Faith and practice: An Insight into the Persecution of Ahmadiyya Islam

We simply try to persevere with dignity. How is that not only do we survive, we thrive by the day? Oh, of course one could always cite the age-old subterfuge; Ahmadis are implants of the British Raj or agents of Zionism; take your pick!

File photo: Street graffiti demanding death for Ahmadis

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Telegraph, UK | Blog
By Shermeen B. | May 3, 2012

Sheonah asked on a blog I wrote on persecution of Ahmadi Muslims the other day: ‘But none of the other sub-sects of Islam seem to believe the Ahmadis.  How can this be?’ As I said then, there are three ways to answer the question; rhetorical, secular and of course religious and now I think that perhaps a dash of historic outlook will not go amiss.

Historic Insight: In the history of religion those who claimed they were from God have always been persecuted, harassed and declared false and from the devil, etc. and their followers also given same treatment, especially by the people among whom these people who said they were from God were raised.

Rhetorical Answer: Heaven knows.

Secular Answer: The seed of this enmity was sown because out of the 73 different sects of Islam, yes, no less than 73, with their diverse and varied creed, the Ahmadi view presented serious trouble to certain clergy in what was then India. Serious trouble because it was and is a revival of the original teaching of Islam which had been abandoned in all but name and this meant that the avaricious bread and butter of the politicised clergy were in peril. This was back in 1889.

The current-day situation stems from a political move in 1974 by the then government of Pakistan which legislated against Ahmadis and excluded them from the religion of Islam. Yes, a few politicised clergy and the government of the day decided this to save their dwindling popularity. How so, you may ask? By appearing to fix something that was not broken. It has since been acknowledged on tape that this was a political move, had nothing to do with ‘faith’ per se and was instigated by the then ruler of Saudi Arabia. Later in 1984, the Pakistan military dictator of the day passed an infamous Ordinance XX which made even uttering the Muslim proclamation of faith a crime for Ahmadis. To explain what I say above: In a country like Pakistan where due to illiteracy religious fervour can be made to work like dynamite by those who control the strings a wave of hatred against Ahmadis was instigated. This made the ‘puppeteers’ look powerful and ‘in control’. Lies upon lies, misinformation upon misinformation was fed to the masses and they were and they are still being riled against the Ahmadis. For a while now even the educated have joined the illiterate. People do not stop and check the facts, do not read things through and simply take in the misinformation and base their blind religious hostility against the Ahmadis on it. The whole matter snow-balled and now countries other than Pakistan are also clamouring for the blood of Ahmadis. Because the majority of people in the Muslim world are illiterate, it suits the politicised clergy to sway them, rile them against the ‘enemy’. It is good to have a named enemy, it keeps the power-base strong. The enemy can be ‘the foreigner’ or the enemy can be ‘from within’. The great foreign enemy is the USA and the great enemy from within is the Ahmadi Muslim.

Religious Answer: This is based on one fundamental difference. All Muslims believe that in the latter-days the Messiah/Mahdi would appear. Ahmadis believe his advent has taken place in the person of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The other Muslims do not believe in him and still wait for their Mahdi. The second point on which the antagonism rests is a verse of Qur’an which says that Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam was Khataman Nabiyyeen (Seal of all the prophets). The argument is over the Arabic word Khatam. Ahmadis translate it to mean ‘seal’, connoting the best and the most eminent but the others translate it to mean the last. Ahmadis believe Muhammad to be the last law-bearing Prophet without a shadow of doubt, the others wrongly accuse Ahmadis of not believing in the finality of his Prophethood. The Ahmadi translation of the word Khatam is not new or novel, it can be traced back to publications from early centuries of Islam. What’s more there is even a tradition of Aisha, Prophet of Islam’s wife to corroborate how the Ahmadis interpret Khatam.

The religious arguments could go on and on and on. What I have said is perhaps sufficient for now.

Here is something to reflect over: If the Ahmadi belief was wrong, as it is alleged, if Ahmadis were in it for worldly/ulterior motives and really were the devil that they are portrayed as by some, why is it that in spite of being persecuted relentlessly, legislated against, shunned, barred from every possible progress they continue to thrive? Serious state-sponsored, Saudi-backed power has been in operation to crush the Ahmadis for decades. The Ahmadi spiritual head was forced to move out of Pakistan in early 1980s because they were going to implicate him in a murder case. His journey out of Pakistan is a tour de force in itself, but that is for another time. Since 1984 the Ahmadi spiritual leadership has been in London. Successive British governments have been most accommodating and gracious.  But to lead a spiritual community in exile appeared insurmountable.  Yet, today Ahmadis are spread all over the world and the community is established in 200 countries and is growing by the day. It really is progressing beyond belief and it serves its cause gently. And all this is done in the face of severe opposition and with only reliance in God and self-help. We do not seek any help from any worldly source anywhere in the world. Yet our growth and our development is in itself a miraculous sign. If judged in worldly terms, such has been the effort of very powerful regimes that we should have been obliterated ages ago, especially as we do not respond to any of the outrage. We simply try to persevere with dignity. How is that not only do we survive, we thrive by the day? Oh, of course one could always cite the age-old subterfuge; Ahmadis are implants of the British Raj or agents of Zionism; take your pick!

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