Hours before the discussions at the Baitul Hameed Mosque, gunmen in Pakistan murdered an Ahmadi Muslim days after a prominent Muslim leader said on a popular Pakistani television talk show that Ahmadis are “the enemy.”
Source/Credit: The Press-Enterprises
By Davis Olson | December 27, 2017
I wrote here about this weekend’s West Coast convention of the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam at a Chino mosque. A special session held Saturday focused on countering ISIS with what participants said was the true message of Islam.
Hours before the discussions at the Baitul Hameed Mosque, gunmen in Pakistan murdered an Ahmadi Muslim days after a prominent Muslim leader said on a popular Pakistani television talk show that Ahmadis are “the enemy.”
"They are the ones blaspheming against the holy prophet,” Syed Arif Shah Owaisi said, according to this Reuters article. “All us Muslims should recognize that enemy."
In 2008, the same TV show hosted scholars who called for the murder of Ahmadis. Within a day of that broadcast, two Ahmadis had been shot dead.
Some of those who attend Baitul Hameed fled their homelands to escape anti-Ahmadi persecution. I talked to several for a 2009 story I did about the mosque, including Dr. Gulzar Ahmad of Riverside, who told me how he left Pakistan with his family after a mob attacked his home in 1973.
Many Ahmadis in Pakistan have been killed and attacked, and their homes, mosques and businesses burnt down, according to Human Rights Watch. In 2010, 94 people died and more than 100 were injured in attacks on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore. Often, the police either are complicit or stand by doing nothing as violence against Ahmadis is carried out. Ahmadis are banned from declaring their faith publicly in Pakistan, and every year, Ahmadis in Pakistan are arrested for blasphemy.
Ahmadis face persecution in other countries as well, including Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
In Indonesia, 10 men and boys who beat three Ahmadis to death for their beliefs received sentences of only three to six months in jail, Amnesty International reports. The murders were part of an anti-Ahmadi rampage by 1,000 people. A policeman watched the murders of the three Ahmadis but did not intervene, Newsweek reported. The Ahmadi face official discrimination in Indonesia and are barred in parts of the country from publicly promoting their faith, Amnesty says.
The Bautil Hameed Mosque was the first Ahmadi mosque in Southern California, and I talked to members who moved to the Inland Empire to be closer to it.
The mosque is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. An electrical fire in 2003 severely damaged the building, and in 2009, a new 27,000 square-foot mosque – nearly double the size of the previous structure – opened.
While members of the congregation waited for the new building to open, a nearby ward – congregation – of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted them.
That may sound surprising, but Ahmadis and Mormons in Chino had been sharing dinners for years. The faiths have many similarities, including a history of misunderstanding and persecution. Just as Ahmadis believe their founder was the messiah, Mormons believe founder Joseph Smith was a prophet.
Follow Davis Olson on Twitter: @DavidOlson11
Read original post here: Eye on world: Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims widespread
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.