Ahmadi Attack Another Example of Culture of Intolerance and Violence
We can blame foreign elements and militants for attacks like the one on the Ahmadi community, but let’s not forget how easy it has become to exploit people within Pakistan who are so highly charged and act without thinking.
“Armed with AK-47 rifles, shotguns, grenades, wearing suicide jackets and firing automatic weapons indiscriminately, the terrorists occupied the worship place for several hours, frustrating several police attempts to enter the building, delaying rescue work and holding hundreds of people hostage.” This was the description of one of the attacks on Ahmadis yesterday on Dawn.com.
This account delivers a multiple sense of déjà vu: Manawan Police Academy, Lahore; GHQ. But this time, the act was not against the state — or at least not directly — it targeted a minority.
This isn’t the first time that mosques have been targeted, but this is the biggest attack on members of the Ahmadi community. At least 80 worshippers were killed, and some reports say over 110 injured, in the course of a few hours. But are condemnations of the attack once it has taken place enough?
In a news report yesterday, the HRCP was quoted as saying that it had informed the government of the threat to the Ahmadi community a year ago. In light of that was there any action taken by the government, or was there adequate provision of security to their place of worship? No.
The recent ban on Facebook and what has followed after has clearly illustrated the tolerance levels of people in the country. Go around and read the comments on some of the blog posts and you will realise not only how much hatred people are filled with for those outside the country but also for their own fellow denizens.
While the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan may be the first to be blamed (there was also a report by The News that a faction of the TTP has taken responsibility for the attack) one cannot overlook the fact that groups and individuals in our cities have access to weapons and do not hesitate to use them indiscriminately. Go back to the incident of a lawyer being shot in his chambers in Lahore, just a few days back.
The PML-N, who is pointing fingers outside (towards RAW), should first look within Pakistan. While it is plausible that foreign elements are exploiting the situation for ulterior motives, what is also important to note is how easy it has become for them to exploit a people who are so highly charged and act without thinking. Aren’t we, the people of Pakistan, a direct and major part of the problem?
The opinions expressed in this article and the views shared by readers in the comment forum below do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance or policies of Newsline.
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Our sympathy and prayers are with the Ahmadi community in Pakistan at this time. Although the group has been subjected to fierce and sustained persecution since the Mawdudi anti-Ahmadi riots of the 1950s, the attack on friday is the first coordinated attack on such a large scale. I have spent considerable time with the Ahmadi in both Pakistan and India and although a Christian and not Ahmadi I greatly respect them for their tolerance. For those who want to know more about the Ahmadi please read S. R. Valentine, Islam & the Ahmadiyya Jama’at, Hurst & Co, Columbia University Press, 2008 or contact Dr Valentine directly on archegos@btinternet.com.
The Pakistan Constitution itself supports the discrimination against Ahmadiis. They can be jailed and killed for saying they are Muslims. The attacks were not just random violence by terrorists. The killings happened in a country that continually violates the Ahmadi community. They are an easy target, peaceful, non-violent and spiritual people. But the world is now seeing Pakistan’s hypocrisy.
Why does it take such incidents for people to even take notice? And even then sometimes, nothing happens.
It is a shame that such laws exist but, more than that, what is worse is that nobody has ever repealed them. Everyone is either too ready to question another’s faith, or too scared of having one’s own faith questioned by taking a stand.
Truly tragic.
This is correct that whenever anyone is attacked it is an attack on a Pakistani and even more than that .. attack on humanity. But every attack has some background. Each and every place that these militants had been targeting had some background. They had been attacking armed forces and their locations i.e. GHQ as army was launching operations against them. They attacked mosque in “Cantt” areas because of the sentimental associations of those mosques and worshipers to the army again. They stormed Police Academy as it was producing more policemen to counter their activities. They attacked FIA locations because they had been interrogating their mates. They attacked a mosque in Lahore, because a day ago the head of the mosque had passed a “Fatwa” against these militants. So every attack has some link. But in this case when they attacked the Mosque of Ahmadiyya Community, which is truly a peace-loving community, then the link is missing. The only link that one can work out, roots back to the same old hate-preaching-philosophy of this unfortunate society. This is what was stated in the press conference by the representative of Ahmadiyya Community. For decades hate-preaching has been practiced against Ahmadies, which has resulted in killing of Ahmadies every other day. Even at the time of these attacks, the same two areas of Lahore i.e. Model Town, and Garhi Shahu had anti-ahmadiyya posters and banners installed, which suggested to destroy Ahmadies. This is all what has been taught to the generations of this society. So when it comes to attacking Ahmadies there is no such political or strategic or personal-hate-related stuff (as some examples were quoted above); the only background is “winning the heavens”. No doubt every suicide bomber is targeting to land in heavens but as I said when it comes to Ahmadiyya Community, the easy-heaven syndrome is pretty old. And mind it, this was one slogan that these attackers (in Model Town mosque) raised. According an eye-witness (who told me directly), when they had killed many of the people in one of the halls, they shouted “We have accomplished our Hajj”… So what do we say …
Having said that .. Today every Ahmadi so proudly can stand and say that we have proved what we say. We are the most peace-loving community of Islam and most law-abiding citizens of Pakistan. This is what we say and this is what we have proved from our actions. We see many unfortunate incidents in our Society every other day. And then we see the reactions which are at time out of proportions also.
At times only on the arrest of single person of some Political or religious party, highways are blocked, stone-throwing takes place, scores of cars, buses banks are burnt, people stage strikes and give calls and then ensure “Wheel-Jam Strikes” …. and all this, at times, for the release of one or few persons. Then at times tragedies do take place in which a person or few people loose their lives and then extent of these reactions goes higher and higher.
But look at the incident of Lahore, in which almost 100 people lost their lives while bowing in front of the same God, who is God to everyone. They had no crime listed on their credit. The only crime was they had some differences in their faith. But was there any “reaction”. Were there any highways blocked? tyres burnt? demonstrations took place on streets, or acts of damaging public or private property ever occurred? or anything of that sort. NOTHING. and this is a slap on the faces of all those who spend all their energies proving that Ahmadies are non-Muslims. Isn’t this the sunnah of our religion and Dearest Prophet. The same was mentioned in the press conference of Ahmadiyya Community Representative. When he was asked about the reaction of the Jama’at, he quoted the verse of Holy Qura’an which says that whenever there is a loss, or painful time, or tragedy, simply say “Inna Lillah-e-wa Inna Ilehay Rajeoon”. So this is how a community termed as “Non-Muslim” reacts and behaves in contract to those who claim and are considered “The Muslims” . Just see who only “claims” and who actually “Practices” ISLAM.
A culture of intolerance has been nurtured by all Muslim religious groups in Pakistan. The Jamat-e-Islami gave birth to all the extremists that are in existence, starting with Maulana Maududi, who was their head.
For years we have watched this growth of culture of hate, extremism & terrorism.
What was done to the Ahmadis is shameful. The very nature of the law & its premise promotes and justifies violence against them. What has created this culture of hate is by first declaring them as the ‘other’ & then justifying all violations against them by depriving them and stripping them of all their human rights.
Those who claim to be the defenders of Islam are actually the destroyers of the faith they claim is theirs.
We may be 60 years late in standing up to these vicious marauders of human lives & reclaiming our country back, but it is time we did. Part of the reason that they kill with such impunity is because of discriminatory laws brought in illegally by Zia & step by step destruction of the constitution. Yet we did not speak up. We need to unite under one banner to demand the repeal of all these laws.
As a nation this is very shameful that few persons trying to defend this horrific action taken against the Ahmediyya community in Pakistan. While talking to few common people even some are educated I felt ashamed on their replies that said: “what has been happened in Lahore is bad … but…. Ahmadiyya Community is imposed by foreign entities and they are working against Muslims and Pakistan and further highlighted that now this community will try to destroy the image of Pakistan.” Surely this thought is poisoned by religious leaders in Pakistan in common people to create hatred between sects, communities and individuals.
I am sure this is not what Islam teaches us. Let us pray for safety of Pakistan and people of Pakistan (all citizens) and to restore the image in front of God and other nations.
Image … Wao what a joke!!!
Pakistan don’t have any positive image in the world internationally we are treated as the cultivators of terrorists and now we are also harvesting what we have cultivated..
You can count a numerous of incidents when not only Ahmadi but all the minorities in Pakistan have been target of extremists consistently for instance the Gojra incident when tens of Christians died in Faisalabad.
Whenever Pakistan gets any opportunity to bring thier positive image it gets beaten up by extremists…..so forget abt image of Pakistan
This is very bad time on Muslims when few groups (politicians/religious leaders) trying to use the umbrella of Islam to execute their own agendas, and modifying the true image of the Islam just to fulfill their agendas, ignoring the fact that how harmful their acts are for the image on Muslims. This is not Islam, Islam is religion of the love and peace and tolerance. Islam never teaches us to hate someone just on the basis of religions and sects. Killing people using the name of Islam is destroying the actual teaches of Islam and creating worse image in front of other regions of world. That is why now we are highlighted by other religions/nations as terrorists.
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