I had the honor to meet Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan when he was the President of UN General Assembly. I have great admiration and respect for Dr. Abdus Salam for his contributions in physics. I am ashamed and upset the way Pakistan treats Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
I hope Ahmadiyya Muslims can get more exposure to show that not all Muslims are terrorists as Some Christians & Jews would have us believe. Pakistan is not helping the cause.
Overwhelming majority of Muslims of all sects are thoughtful, compassionate, and sincere people. It's the few clerics who are extremists and mess things up for most everyone.
Continue to stay informed and educated. I'm grateful this piece helped continue to grow your knowledge base. If you'd like to connect with a local chapter, we are constantly engaged with our local communities for community work and interfaith dialogue. All are welcome.
It is an age old peculiarity of homo sapiens that there always seems to be an oppositional group, made up of individuals who are ravenous for power and wealth and cannot tolerate the governance of people without their own violent tendencies. Religion, unfortunately harbors a significant proportion of these rebels and extremists. Perhaps they are certifiably mentally disordered but they also seem to have the mesmerizing power to convince others of their righteousness. The intolerance and violence of these regimes usually results in self destruction but no history of their dangerous behaviour ever seems to deter another malcontent group from rising to take their place. Perhaps some global cataclysm will damage the human genome enough to wipe out these maladapted members of the species.
Thanks for the insight. I hadn’t realized the degree to which the fundamentalist streak among Sunnis in Pakistan has been a long running thing. I’m a little surprised that the amendment happened on the watch of the PPP which ostensibly was the least militant of Pakistan’s parties at the time.
Bhutto wasn't bigoted against Ahmadi Muslims, but he foolishly thought he could appease extremists with this move of declaring us non-Muslim. Dictator Zia's rise to power included a military coup with the support of right wing evangelicals, that ultimately ended up assassinating Bhutto.
That really is the lesson isn’t it? You can’t appease extremists and think that it won’t end up hurting you and others in the end. Zia’s deals with Saudi only made all of this so much worse.
Wow that is awful. I’ve been reading about this since reading your article. I can see that the Sunni majority would disagree, because most are pretty much amillennial. It reminds me of the persecution of Baha’is in Iran. But what’s so interesting is that some of the Muslims I’ve met are probably Ahmadis and are carrying this persecution on them and I never knew. Here in Christchurch New Zealand we have the beautiful Al Nur mosque and in 2019, 51 people were slaughtered by a far right terrorist there. Some of them might have been Ahmadis?
The Christchurch shooting was horrific indeed. It was not a mosque of Ahmadi Muslims, but our heart bled all the same for those who lost their lives in that atrocity.
In 2010 the Taliban attacked two of our mosques in Pakistan and killed 93 Ahmadi Muslims.
I don't understand the reason(s) for the persecution. Is it just because the views are different from mainstream and they feel threatened?
I am an atheist so sometimes have trouble relating, but it seems quite common within various religious groups that only one way is acceptable, hence the splintering of those with other ideas or views. Too bad we can't all just get along and show respect for others. And in the end, erasure never works anyway.
The theological difference is that the orthodoxy is awaiting Jesus to physical descend from heaven to save humanity. Ahmadi Muslims reject this idea as contrary to Islamic teaching and contrary to science. Our refusal to accept that claim is the genesis of the violence against us from extremist factions.
I have no problem with spirituality, if you feel that way, and it makes you feel good. And you keep it as your private business. But let me know if you want to discuss the disaster that is religion. If you do, we can talk about any one you like.
I very much appreciate your ongoing analysis of mainstream US political and policy issues. I might not have been willing to expand the long list of problematic issues I track to read this article except for having spent 5 years or so working on development issues in Afghanistan. I learned there was widespread prejudice against Ahmadi Muslims as well as Shi'a there. Do you think that USCIS is aware of this and takes it into consideration in its review of humanitarian parole petitions for US allies seeking to come to the U.S ? I doubt it, but you would know best. Thanks again for all of your writing.
Thank you. I know USCIS has some awareness for sure. But as always we need to continue to elevate awareness. I appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
I am so glad you use your keen lawyer skills, informed by your deeply held spiritual underpinnings, to inform us of truths we need to know. This is a fascinating yet seemingly unknown history where awareness has now increased due to your scholarship in the law review article and this article on substack that you bravely gave to us active readers and thinkers. I hope this awareness aids in the reformation that is necessary to stop the horrific government persecution that cannot make any sense to moral people and that must be stopped for real peace and freedom to flourish. I hope your readership truly benefits from your leadership on these issues of great importance where rights and lives are at stake. I don't know what action on our part, as citizens and residents in the US, will assist that change but I hope you have more hope for resolution by telling it to us in a way we understand anew. Awareness is 50% of the way toward change and change it must! I thought it was interesting the hell supporting ordinance was called XX. I think that foreshadows its downfall that I have now added to my prayers.
Legacy media looks to "white"wash it's own version of "his"tory for the priestly caste that blesses their wars of land and labor theft- the economy- which is why stories like this don't get any publicity. Thanks for testifying how democratic states tend toward theocracies and their kleptocracies copy apartheid and camps for the disparaged, dispossessed and degraded- a form of internal colonialism. We tend to think that fascism, ie modernity without humanrights, arrived with TFG but Pakistan in the 70s was a leading proxy of the US in the dispossession of oil wealth, it's ostentatious display in sprawl, the creation of the Mujahideen, and a bulwark against Palestinian solidarity, which the Non Aligned movement and Iran professed.
As I am sure you are aware, the Ahmadiyya community is very strong in Tanzania, where I lived for some time in the 1960s and 1970s. See https://dailynews.co.tz/why-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-preaches-unity-solidarity/ The business manager of the school of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), where I taught, was a member of that community..
You wrote, "You might be wondering what right a government has to dictate a person’s personal faith? The answer is, no government has this right, and this is why we must ensure religion state separation"
So the parallels to our country with Christian nationalism in our government could not be clearer. Thank you for sharing this history with your readers.
I had the honor to meet Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan when he was the President of UN General Assembly. I have great admiration and respect for Dr. Abdus Salam for his contributions in physics. I am ashamed and upset the way Pakistan treats Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
I hope Ahmadiyya Muslims can get more exposure to show that not all Muslims are terrorists as Some Christians & Jews would have us believe. Pakistan is not helping the cause.
Overwhelming majority of Muslims of all sects are thoughtful, compassionate, and sincere people. It's the few clerics who are extremists and mess things up for most everyone.
Thanks for the education!
Thanks for reading!
76, and this was all new to me. Heartbreaking and infuriating. What can we do?
Continue to stay informed and educated. I'm grateful this piece helped continue to grow your knowledge base. If you'd like to connect with a local chapter, we are constantly engaged with our local communities for community work and interfaith dialogue. All are welcome.
It is an age old peculiarity of homo sapiens that there always seems to be an oppositional group, made up of individuals who are ravenous for power and wealth and cannot tolerate the governance of people without their own violent tendencies. Religion, unfortunately harbors a significant proportion of these rebels and extremists. Perhaps they are certifiably mentally disordered but they also seem to have the mesmerizing power to convince others of their righteousness. The intolerance and violence of these regimes usually results in self destruction but no history of their dangerous behaviour ever seems to deter another malcontent group from rising to take their place. Perhaps some global cataclysm will damage the human genome enough to wipe out these maladapted members of the species.
Thanks for the insight. I hadn’t realized the degree to which the fundamentalist streak among Sunnis in Pakistan has been a long running thing. I’m a little surprised that the amendment happened on the watch of the PPP which ostensibly was the least militant of Pakistan’s parties at the time.
Bhutto wasn't bigoted against Ahmadi Muslims, but he foolishly thought he could appease extremists with this move of declaring us non-Muslim. Dictator Zia's rise to power included a military coup with the support of right wing evangelicals, that ultimately ended up assassinating Bhutto.
That really is the lesson isn’t it? You can’t appease extremists and think that it won’t end up hurting you and others in the end. Zia’s deals with Saudi only made all of this so much worse.
Exactly right.
I’m 80 years old and you’re still educating me! Thank you.
This is a tragic story and a bid red flashing light warning tale for the US.
Thank you for reading, Betty.
Wow that is awful. I’ve been reading about this since reading your article. I can see that the Sunni majority would disagree, because most are pretty much amillennial. It reminds me of the persecution of Baha’is in Iran. But what’s so interesting is that some of the Muslims I’ve met are probably Ahmadis and are carrying this persecution on them and I never knew. Here in Christchurch New Zealand we have the beautiful Al Nur mosque and in 2019, 51 people were slaughtered by a far right terrorist there. Some of them might have been Ahmadis?
The Christchurch shooting was horrific indeed. It was not a mosque of Ahmadi Muslims, but our heart bled all the same for those who lost their lives in that atrocity.
In 2010 the Taliban attacked two of our mosques in Pakistan and killed 93 Ahmadi Muslims.
I don't understand the reason(s) for the persecution. Is it just because the views are different from mainstream and they feel threatened?
I am an atheist so sometimes have trouble relating, but it seems quite common within various religious groups that only one way is acceptable, hence the splintering of those with other ideas or views. Too bad we can't all just get along and show respect for others. And in the end, erasure never works anyway.
The theological difference is that the orthodoxy is awaiting Jesus to physical descend from heaven to save humanity. Ahmadi Muslims reject this idea as contrary to Islamic teaching and contrary to science. Our refusal to accept that claim is the genesis of the violence against us from extremist factions.
Thank you Qasim.
I have no problem with spirituality, if you feel that way, and it makes you feel good. And you keep it as your private business. But let me know if you want to discuss the disaster that is religion. If you do, we can talk about any one you like.
Well done. Enlightening post, Qasim. A national tragedy.
I very much appreciate your ongoing analysis of mainstream US political and policy issues. I might not have been willing to expand the long list of problematic issues I track to read this article except for having spent 5 years or so working on development issues in Afghanistan. I learned there was widespread prejudice against Ahmadi Muslims as well as Shi'a there. Do you think that USCIS is aware of this and takes it into consideration in its review of humanitarian parole petitions for US allies seeking to come to the U.S ? I doubt it, but you would know best. Thanks again for all of your writing.
Thank you. I know USCIS has some awareness for sure. But as always we need to continue to elevate awareness. I appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
I am so glad you use your keen lawyer skills, informed by your deeply held spiritual underpinnings, to inform us of truths we need to know. This is a fascinating yet seemingly unknown history where awareness has now increased due to your scholarship in the law review article and this article on substack that you bravely gave to us active readers and thinkers. I hope this awareness aids in the reformation that is necessary to stop the horrific government persecution that cannot make any sense to moral people and that must be stopped for real peace and freedom to flourish. I hope your readership truly benefits from your leadership on these issues of great importance where rights and lives are at stake. I don't know what action on our part, as citizens and residents in the US, will assist that change but I hope you have more hope for resolution by telling it to us in a way we understand anew. Awareness is 50% of the way toward change and change it must! I thought it was interesting the hell supporting ordinance was called XX. I think that foreshadows its downfall that I have now added to my prayers.
Thank you, Penni.
Legacy media looks to "white"wash it's own version of "his"tory for the priestly caste that blesses their wars of land and labor theft- the economy- which is why stories like this don't get any publicity. Thanks for testifying how democratic states tend toward theocracies and their kleptocracies copy apartheid and camps for the disparaged, dispossessed and degraded- a form of internal colonialism. We tend to think that fascism, ie modernity without humanrights, arrived with TFG but Pakistan in the 70s was a leading proxy of the US in the dispossession of oil wealth, it's ostentatious display in sprawl, the creation of the Mujahideen, and a bulwark against Palestinian solidarity, which the Non Aligned movement and Iran professed.
As I am sure you are aware, the Ahmadiyya community is very strong in Tanzania, where I lived for some time in the 1960s and 1970s. See https://dailynews.co.tz/why-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-preaches-unity-solidarity/ The business manager of the school of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), where I taught, was a member of that community..
Very cool! Yes we have a thriving Tanzania chapter.
You wrote, "You might be wondering what right a government has to dictate a person’s personal faith? The answer is, no government has this right, and this is why we must ensure religion state separation"
So the parallels to our country with Christian nationalism in our government could not be clearer. Thank you for sharing this history with your readers.
Yep 100%. Theocracy never works.