The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Archive for the ‘general’ Category

I have produced a revised and slightly enlarged, second edition of Islam, Peace and Tolerance, which is available at this link.

You can read in the Preface what improvements have been made in this edition.

In this pdf file, the cross-references in it are linked to the place which is referenced.

So if you click on any heading or subheading in the list of contents, it takes you to the page where that heading or subheading occurs. In the Index if you click on any page number that is listed, it takes you to the exact point on the page which the Index is referring to. The same applies to the index of verses of the Quran given near the end of the book. There is also a link, both ways, between any 'end note' reference in the text of the book and the location of the note itself. These are all new features.

(If the linking within the book doesn't work for you when you open this file from this blog post, please try saving the file and then opening it directly in any pdf viewer.)

If you notice any error, please do let me know.

— Zahid Aziz

Maulvi Barakatullah (1854-1927) was an Indian Muslim revolutionary who campaigned for the independence of India from several countries outside India. Bhopal University in India was re-named after him as Barkatullah University. He spent the last few months of his life in the USA, died in San Francisco and was buried in Sacramento. See Wikipedia article on his life.

In the Lahore Ahmadiyya English magazine The Light a letter was published in the issue for 8 December 1927 in this connection written by a member of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement from San Francisco who looked after Maulvi Barakatullah in his dying days. I have made it available at this link.

The writer of the letter is Mirza Daud Baig. He was the older son of Dr Mirza Yaqub Baig, the well-known prominent follower of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and a founding member of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Anjuman. Mirza Daud Baig returned to India a couple of years later, and spent most of the last years of his life in Turkey, having married a Turkish woman while still in India. (He was also my wife's maternal uncle, so we personally know some details of his life.)

The Home Affairs Committee of the British Parliament recently announced an inquiry into the role and operation of "Sharia Councils" in the UK. They invited written submissions, and are also taking oral evidence.

The home page of the Inquiry is at this link.

Under "Written evidence" it lists the written submissions. To see the full list, you have to click on the "+ View all" link.

A submission was made by the Lahore Ahmadiyya UK Jamaat, written by me. It is reference SHL0010, dated 06 September 2016 in the above list. For your convenience, the following are direct links to its pdf and html formats:

• pdf format
• html format

(The content is, of course, the same in both formats.)

— Zahid Aziz

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

Geo channel news program ‘Aaj Shahzib Khanzada Ke Sath’ September 28, 2016.

Please click on following link and watch at 24 minutes and 45 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRS377AKPSE

Please see also the same report in the Saudi Arab English daily Arab News:

www.arabnews.com/node/990366/saudi-arabia

"Senior scholars say decision on takfir rests with Allah

ARAB NEWS | Published — Tuesday 27 September 2016

RIYADH: The Council of Senior Scholars has stressed the fact that takfir is a serious issue as it will legalize bloodshed, prevent inheritance and annul marriages.

Declaring rulers and governments out of the fold of Islam is even more harmful as it constitutes incitement to violence, use of weapons, encouraging chaos, bloodshed and corruption of people, the council said.

The council said Islam rejects extremism and terrorism, and that this deviant belief has no place in Islam.

The scholars said the decision on takfir does not rest with humans, but Allah and His messenger and that takfir needs clear evidence from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah.

The Council of Senior Scholars strongly condemned the aggressive war waged by the criminal Syrian regime and its allies on the unarmed people of Syria in general and Aleppo in particular."

The statement in this report that "Declaring rulers and governments out of the fold of Islam is even more harmful as it constitutes incitement to violence,…" reveals the reason why they have condemned takfir. Some Muslims must have called Saudi rulers as kafir!

There is a silent newsreel film on Youtube covering the visit to Pakistan of Chinese PM Chou En-Lai, probably in 1964, in which he is welcomed by President Ayub Khan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VSrV8Y3-c0

At 1.14 mins in the film he is seen being introduced by President Ayub Khan to Mr N.A. Faruqui. Mr Faruqui is also briefly seen a little later seated on a chair in a room.

At this link I have extracted three relevant screen shots from it.

Towards the end of the film, starting at 2.33 mins, Chou En-Lai visits the site where Islamabad was to be built and plants a tree there.

I believe the same tree planting photo is on Flickr at this link.

In this Flickr photo Mr Faruqui, wearing a dark-coloured cap, is standing next to Z.A. Bhutto as they watch the tree planting.

Readers may be interested in this link to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.

The page is headed: Pakistan to face review by UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is to be on 16th and 17th August.

Through this page I found reports submitted to this committee by some countries' governments. I downloaded the report submitted by the Pakistan government, which I have saved here.

Here are a few choice quotations from it:

"19. Safeguarding the rights of minorities is the priority of the Government of Pakistan. Pakistan is a democratic country and pluralism is the central pillar of our society. Under Articles 20, 21, 22, 26, 27 and 28 of the Constitution of Pakistan, minorities are equal citizens of Pakistan and are free to profess their religion and visit their places of worship."

"20. … All citizens of Pakistan are, thus, equal before law. Citizens of religious minority groups in Pakistan enjoy equal rights as citizenry of the State. … The contributions of minorities in Pakistan have been substantive and they have excelled in most spheres of professions. For instance, the first ever Law Minister, Jogendra Nath Mandal was a Hindu; Justice A.R. Cornelius, a Christian, was the 4th Chief Justice of Pakistan; … …  Dr. Abdul Salam, an Ahmedi, was a Nobel Laureate of 1979."

"22.  The prevalence of Racial Discrimination is, thus, non-existent in Pakistan."

"23. As mentioned above, racism is a rare phenomenon in Pakistan and, therefore, has little or no impact on the lives of the peoples of Pakistan as such."

"25. …  Racial Discrimination does not exist in Pakistan as such, and despite that the State has taken effective measures to prevent incitement to or acts of discrimination based on theories of superiority of race, color or ethnic origin."

"32…  Evidently, there is no apartheid and racial segregation/ discrimination in Pakistan. "

"43. In accordance with existing legal framework, it is also a crime to promote enmity between religious groups"

"61. In a case filed through the Ministry of Law & Justice, i.e. Pakistan Hindi Council v. Pakistan, the Supreme Court held that every citizen had a fundamental right to profess, practice and propagate his religion. 

 … the Lahore High Court held that “under Article 20 of the Constitution, it was the right of every citizen to profess, practice or propagate his religion…"

"62. The Supreme Court … held that every citizen of Pakistan is free to exercise the right to profess, practice or propagate his or her religious views, even against the prevailing or dominant views of his or her own religious denomination or sect."

"63. The aforementioned judgment accords protection to members of all religions and criminalizes incitement of religious hatred."

"64. The minorities are free to preach their respective faith."

"65. The laws in Pakistan cater genuinely to all people belonging to various beliefs."

 "106. Pakistani society is one of the least racist societies due to adherence to the tenets of Islam which prohibit discrimination and promote equality and human dignity."

Does anyone recognize this picture of Pakistan?

Please see this link on website of the Surrey History Centre in UK. The page is actually about Muslim soldier Mahrup Shah, who died in September 1915 and whose grave is in Brookwood cemetery, near Woking. Some material relating to him was purchased at an auction by Mr Kevin Smith of Woking, a keen military enthusiast. Along with that material, but obviously not belonging to this Muslim soldier (since he died in 1915), was found a copy of the 1917, first edition of Maulana Muhammad Ali's English translation of the Quran, belonging to an Englishman whose name is inscribed in it (B.W. Addison).

Here is the Eid-ul-Fitr khutba (sermon), 6th July 2016, by your Blog Admin in London.

Zahid Aziz

Please read here the Eid-ul-Fitr message, July 2016, by Dr A.K. Saeed, Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

And an Eid Mubarak to all our Blog readers and contributors.