, as Christians in Pakistan, we stand with you, with the Ahmadiyya Community, and we condemn this, and this must come to a stop. We are with you," he added.

The solution put forward by the panelists to the problem of violence in Pakistan, is to engage the public into taking action by speaking against the unjust laws which exist. Naseem Mahdi summed it up in his speech by beckoning all to come together and work towards a common goal.

"So, my message today to all of you, and through you, to your communities, is that let us come together and work together and start this peaceful jihad that we will bring back Islam of Prophet Muhammad," Mahdi said.



Read original post here: Stop the religious violence in Pakistan 

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Shahina Bashir is a resident of Germantown, MD. She is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University, where she obtained her M.S. degree in biology. Shahina is the national chair of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s writers’ group. She is an educator and an active member of her community. She has written several articles for newspapers as well as magazines on topics related to Islam.