Nawaz Sharif calls Ahmadis “brethren” and “asset for Pakistan”
I am grateful to a member of our Jamaat in Trinidad for sending me this news item:
“… He [Nawaz Sharif] also termed terrorists attack at the worship places of Ahmadis in model town and Ghari Shahu condemnable adding that Ahmadis are our brethren and asset for the country. He also informed that the elements involved in firing at Ahmadis worship places have been arrested and law enforcement agencies have been carrying out investigations with them.
Tehreek-e-Khatme-Nabuwat has meanwhile warned Nawaz Sharif against making such statements if he still wants to stay popular with his voters.”
From Rashid:
Is Qadiani Jamaat changing its core belief?
Qadianis core belief is that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad [HMGA] was a “prophet”, and for a Muslim to be accepted as Muslim he/ she has to have belief in “prophethood” of HMGA, other wise that Muslim is “non-Muslim” (Kaffir) like Jew, Christian, and Hindu etc. Reference: ‘Musalman Wohi Hay Jo Saab Mamooron Ko Manay’
By Mirza Bashir Ud Din Mahmamud Ahmad (The Qadiani Jamaat Khalifa 2).
Above question came to my mind after reading following article in Guardian newspaper, UK.
Ahmadi massacre silence is dispiriting
By Declan Walsh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 June 2010
“This past week, though, I am silent. The massacre of 94 members of the minority Ahmadi [Qadiani] community on May 28 has exposed something ugly at the heart of Pakistan – its laws, its rulers, its society.”
I’m intrigued by following passage:
“The reticence is rooted in law and history. Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th century Punjabi cleric, was the messiah sent by God – a notion that deeply offends orthodox Muslims for whom Muhammad, who lived in 7th-century Arabia, is the final prophet.”
Are Qadianis changing the core belief of their faith i.e. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was ONLY a Messiah, NOT a “prophet”?
The author of article knew only what his Qadiani friend told him about his beliefs!
Read article here.
From ikram:
“Qadianis are our brethren and sisters. Terrorists will be pursued everywhere and eliminated” – Nawaz Sharif [Urdu: Daily Waqt – June 6, 2010]
“Nawaz Sharif should repent for sponsoring Qadianis” – Ulama [Urdu: Daily Waqt – June 7, 2010]
If I recall correctly, I read it somewhere in one of the aaiil magazines that Nawaz Sharif received his initial schooling at Muslim High School in Ahmadiyya Buildings Lahore founded by Late Amir – Maulana Sadr-ud-din Sahib. Someone has to verify this else it is my imagination.
It is the same Nawaz Sharif who then as Prime Minister and his brother Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Minister of Punjab that Punjab Assembly in 1998 renamed Rabwah to Chenab Nagar.
With his current statement above, Nawaz Sharif is either maturing into a statesman; or retorting the extreme right who are creating headache for his brother Shahbaz Sharif, the current Chief Minister of Punjab; or is trying to distance himself from his being tagged into extreme right corner by Pakistan Peoples party; or simply that he is positioning himself towards center as he is being considered as alternative to Zardari by the United States and the West.
From Zahid Aziz:
Ikram may be referring to the comments in the Hope Bulletin, March 2009, by Captain Abdus Salam Khan on the life story of Dr Ghulam Muhammad (d. 1959) which had appeared in a previous issue of the Bulletin. Captain Salam recounted as follows:
“Among his [Dr Ghulam Muhammad’s] clients receiving free service were the Sharif brothers, the eldest of whom was Mian Muhammad Sharif (father of Mian Nawaz Sharif, Ex-Prime Minister and leader of the Muslim League-N) who later became my classmate at Muslim High School, a famous school run by our Anjuman in Ahmadiyya Buildings.
Mian Muhammad Sharif and his brothers were working as labourers at a foundry run by a Hindu gentleman and could not afford the medical fees. I came to know this background when I went to Mian Sharif in the 1990’s with a request to ask his son, Mian Nawaz Shariff, the then Chief Minister of the Punjab, for migrating my son, a medical student at a Faisalabad College, to a college in Lahore. I took Dr. Waheed Ahmad of blessed memory, son of Dr. Sahib, with me to reinforce my request. Mian Sahib was in a meeting but on seeing our visiting card, he abandoned the meeting, came out running and embraced Dr. Waheed, and kept reminiscing about the good old days when they used to get such gracious service from Doctor Sahib. Although such migrations are banned, he told us he would ask his son to make a relaxation in this case.”
According to this eyewitness account, it was Nawaz Sharif’s father who was at the Muslim High School of the AAIIL.
From ikram:
Dr. Aziz: Thank you for the details about Sharifs above.
—-
Today Headlines in Pakistan
“Conspiracy to reopen Qadiani problem will be foiled” – Ulama [Urdu: Daily Waqt, June 9, 2010]
“CJ lauds parliament for correcting historic wrong” [Dawn June 9, 2010]
[Excerpt from SC hearings above] The word “freely” was deleted from the Objectives Resolution when parliament passed the 8th Amendment after indemnifying all orders introduced through the President’s Order No 14 of 1985 and actions, including the July 1977 military takeover by Gen Zia-ul-Haq and extending discretion of dissolving the National Assembly, by invoking Article 58(2)b of the Constitution.
[Exerpt continued…] After the passage of the 18th Amendment, the Objectives Resolution now reads: “Wherein adequate provision shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practise their religions and develop their culture.”
[Background] On March 12, 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted a resolution moved by Liaquat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan. It was called the Objectives Resolution. It proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modeled on European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam. [read…]
[Exerpt – Objective Resolutions 1949] 5. Adequate provision shall be made for the minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures.
From ikram:
Undoing the past [ Editorial: The News, June 10, 2010]
[Excerpt] The removal of one word alone [“freely”] is insufficient. There is much else that is controversial as far as the set of laws we live our lives by is concerned. The Objectives Resolution is among such legislations. The time has come to consider the merits and demerits of Pakistan as a ‘theological’ state, which defines who is a Muslim and who is not…
PML-N defends Nawaz’s remarks about Ahmadis [ Dawn, June 10, 2010]
[Excerpts – begin]
– Mr Sharif’s comments drew criticism from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Jamaat-i-Islami, Wafaqul Madaris, Jamiat Ahl-i-Sunnat and Al-Hadith, Jamia Banuria and Khatm-i-Nabuwat Movement, Ulema and PML-Q.
– In a statement, leaders of Wafaqul Madaris, an umbrella organisation of over 20,000 Madressahs, urged Mr Sharif to retract his statement and advised him not to “defy religion for petty political gains”.
– JUI-F leaders termed the statement a “violation of the Constitution” as it had declared Ahmadis a minority community. “The PML-N chief should seek forgiveness from Muslims all over the world,” they said.
– Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the PML-Q leader, said Nawaz Sharif had issued the statement to “protect his properties in the UK”.
– The participants of a recent Ulema seminar condemned Mr Sharif’s remarks and termed it an attempt to appease the US.
– Some religious leaders have even threatened to launch a campaign against the PML-N if Mr Sharif does not withdraw his statement.
[Excerpts – end]
Essentially, it is the Mullahs a.k.a. Bigots or Hypocrites who just cannot tolerate message of empathy or peace for the victims of a carnage. The mosques that seed and nurture such bigotry and provide the loudspeakers and mouthpieces to such an evil ideology and the cloak of pseudo piety is well identified in Quran:
9:107. And (there are among the hypocrites) those who have built a mosque to cause harm (to Islam) and to promote disbelief and in order to cause discord among the believers, and to provide a hiding place for him who had already made war against Allâh and His Messenger. And they will certainly swear (saying), `We meant nothing but good (in building the mosque).‘ But Allâh bears witness that they are certainly liars.
9:108. (Prophet!) never shall you stand in that (mosque for prayer). Certainly, the mosque which was founded upon piety (and observance of duty) from the (very) first day is more worthy that you stand (for Prayer) therein. In this (mosque) there are men (performers of Prayers) who love to become purified; and Allâh loves those who purify themselves externally and internally. [Which these Bigots do not]
9:109. Is he, who founded his edifice on taking Allâh as a shield and (on) His good pleasure, better or he who founded his edifice on the brink of a hollowed and crumbling water-worn bank so that it toppled along with him into the Fire of Gehenna? And Allâh guides not the wrong doing people (to the ways of success).
9:110. This building of theirs which they have built will never cease to rankle in their hearts unless their hearts are torn to pieces (with anguish and repentance). And Allâh is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Fact is that these Mullahs built mosque[s] to cause harm (to Islam) and out of these mosques cause discord among the believers. These mosques and madressahs provide a hiding place for him who had already made war against Allâh, essentially sanctuary and nurseries for terrorists who create sectarianism, terror and destruction in the land. When asked these Mullahs will certainly swear (saying), `We meant nothing but good (in building the mosque).‘ But Allâh bears witness that they are certainly liars.
We know that Allâh loves those who purify themselves externally and internally. The world is witness that these Bigots are not the ones who who purify themselves externally and internally. Their thoughts and acts reek venom. If the mosques, madressahs and Mullahs represent virtuousness then Pakistan should had been “heaven on earth” as the Land of The Pure has the highest per capita and per square mile density of such institutions.
No matter how many mosques the Bigots build, how many commit the Quran to memory, how many rituals they celebrate therein, how long beards they display, the fact of the matter as borne by sixty years of Pakistan history is that Allâh guides not the wrong doing people (to the ways of success).
Suffice is to say that . This building of theirs which they have built will never cease to rankle in their hearts unless their hearts are torn to pieces (with anguish and repentance).
Note: My narrative with quotations from Quran above or anywhere else are not meant for a “Gotcha” moment to state “see Quran states so”, but it is more to emphasize the moral laws in Quran and the inevitable outcome i.e. good or bad depending upon the nature of the Law and whether that Law has been followed or violated. Quran is a book that is to be read pro-actively and not to prove the “Gotcha” retrospectively. If that is the case then it will be nothing but only point scoring and bigotry by myself too. I seek mercy for myself.
[Holy Quran – Nooruddin]
From Abid Aziz:
A well known journalist Hassan Nisar has written a column on the issue of Nawaz Sharif’s statement about Ahmadies. It can be read on following link.
http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/jun2010-daily/11-06-2010/col8.htm
From Rashid:
Nazir Naji column
Nazir Naji, a well know Urdu columnist, regularly writes his column ‘ Swaray Swaray’ in Urdu language daily Jung newspaper. Recently he wrote ‘Hamari Dastan Bhi Na Ho Gi Dastano Main’ by Nazir Naji.
We Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement members know it very well that all laws in Pakistan that has made our daily lives a crime are politically motivated. Although in our opinion Qadiani jamaat has a role in their instigation. But, nevertheless it is encouraging to read once in a while some prominent journalist in Pakistan dares to point out the political objectives behind enaction of all such laws.
Nazir Naji sahib states, “I have been an active worker of movement for finality of prophethood (Tahreek-I-Khatam-e-Nabuwat). In 1953 Tahreek-I-Khatam-e-Nabuwat was result of political struggle between Punjab government and Central government. From Objective resolution to [Z.A.] Bhutto’s constitutional amendment nothing was done in the spirit of service to Islam, but for political objectives.”
He wrote couple of other interesting points:
[In 1977] political movement Pakistan National Alliance in Pakistan had political aim to establish Islamic System in Pakistan. During meetings of its leaders at time of prayer many prayer gatherings were held at the same time, as “[Islamic] scholars” would offer prayers only with their respective sect people. This use to make us wonder, if such people cannot unite in prayer, then how will they be able to unite the country.
If ever in Pakistan religious parties get chance to rule the country, they will declare all those who don’t belong to their sect as non-Muslim.
http://www.columnpk.com/category/urdu-column/nazir-naji/
From Usman:
It is time to reflect on the word “assets”.
It is ironic than Nawaz Sahirf has called Ahmadis assets and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan for a long time called the Taliban and some secterian Jihadi outfits thier “assets.”
Now compare the likes of ahmadi assets:
1- Nobel prize winners
2- Islamic researchers whose works are shamelssly copied by Muslims all over the world.
3 – Army commanders famous for brilliant military work for the State of Pakistan in Kashmir and Baluchistan.
4 – Bureaucrats well known for their honesty and services to Pakistan.
5-businessman and philanthropists highly regarded for thier honesty in business and charity work.
with the likes of the “assets” of the intelligence agencies.
1 – Suicide bombers
2 – Hate preachers
3 – Murderers of children
4 – Internationally wanted terrorists.
Now of the two assets, guess which ones are hounded and persecuted in Paksitan and which ones are running free.
From ikram:
Please contemplate…
6:65. Say, `He has power to send upon you a calamity from above and from beneath your feet or He may throw you into confusion by making you confront with conflicting parties, and make you taste the dissension (and violence) of one another.’ Behold! how We explain Our Messages in different ways so that they may give thought. [Nooruddin]
* calamity from above = Zia-ul-Haq – a mullah. It all started with him, initially Afghanistan, then all the Jehadi outfits, and now Punjabi Taliban. Stay tuned for more Mullah adventurism to come.
* from beneath your feet = rebellious groups – Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sihabah, Taliban, Punjabi Taliban etc. – all are Mullahs.
* or He may throw you into confusion = civil war based upon religious underpinnings – all instigated by Mullahs.
* by making you confront with conflicting parties = sectarianism because of Mullahs.
* and make you taste the dissension (and violence) of one another = Welcome to Mullahland a.k.a. Pakistan.
* ‘ Behold! how We explain Our Messages in different ways so that they may give thought. = To give thought, one needs to have brain and moral conscious. Basic criteria for being a Mullah are to lack both.
From ikram:
Culture of bigotry [ Dawn, June 13, 2010, by Huma Yusuf ]
[Excerpt – begin]
As Sharif makes every effort to clarify and retract his statements, he should probably re-read the Munir Report, the most eloquent defence of secularism which cautioned against trying to define what a Muslim is — thereby bringing a religious matter into the realm of the state — over 50 years ago.
After asking a gathering of ulema to offer their definitions of a Muslim, and finding that consensus was impossible, the justices wrote, “If we attempt our own definition as each learned divine has done and that definition differs from that given by all others, we unanimously go out of the fold of Islam. And if we adopt the definition given by any one of the ulema, we remain Muslims according to the view of that alim but kafirs according to the definition of everyone else.”
This is exactly the lesson that Sharif learned in the past few days. Despite all his party’s attempts to curry favour with rightwing and extremist forces, he ‘went out of the fold’ by making even the most insipid remarks in support of the Ahmadi community. By refusing to learn from history, the PML-N has repeated it. The tigers of Punjab are now cowering in a corner, licking their wounds, while talk of a military operation in their home province circulates on the international stage. It seems the monster of militancy and bigotry has grown so wild that it has come to threaten its benefactors.
[Excerpt – end]
From ikram:
Nawaz Sharif’s chance? [ The News, June 13, 2010 by Ghazi Salahuddin ]
[Excerpt ] Even the intellectually blind in our society should be able to see that the induction of religion in politics has divided us. This division is prominent in the religious parties and groups themselves. And since they do not understand the ethos of a democratic dispensation, their differences are not creative but terrifyingly inflammable. Just calling Ahmedis ‘brothers’ can blow a fuse.
From Rashid:
Hypocrisy in Pakistani Society.
Pakistani columnist Fasi Zaka wrote column in The Express Tribune. June 15, 2010.
Although he wrote it in backdrop of murder of Qadiani Jamaat friends, but the subject he has raised equally applies to members of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. So I am posting his complete column:
I never really cared for Ahmadis
By Fasi Zaka
June 15, 2020
The Express Tribune
I have never really been vocal about rights for Ahmadis, even privately, but my compassion trigger is easily pulled if there are atrocities against Pakistani Hindus and Christians. Part of this can be ascribed to my belief in the prejudice that the Ahmadis are a relatively well-off community, making the Christians and Hindus of Pakistan uniquely guilty of a double crime, first for not being Muslims and second for being poor. These two communities seem especially vulnerable.
I have changed my mind. And it’s not because of the attack in Lahore that killed so many Ahmadis. The whole country, Muslim and non-Muslim, is under attack by the Taliban.
What really helped me see the inhuman treatment of the Ahmadis in Pakistan is the absence of condemnation for it. Nawaz Sharif in his condolence message said Ahmadis were our brothers; it’s been enough to get the Pakistani religious world on his case. While sympathy is not outlawed for Ahmadis, it may as well be.
Those of us with a passport have declared that “I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani to be an impostor prophet and an infidel and also consider his followers, whether belonging to the Lahori, Qadiani or Mirzai groups, to be non-Muslims.” Most of us do not believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was a prophet, but do we have to rub it in? Imagine if the UK put in that sort of column for a prophet of another faith.
We have declared not just that we don’t believe in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, but added the connotation that he was an imposter. People who follow imposters must be crooks, right? Let’s stop the pretence that they are equal, or human.
But no, we are a peaceful people, right? Of course we are. I read a very poignant anecdote in columnist Mosharraf Zaidi’s article recently; he described how an old friend would never say salaam to him in return. His friend is an Ahmadi, he can go to jail for that. I cringe when I see Pakistanis stumbling over one another to felicitate a white westerner who chooses to say salaam when greeting us in our country. Why not put him in jail too? He could be an atheist, whereas at least the Ahmadis believe in the oneness of God.
But, you see it’s not about that. Ahmadis are a secretive people up to no good. They won’t even tell you they are Ahmadis. But who wouldn’t be secretive if they could go to jail for saying they are Muslim, or responding in kind to a salutation of salaam. Or for that matter having a Quran in their home, the same kind you and I have.
Sunnis don’t believe in the imam of the Shias. What about Barelvis and Bohris? Its time their special treatment ended. If anything we have been too moderate. We need to cut diplomatic relations with Indonesia because they refuse to declare Ahmadis non-Muslim as it may open a Pandora’s Box of declaring other groups the same. Why is the amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Munawar Hassan, silent on this? He could address this diplomatic issue, after all he did want to cut off diplomatic relations with many countries over the Facebook fiasco.
Pakistani Ahmadis aren’t allowed to go for Hajj, but Ahmadis from other countries are. Maybe we should cut off relations with Saudi Arabia too. Also, since we Muslims believe in equality, I would suggest all non-Muslim countries make it mandatory that we wear special collars to identify us as Muslim when we visit. Or is that going too far since we haven’t, obviously, in the case of the Ahmadis?
The truth is the bulk of this country doesn’t like Ahmadis. They are Pakistan’s Palestinians. Their humane treatment and acceptance
will decide whether we are a people who can move forward in the future, or if we will become a fragmented warlord state divided on sectarian lines.
And yes, Ahmadis are worse off in Pakistan than Christians and Hindus. We want to forcibly convert Christians and Hindus. But Ahmadis shouldn’t exist. Period.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 15th, 2010.
See this link.
From Zahid Aziz:
I noticed in this article the sentence: “While sympathy is not outlawed for Ahmadis, it may as well be.”
This reminded me of the concept of “Ahmadi sympathiser” put forward by the anti-Ahmadiyya Ulama in the Cape Town case number 2. According to them an “Ahmadi sympathiser” is also a kafir. The concept of what is an Ahmadi sympathiser according to the Ulama was discussed in that court case.
From ikram:
Muslim states seek U.N. action on West’s “islamophobia”
[Reuters]
[Excerpt – begin]
Delegates from Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Egypt, told the United Nations Human Rights Council that treatment of Muslims in Western countries amounted to racism and discrimination and must be fought.
“People of Arab origin face new forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance and experience discrimination and marginalization,” an Egyptian delegate said, according to a U.N. summary.
And Pakistan, speaking for the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said the council’s special investigator into religious freedom should look into such racism “especially in Western societies.”
Acting for the OIC, Pakistan has tabled a resolution at the council instructing its special investigator on religious freedom “to work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity.”
The OIC — and its allies in the 47-nation council including Russia, China and Cuba — dub criticism of Muslim practices and linking of terrorism waged under the proclaimed banner of Islamism as “islamophobia” that pillories all Muslims.
[Excerpt – end]
———
With the above, Mirza Ghalib comes to mind:
Kaaba kis munh se jao ge Ghalib
Under what pretence would you face the lord, O Ghalib?
Sharam tum ko magar nahin aate
Aren’t you ashamed of such an audacious thought?
Essentially, while self-reflecting, Ghalib disparages the audacity of his own moral conscious as to how dare it even thinks of making the holy pilgrimage given its baggage of life long peccability.
With this background of Ghalib’s verse, killing and persecution of the minorities and minority school of thought in Pakistan – all in the name of Islam by visible Mullah, invisible laws and silent complicity of its population, now read this again – – Pakistan has tabled a resolution at the council instructing its special investigator on religious freedom “to work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity.”
I ask of Pakistan, how dare you ask a world body to promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity? Healer, heal thyself first. Preacher, preach thyself first. Pakistan has to unlearn its double standards. It is protesting, though rightfully, the disinformation about Muslims and demanding their moral and social rights, while it blatantly denies the same to others on its own soil under the guise of a fantasized religious compulsion.
83:1. Woe be to those who make a default in any of their duties and give short measure.
83:2. When they receive measure from other people they receive in full (not allowing the least shortage and loss),
83:3. But when they give by measure to others or weigh to them they give them less (than what is due).
This lecture of “to work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity” if taught in a school will be a course labeled “Religious and Moral Bigotry 101” for which the school will have to hire tenured track faculty, trained and available only and only in Pakistan. Shame on such double standards.