From the
beginning and especially since the 1953 anti-Ahmedi riots, the Ahmedi community
has been persecuted and vilified, under one pretext or another. For one
fringe, they are apostates punishable by death. For the other, they are
Muslims, irrespective of fundamental theological differences. It is high time
we stop taking extreme positions vis-à-vis Ahmedis and adopt a more centrist
approach. That, however, may not be possible without having an open and candid
discussion on the following myths and realities often associated with the
followers of Jamat Ahmadiyya.
We Pakistanis
can never thank enough the late Nobel laureate Dr. Abdus Salam. Long before the
discovery of Higgs Boson, a recent scientific discovery which has shed light on
his illustrious career as a physicist once again, the man had played principal
part in the formation of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
(SUPARCO), Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology (PINSTech),
and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). Outside of Pakistan,
the International Center
for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) now bears his name in Trieste,
Italy. His work has
proven time and again that he was an exceptional physicist of international
repute, who earned a positive name for his home country. Some would go further
and declare him a great adherent of his faith, the Ahmadiyya Movement. He was
not a Muslim, however.
Consider two
people arguing about Islam while both claiming to be Muslim; one affirms his
belief in Allah and the Finality of Prophethood, while the other affirms his
belief in the same Allah but not in the Finality of Prophethood. Are they both
saying the same thing? Do they profess the same faith? If the latter’s belief
is correct, what does that make of the former, his forebearers?
Whether Ahmedis
are Muslims or not is essentially a religious question to be satisfactorily
answered by the Muslim ulema only. Since this is an objective and not a subjective
debate, therefore, only they could be the final arbitrors of the issue. To date,
no Muslim aalim, either Pakistani or non-Pakistani of repute, has accepted Ahmedis
as Muslims.
It is often
argued by some that if Dr. Salam, an accomplished man, did not believe in the
Finality of Prophethood then there must be some merit to the argument. They
must remember that another great physicist who won not one but two Nobel Prizes
(Dr. Salam shared his prize with two other physicists), Marie Curie, was an
atheist. If Marie Curie’s Godly beliefs
(or lack of them) reflected in her worldly excellence, perhaps the same people
would have advised Dr. Salam to become an atheist? Marie Curie’s negation of
God does not negate God. The same goes for Dr. Salam’s disbelief in the
Finality of Prophethood.
Lately, social
media is abuzz with support for Ahmedis; a positive development and their right
to call themselves Muslims; a misplaced notion. Some are also in favor of
according their places of worship with the status of mosques, etc. They should
realize that they cannot declare Ahmedis to be Muslims and not declare the rest
of the Muslim population non-Muslim. They cannot have it both ways. Instead,
they should advance their argument along the lines of better protection for the
non-Muslims as guaranteed under the constitution of Pakistan.
Should we wait
for the Day of Judgment for the resolution of this matter? That it is for God
to decide whether Ahmedis are Muslims or not is an irrelevant argument since He
has already spoken through His Prophets and their Books. Principles to
differentiate between right and wrong have been set based on Divine laws. Based
on those not everything needs to be left till the Day of Judgment.
That Ahmedis
supported Pakistan
movement and were closely associated with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
while Maulana Maudodi of Jamat-a-Islami was not, therefore they are Muslims, is
another argument. Parsis, Christians, and Hindus also supported the idea of Pakistan
and strengthened Jinnah’s hands before and after the creation of Pakistan.
Jagan Nath Azad wrote the very first national anthem of Pakistan,
he was a Pakistani-Hindu and a poet. Being a Pakistani-Christian and a
professional soldier, the late Cecil Chaudhary defended the borders of his
country better than many of his Muslims colleagues. The argument at best may
come to a conclusion that Maulana Maudodi was a bad Pakistani but not that
Ahmedis are Muslims.
To sum up, in Pakistan,
there is a consensus that Ahmedis are not Muslims. Where we as a nation go
wrong is in treating them as outcasts, untouchables of sort. Muslim Pakistanis
must demand better protection for Ahmedis from all sorts of persecution. Ahmedis
have rendered countless services to the state of Pakistan.
The nation owes it to them to uphold the constitutional guarantees accorded to the
religious minorities under the law.
The pendulum
needs to stop swinging from one extreme to another!
