14 December 2016

Pakistan's abuse of the Ahmadis makes Donald Trump's Muslim ban look tame - The Pakistani state has established an apartheid system for a religious minority

As the rest of Pakistan commemorated Prophet Mohammad's birthday, a charged mob of around 1000 men besieged a mosque belonging to Ahmadi Muslims, injuring several people. At least one Ahmadi Muslim is reported to have passed away due to a cardiac arrest as the mob threw stones at the place of worship, demanding the control of the mosque be passed onto them.

Dark as it is, it is an incident which is unfortunately neither unprecedented nor isolated in occurrence, and sheds light on the horrendous discrimination against Ahmedi Muslims in Pakistan, purely on the basis of their religious beliefs.

.... Between 1984 and 2016, 27 Ahmadi mosques were demolished, 32 were sealed by the government, 21 have been set on fire and/or damaged, 17 were forcibly occupied and 53 not allowed construction. Such is the fate of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan that they face oppression and persecution both from the state and the populace.

In fact, to add insult to injury, it is a legal requirement for every Pakistani – who wants to renew or apply for a new passport – to declare that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was an impostor prophet and anyone who follows him is a non-Muslim. [International Business Times] Read more