Ahmadi Muslims finding home in Canada

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In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims are constitutionally not allowed to “pose” as Muslims. Their places of worship cannot legally be called mosques. It is no wonder, then, that many have sought refuge abroad.

Rizwan Rabbani, right, and his younger brother Faran at a mosque at
10610 Jane St.  in Maple on Thursday.(Photo: Dave Thomas/Toronto Sun)

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Toronto Sun
By Maryam Shah | July 05, 2012

TORONTO - “The very first bullet that was fired that day was fired at me.”

Zakria Nasrullah Khan is an Ahmadi Muslim from Lahore, Pakistan. He never considered leaving until May 28, 2010.

That was the day suicide bombers and gunmen stormed two Ahmadi Muslim mosques in Lahore, killing 86 members of his community, including his father. His son, six at the time, was saved by a cousin who was injured while covering him.

Recounting the story, it is clear that the grandson of Pakistan’s first foreign minister Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan is experiencing unwanted emotions as he recalls the day he almost died.

The first bullet missed Khan by about an inch. He was part of a group of five security volunteers standing outside. Three were killed, one a childhood friend.

Yet he maintains a steady voice, telling his story of persecution and slaughter, one that many Ahmadi Muslims find all too familiar.

After receiving death threats of his own, he decided to move to Canada with his mother, wife, and three children. His immigration application coincided with the second-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

The Rabbani brothers came to Canada in 2001. Rizwan, 28, is a director at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association. He recalls the label he used to hear back home.

In Arabic, “Wajib-ul-qatal,” which translates as “you should be killed,” is the current status, he said.

Ahmadi Muslims form a sect of Islam that is not easily accepted by the mainstream community.

“They say that we don’t believe in Prophet Mohammed,” Khan said. “They don’t even call us Muslims.”

In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims are constitutionally not allowed to “pose” as Muslims. Their places of worship cannot legally be called mosques. It is no wonder, then, that many have sought refuge abroad.

“A year or so ago, my cousin was going to be abducted,” Faran Rabbani, 24, remembered. “People came to his house with guns … he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Soon after that he had to migrate to France.”

Leaving their homeland under duress does not break their communal resolve. This weekend, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is holding its 36th annual convention. The gathering has roots going back to 1891, when the first convention in India drew 75 loyal followers of founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmed. The three-day affair is open to the public, with the community’s spiritual leader Mirza Masroor Ahmad paying a visit after four years.

Khan’s house has a fence with the words “Love for all, hatred 4 none” spelled out in Christmas lights. It’s the community’s slogan.

“We are proud Pakistanis, we cannot change that fact,” Rizwan said. “Even though we were persecuted, we pray for Pakistan.”

Meanwhile Khan’s phone has pictures of the men who killed his father, injured his cousin, and devastated his family and the community. But what he remembers most is that no one shed a tear or screamed out loud in their grief.

“In fact, it solidified us even more,” he said.




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