Lahore: Ahmadi student expelled on false blasphemy charges

» 11/25/2011 17:11
PAKISTAN
Lahore: Ahmadi student expelled on false blasphemy charges
by Jibran Khan

Rabia Saleem ripped up an anti-Ahmadi poster. Students affiliated with Islamic fundamentalist groups accused her falsely in order to expel her from campus. The university usually covers up extremist abuses as silence reigns in the Education Ministry. Catholic priest slams the authorities’ inaction.

Lahore (AsiaNews) — An Ahmadi student from Lahore (Punjab) was expelled from her university in her senior after she was accused of blasphemy. Students affiliated with Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (TKN) accused Rabia Saleem of ripping up a poster with anti-Ahmadi content. Ahmadi Muslims are considered heretical by mainstream Islam because they do not view Muhammad as the last prophet. The poster was on the door of the hostel where the young woman lived, and, according to sources, it did not contain any verses from the Qur‘an. A student, who asked for anonymity, said that the university “discriminates against religious minorities” and allows fundamentalist groups to “do as they as they please.”

Rashid Ahmad Khan, additional registrar at the Comsats Institute of Information Technology in Lahore, had denied any link between the student’s expulsion and her religion. Instead, he said she was expelled for “breaking university rules” since she “did not provide a document” required in order to register. Student sources say instead that the expulsion of the Ahmadi student was racist in nature, the result of an attitude of discrimination towards religious minorities that permeates the university.

In the meantime, TKN-affiliated students announced that “Ahmadi students would not be allowed” on campus, and that anybody who tried to resist them would be killed. The university and the education ministry reacted to the threat with total silence.

By contrast, it has send shockwaves through the Ahmadi community, which now fears fresh attacks, like the dual attack of May 2010 against two mosques in Lahore that left hundreds dead.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Amir John said that “many students are victims of discrimination in school and that no one has seriously tackled the problem.” In his view, the state “tolerates religious hatred” and “does nothing when episodes of persecution occur.”

For the Catholic priest, the extremist mindset continues to spread and because of it Pakistan could lose important and prominent people from religious minorities.

The Masihi Foundation and Life for All, two NGOs involved in helping victims of discrimination and violence, also condemned Rabia Saleem’ expulsion. In a joint statement, they called for “tolerance and harmony” and urged religious leaders to “play a positive role” in building a multi-confessional society.

They also noted that the only Pakistani to win a Nobel Prize (for Physics) is Abdus Salam, an Ahmadi, who was not appropriately honoured at home for his international award.

URL: www.asianews.it/news-en/Lahore:-Ahmadi...charges-23280.html

Punjab Muslim fundamentalists against the Ahmadis, three traders killed

---Asia News, Italy
» 04/08/2010 10:26
PAKISTAN
Punjab Muslim fundamentalists against the Ahmadis, three traders killed
by Fareed Khan
Muslim leaders denounce sect a “targeted execution”, in the silence of government officials and police. Recently, the three men had been seized “because of their faith” and released after paying a large sum of money. 108 ahmadi faithful killed since 1984.
 

Islamabad (AsiaNews) — The persecution of the Ahmadi Muslims continues in Pakistan, considered heretical because they do not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. On April last three traders were killed in Faisalabad - the third largest city of Punjab. The murder was reported by the leaders of the Ahmadiyya community, who speak of a “targeted execution” by an armed commando who immediately fled the scene.

The elderly man belongs to the Ahmadiyya, a Muslim religious movement condemned as heretical in 1974. With perhaps as many as 3 million followers, especially in Punjab, the Ahmadi community has suffered from harassment and persecution.

Ashraf Pervez, 60, Masood Javed, 57, and Asif Masood, 24, were returning home after the closure of the shops. Suddenly, attackers riddled them with bullets. The three died on their way to hospital. Pervez and Javed were brothers, while Masood was the son of the latter. Two weeks before their death, reports the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the victims had complained of threats to police. The officers had recommended them to “restrict their movement and recruit bodyguards” to protect their safety.

According to leaders of the Ahmadiyya community, most recently the men had been kidnapped and released after paying a high ransom. Criminals have reported that their faith was the cause of the abduction. “It is reasonable to assume that the criminals – reads a statement – or at least their accomplices are known to the authorities, because the groups against the Ahmadis do not bother to hide their hatred.”

Faisalabad has long been the scene of targeted attacks against the Ahmadiyya community. In recent years, nine people were killed without the police or government authorities – who know the perpetrators – intervening. The group’s leaders points the finger at the movement of Khatme Nabuwwat, Islamic followers according to whom the prophecy reaches its full completion with Mohammed, in charge of persecution against Muslims considered “heretics”.

Punjab Law experts can foment violence against the Ahmadis with impunity, claiming that they “be killed” (Wajib ul Qatl). The leaders of the movement denounce the immobility of the authorities, in addition to not punishing the perpetrators of the killings, not even taking a stand against verbal violence.

Since the enactment of the Anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance in 1984 which allows for persecution of the alleged “heretics” 108 people were killed because of their faith. In a few cases the killers were arrested and the few times have appeared before the judges, they were acquitted or freed after a short prison sentence. So far this year, five Ahmadis have been killed.

URL: www.asianews.it/news-en/Punjab-Muslim-fu...-traders-killed-18081.html