Blasphemy charges: Out of fear, Ahmadi family on the run

Pakistan Punjab

Blasphemy charges: Out of fear, Ahmadi family on the run

By Rana Tanveer
Published: December 15, 2011

Teenager accused of making derogatory remarks against Holy Prophet (PBUH).

LAHORE: Blasphemy allegations continue to haunt minorities in Pakistan.

Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat (AMTKN) activists alleged that 16-year-old Sajeel committed blasphemy by making derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his father, Rana Hakim Jameel, had done the same by portraying Sajeel as a Muslim in his school admission form.

Denying that he ever put down Islam as Sajeel’s religion and all other allegations levelled against his son, Jameel’s was a different tale.

According to him, the allegations stemmed from a school fight.

The school principal overheard some students abusing Sajeel and beat them up. The students later accused Sajeel of telling on them and beat him up. When Sajeel actually went to the principal to complain, he learnt that the students had “made up a story, telling the principal they had attacked him because he had made blasphemous remarks”.

Later, Haji Aslam, the school principal, expelled Sajeel.

Fearing their safety, the two have been on the run ever since the charges emerged.

While the police have yet to register an FIR against the accused, they have already started conducting raids for their arrests.

A member of the accused family, Rana Asfandyar, 18, was arrested by the police, who allegedly pressurised the young student to reveal his brother’s whereabouts, Asfandyar’s older brother, Rana Mujahid told The Express Tribune.

At local mosques, various religious scholars were fuelling a hate campaign against Ahmadis, Mujahid alleged, adding that evoking such hatred among the public could prove dire for his family.

However, Khushab police station SHO Raja Arshad told The Express Tribune that since the family refused to tell them about Sajeel’s whereabouts, the police had brought Asfandyar in to record his statement at the DPO’s office. Arshad denied that they had detained the boy.

Mujahid alleged that religious scholars Qari Saeed and Waqas Ahmed were producing “false witnesses” before the police.

SHO Arshad said that they were still in the process of recording the statements of witnesses, and hence, were unable to conclude their investigations.

Meanwhile, Jameel alleged that a property dispute could also be a reason behind the accusations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/?p=306901

Minority report

	Sun, Nov 20, 2011, Zilhaj 22, 1432 A.H
Opinion
Minority report

Sana Bucha
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Blood, meat and hides marked the first day of Eid-ul-Azha in Pakistan. While most Muslims celebrated their holy festival by sacrificing animals, some decided to achieve new levels of faith by targeting Hindus in Shikarpur. Three doctors were shot dead in broad daylight in Chak Town, allegedly, after a conflict arose between the Bhayo tribe and the Hindu community over a dancing girl.

Prior to the murders, the issue had already captured the attention of the local elders and a jirga was to be convened after Eid. Threats were issued to the Hindu community and reported to the local police but to no avail. Why is it that the government machinery only comes into motion after a tragedy has unfolded? The president and prime minister have both condemned the murders and ordered an inquiry. The police have since been prompt in arresting many from the Bhayo tribe. As anybody in Pakistan will tell you, arrests don’t necessarily mean justice. This is not the only case of Hindus being discriminated against in Pakistan – Sindh, long known for the wisdom of renowned Sufis and saints, is now home to a whole new brand of faith.

This ghastly incident takes me back to another instance in Lahore last year, when two shrines of the minority Ahmadi sect were attacked, leaving more than 90 people dead. Threats to Ahmadis were ignored then too, and calls for greater government protection in the future fell on deaf ears.

A few months ago, Faisalabad was witness to brazen warnings on Ahmadis; pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadi community “wajib-ul-qatal” were distributed comprising names and identities of Ahmadi industrialists, doctors and businessmen. Most recently, Ahmadi residents in Lahore’s Satellite Town have been asked to leave or face dire consequences. This because they have established their place of worship which is deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by some.

It surprises me that we have forgotten those very people who helped draft the resolution that gave us Pakistan. Mohammad Zafarullah Khan was an Ahmadi but it was he who drafted the Pakistan Resolution and represented the Muslim League’s view when it came to deciding the future boundaries between India and Pakistan. He also served as Pakistan’s first minister for foreign affairs. Jinnah with his liberal views chose men to represent his country on merit, not religion, caste or creed. Pakistan’s first law minister was a Hindu who had more faith in Jinnah’s liberal views than the Congress’ secular ones; hence he decided to stay in Pakistan. Mandal was supposed to draft the first constitution of Pakistan; however he never got around to staying here long enough to see that to fruition. He resigned from the cabinet due to the consistent persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and moved back to India shortly after Jinnah’s death.

Encouraging persecution of minorities in Pakistan allows intolerance to flourish and has created precisely the kind of second-class citizenry in Pakistan – with uncertain rights and prejudiced values – that the country’s democratic principles were expected to avoid. For 64 years the whole point has been to come to some sort of conclusion as to whether this Islamic Republic of Pakistan can accommodate minorities without threatening their person, faith and livelihood. The idea has been to remove ambiguities and knock off a predominant holier-than-thou attitude towards Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Parsis. That clarity was in part, intended for the welfare of the existing minorities, so they could break free from their trap of uncertainty and insecurity. With a secular party at the helm, was this too much to ask for?

As religious historian Karen Armstrong stated recently: “like art, religion is difficult to do well and is often done badly.” The way to experiencing art is through an artist’s eyes. Similarly, religion is usually judged by how it is followed. The secular Pakistan Peoples Party distanced its views from those of Maulvi Nawaz Sharif’s – the alleged closet Taliban. However, it was “Maulvi Sahib” who made his way to Chak town and personally conveyed his condolences to the bereaved Hindu families. It was Sharif who pleaded to the Hindu community not to leave Pakistan, not our “secular” ruling party or its equally “secular” allies, the ANP or the MQM.

Pakistan’s minority dilemma is complex because secularism and conservatism don’t go their separate ways, but come together. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was considered Pakistan’s most secular and liberal leader, however by adopting the Objectives Resolution in the 1973 constitution, he ended up empowering conservative forces.

Similarly, the man who promised Pakistan “enlightened moderation” also gave way to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s regime gave more power to the maulvis than any other government in Pakistan. Claiming to be Pakistan’s ray of hope, Imran Khan too has disappointed his secular voters (and some party workers). In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Khan said he realised the need to ban militant organisations however, when asked to take names, he refused. Khan said he knew the threat that looms large since the Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was murdered and hence would not endanger his own life by taking names. And his motto is? You guessed it! Change.

However, it seems the most conservative leader has turned out to be the most secular. From his proposed policy of looking inward for a solution to the war on terror, to envisioning an open trade and better relations with India, Nawaz Sharif has ended up doing what the PPP has long promised. But there are still question marks on some of his party’s leaders harbouring relations with banned outfits and participating in their rallies. His own brother and chief minister of Punjab had previously pleaded with the Taliban not to attack Punjab because of their anti-US policy. As if the other three provinces are in complete disagreement with the views of the TTP and therefore deserve to die.

Persecution of minorities in Pakistan is on a steady rise. It’s not only non-Muslims who are under threat; the minority Muslim sects are also bearing its brunt. In the last two years, almost every important day in the Shiite calendar has been witness to attacks. There have also been attacks on religious shrines of Data Darbar, Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Baba Farid. Scholars who disavowed this form of brutal violence as un-Islamic were either martyred like Maulana Sarfaraz Naeemi and Maulana Hasan Jaan, or they had to flee the country.

Come to think of it, one way or the other, we are all minorities – Punjabis in Balochistan, Mohajirs in Punjab, Pashtuns in Sindh, Baloch in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – we are all victims of this prejudice. Will we realise, in time, what we don’t condemn today for others could very well be our fate tomorrow.

The writer works for Geo TV.

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URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=78453&Cat=9

Intolerance in the curriculum

	Thu, Oct 13, 2011, Ziqad 14, 1432 A.H
Opinion
Intolerance in the curriculum

Kamila Hyat
Thursday, October 13, 2011

There have been several shocking incidents over the past week or so that go only to highlight the kind of intolerance we are facing in our society and the manner in which this is spreading. Worst of all the spirit of hatred has also seeped into classrooms, and is being used to poison the minds of children.

This process will of course lead to the emergence, even before our watching eyes, of yet another generation persuaded that it is acceptable to discriminate on the basis of beliefs or other factors, or that minority groups are inherently inferior to the majority – deserving no place in mainstream society.

Just a few days ago, 10 Ahmadi children, seven of them girls, were expelled from a school in the Hafizabad area, simply on the basis of their religious identity. The incident took place soon after preachers promoting anti-Ahmadism had visited the town and lashed out with familiar vitriol against a religious group that has been thrust out of the mainstream and then subjected to years of vicious discrimination.

The feeble plea by the principal of the private school, that he did not wish to turn away the children from the school doors but had no choice in the face of threats made by villagers, just goes to show how weak we have become.

No one has answered the question of the distraught father of three of the girls driven away from school who asks how his daughters will now receive an education. Beyond the representatives of the Ahmadi community in Rabwah and some human rights groups, no one has spoken out in their support.

The issue has not been discussed by furious media anchors, even though the Constitution of our land lays down in unequivocal terms that every citizen has a right to education and cannot be denied this under any circumstances.

Such silence is perhaps the most dangerous element of all. The streets and other public places have been left to bigots, such as those who have been on the streets demanding the immediate release of Mumtaz Qadri, the man sentenced to death for the murder of Salmaan Taseer.

Precisely the same silence prevailed after yet another horrendous incident at a school a few weeks ago when an eighth-grade Christian girl was turned out of a POF-run school in the town of Havelian after making a minor spelling mistake in an Urdu paper.

Her teacher interpreted the mistake as an act of blasphemy, publicised the matter – which essentially revolved around one dot in a paragraph about a ‘naat’ – and as clerics staged protests the powerful POF management chose not only to expel the girl, but also to transfer her mother, a nurse at a hospital.

Such incidents have occurred elsewhere too. Ahmadi children have been punished in schools, their faith ridiculed and admission denied simply on the basis of their religious beliefs. Amidst all this, we talk of ‘the silent majority’. But do we really know what people believe and think?

It is true that many, indeed most, do not agree with the rabid views of the extremists. We would like to believe this is true. But popular thinking has been warped over the years by all kinds of factors that began essentially with the deliberate and evil distortions initiated in the early 1980s when our society first began its most serious transformation into an uglier, nastier place.

Discrimination is not based on religious beliefs alone. At an elite Lahore private school, a child from a different ethnic background was mocked and subjected to continuous ridicule for his appearance. It seems that the school management didn’t do very much to check this behaviour or persuade the majority of students who had resorted to uncivilised conduct towards the student to correct their ways.

Racism and bigotry of course need to be stopped using some degree of force within an environment in which the two have spread quite far and grown deep roots. African students based in colleges in Lahore and other cities will no doubt testify to the kind of treatment they face, solely on the basis of their skin colour.

One question that we all need to ask is why the government sits by as a silent spectator while all this happens. It needs to play a far more proactive role. We stand where we are today as a result of carefully thought out behaviours and policies put in place in the past. They succeeded in twisting minds and creating an atmosphere in which hatred, distrust and intolerence could blossom.

The need now is to begin an immediate reversal of this process. In the first place, the relevant authorities need to take notice of the instances of expulsion from schools on the basis of open and undisguised discrimination; this would put in place a good example of what should be done and where right separates from wrong, like oil from water.

There is no time to lose. It is quite obvious that things are growing worse and worse virtually by the day. Our only hope for the future lies in nurturing a generation that is able to think more openly and adopt an approach which is different to the destructive one that has become a normal part of our society today.

The provision that all citizens are equal needs to be turned into reality and not just a clause in a document that fewer and fewer people seem to be very bothered about.

How do we begin this? Schools are a good place to start. Government schools are perhaps the best, given the number of children attending them and the control the administration should have over them. Through curriculums and training for teachers, both children and those entrusted with the delicate task of educating them need to learn to think differently.

This is not an easy task of course. But it has been done elsewhere; Ireland, where Protestants and Catholics were deeply divided in the north for so many years, is one example where attempts towards greater harmony through schools have met with some success.

There are other examples in the world. We need to emulate them and move towards building a place where people are ready to speak out for what is right and refuse to allow extremist elements – who attempt to validate their intolerant ways by citing a distorted version of religion – to dictate how we live and what we do.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com

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URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=72295&Cat=9

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Ahmadi students, teacher expelled from Pak schools

South Asia

Ahmadi students, teacher expelled from Pak schools

Last Updated: Saturday, October 08, 2011, 12:53

Islamabad: Ten students, including seven girls, and a woman teacher belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect have been expelled from two schools in Pakistan’s Punjab province amid a hate campaign against the community, a media report said on Saturday.

They were expelled from Chenab Public School and Muslim Public School at Dharanwali in Hafizabad.

A public meeting held recently in Dharanwali had spread hatred against Ahmadis, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesman Saleemuddin said.

The expulsions came in the aftermath of intolerance that some religious preachers were bent on evoking among local residents, Saleemuddin told ‘The Express Tribune’ daily.

“They went so far as to say that they would never allow for an Ahmadi to be buried in their graveyard, let alone allow an Ahmadi to study in a school with their children,” Saleemuddin alleged.

Soon after the hate speeches, 10 Ahmadi students and the teacher were expelled from the schools.

Khalil Ahmad, whose three daughters were among the expelled students, said: “It is extremely unfortunate that my daughters are being deprived of the most basic and fundamental human right such as education…all because of religious intolerance.”

He said: “I have no alternative to ensure that their education continues.”

He questioned why authorities were not implementing Constitutional provisions that ensure equal rights for all.

“I’ve never seen Christians and students belonging to other religions ever having to deal with such restrictions,” he said.

Muslim Public School principal Yasir Abbas said he had “personally opposed the expulsion on the basis of faith”.

He said: “This is not my decision… the entire village unanimously pressed me to expel all Ahmadis from the school, or else they would forcibly shut the school down.”

The Punjab government’s initiative allowing people to register for schools online makes it mandatory to disclose their religion, including whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim.

“This was never the case previously. It’s very simply a calculated move to subject the Ahmadiyya community to discrimination and deprive them of their right to education,” Saleemuddin alleged.

Ahmadis do not refer to themselves as “non-Muslim”, but that does not stop them from being kept away from educational institutions.

For the first time ever, authorities have introduced a system whereby religion is displayed on roll number slips.

“It’s like they’re making a conscious effort to mentally torture us,” Saleemuddin said.

Dozens of members of the Ahmadi sect have been killed in terror attacks in the past two years.

PTI

© 1996-2011 Zee News Limited, All rights reserved
URL: http://zeenews.india.com/news/south-asia/ahmadi...735559.html

Ahmadis expelled from school

Pakistan

Ahmadis expelled from school

By Shamsul Islam
Published: October 8, 2011

10 students, teacher forced out of schools because of their faith.

FAISALABAD: At least 10 students, including seven girls, and a female teacher were expelled from Chenab Public School and Muslim Public School, Dharanwali area of Hafizabad, for being Ahmadis.

“It is extremely unfortunate that my daughters are being deprived of the most basic and fundamental human right such as education … all because of religious intolerance,” Khalil Ahmad, whose three daughters were expelled, told The Express Tribune. “I have no alternative to ensure that their education continues,” he added.

What about the constitutional provisions which ensure equal rights for all? What about the rule of law that says no discrimination can be made on the basis of faith, race, cast and creed, he questions.

“I’ve never seen Christians and students belonging to other religions ever having to deal with such restrictions,” the distraught father says.

“I personally opposed the expulsion on the basis of faith,” Muslim Public School Principal Yasir Abbas responds when contacted by The Express Tribune.

“This is not my decision … the entire village unanimously pressed me to expel all Ahmadis from the school, or else they would forcibly shut the school down,” he added.

A public meeting held in Dharanwali recently was spreading hatred against Ahmadis, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson Saleemuddin says, adding that expulsion came in the aftermath of the intolerance that some religious preachers were bent on evoking amongst locals in the area.

“They went so far as to say that they would never allow for an Ahmadi to be buried in their graveyard, let alone allow an Ahmadi to study in a school with their children,” Saleemuddin alleges.

Soon after the hate speech, ten Ahmadi students and a teacher were expelled from local schools.

The Punjab government’s initiative allowing people to register for schools online makes it mandatory for one to disclose their religion – whether they are Muslim or Non-Muslim. “This was never the case previously. It’s very simply a calculated move to subject the Ahmadiyya community to discrimination and deprive them of their right to education,” Saleemuddin says.

Ahmadis never refer to themselves as “Non-Muslim”, but that doesn’t keep them from being kept away from educational institutions. Similarly, for the first time ever, they’ve introduced this system where religion is displayed on the Roll Number slips. “It’s like they’re making a conscious effort to mentally torture us,” he says.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/269390/ahmadis-expelled-from-school/

PAKISTAN: The principals of the schools obey the instructions of Mullahs to rusticate the Ahmadi students

News / AHRC News

PAKISTAN: The principals of the schools obey the instructions of Mullahs to rusticate the Ahmadi students

October 7, 2011

The government has still not taken any action against the cases of rustication of twenty-three Ahmadi students from Punjab Medical College, and particularly against the rustication of Hina Akram, a third year Ahmadi Muslim student at the National Textile University, Faisalabad, Punjab province. Please see the AHRC statement; AHRC-STM-129-2011

In the far-flung areas of Pakistan, students from the Ahmadi community have to face such practices by local religious groups, influential in the school, which force Ahmadi students to hide their identity or to migrate to urban centers where Ahmadis face fewer persecutions. The Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), under the guidance of extremist religious leaders, has been allegedly assigned the task to “clean” the educational institutions, including universities and professional colleges in particular, of Ahmadi students. The staff of the educational institutions is being forced to provide details of the students.

After the rustication of 15 Ahmadi female students and 8 male students from the Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, Pakistan, the Mullahs and extremist groups in Pakistan have ferociously accelerated their campaign against the Ahmadi students.

The AHRC has recently received information that on September 22, a public meeting was held in Dharanwali, a settlement near Hafizabad, Punjab, which was addressed by mischief monger Mullahs whipping up hatred against Ahmadis. Using heart piercing slanderous filthy language against the followers of Ahmadis and its leadership, they announce that they will never allow the burial of any Ahmadiyy Muslim in their cemetery and they will never let any Ahmadi child study in their schools.

Quickly after the inflaming provocation, ten Ahmadi students and a teacher were expelled from the local schools of Faisalabad district, Punjab.

The following students were rusticated from two different schools of being Ahmedis;

1. Shajar Ahmad - son of Amjad Zaid Ahmad, student Class 9,
2. Faraaz Ahmad - son of ijaz Ahmad, student Class 12,
3. Shabih Nasr - daughter of Nasr Ahmad, student Class 10,
4. Tanseelah Khalil - daughter of Khalil Ahmad, studying for B.A Degree,
5. Tanzeela Khalil - daughter of Khalil Ahmad, student Class 12,
6. Nabeela Kahilil - daughter of Khalil Ahmad, student, Class 12,
7. Iqbal Ahmad - son of Munir Ahmad, student, Class 6,
8. Sadia Munir - daughter of Munir Ahmad, student Class 10
9. Maham Jameel - daughter of Jameel Ahmad, student Grade 1,
10. Manahil Jameel - daughter of Jameel Ahmad, student prep class.

They were all expelled from Chenab Public school (Principal Muhammad Yasser Arafat), and Muslim Public school, Dharanwali (Principal Yasser Abbas).

Moreover, an Ahmadiyya teacher Rafiya tul Bari, daughter of Amjad Zaid Ahmad, teaching in Chenab Public school, Dharanwali, was also expelled for being an Ahmadiyya Muslim.

This alarming situation for the fundamental right to education of Ahmadiyy Muslims in Pakistan continues to accelerate and the international community must take resolute action to pursue the Government of Pakistan to honour its commitments to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Harare Declaration to which Pakistan is a signatory.

It is observed that in the recent days a strong wave against the different sects has swept through Punjab province which has provided shelters to the banned Islamic militant groups who are openly organising their public meetings and collecting funds on the streets. The banned religious groups gathered so much power through the ministers of provincial governments that they are now out of control. The rule of law which protects the religious freedom is under the total control of the Mullahs, the religious bigot, in the Punjab government.

The AHRC urges the government of Pakistan to repeal all the laws and ordinances denying Ahmadis their civic and fundamental rights and propping up the Mullahs and extremist groups to continue the murders of Ahmadis and the destruction of their means to livelihood.

Document ID: AHRC-STM-139-2011
URL: www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-139-2011