Carnage against Ahmedis in Lahore

Ahmedis are not Muslims. That's the popular belief and the only belief I have ever come across from orthodox Muslims of Pakistan. And because they call themselves Muslims, they are not termed as Kafirs (infidels). Therefore, a stage is set for explosive confrontation between majority of Muslims versus minority sects such as these. In popular Islamic terminology, they may well be referred to as Murtids. Now, the definition:

A murtid is a person who is a Muslim but has lately done something out of the box and termed as such. In simple words, if any Muslim denies the supremacy of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (salahu alihi wasalam) or has a belief such which denies him (salahu alihi wasalam) being the last Prophet of ALLAH, then that person is a murtid. Anyone doing that sort of a thing is to be killed immediately, as the historical sources point out to us. In fact, Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (RA) ordered war against men who claimed to be prophets themselves. Much of his 2.5 years of service as the first Kalipha (caliph) was spent fighting against false prophets. Via extension, if we follow that historical perspective (and if you are a Sunni Muslim you are supposed to do just that), then it becomes binding on the present Government of Muslims to enforce a war against people who claim themselves Muslims but deny that Holy Prophet is the last Prophet of ALLAH [Ma'az Allah].

Having said that, it must be noted that Islam prohibits men from picking up arms against other men of whatever faith they may profess. It is not in their jurisdiction to kill, maim, torture or call someone kafir or murtid. In fact, that control should be with the government. It should be the government which should decide the fate of any individual or community. If everyone starts picking up arms against people of opposing faith, we will have the modern-day Pakistan in the making. And here I am pointing fingers at the carnage which was carried this past Friday, supposedly in the name of Islam but never mentioned, by the so-called Punjabi Taliban.

No wonder, there has been no comment from Sharif brothers on this tragedy, the saviours and faun-raisers of Wahabi / Deobandi sect of Islam, people who have carried out attacks across Pakistan killing everyone including Muslims without a remorse. What a slap on the government of Zardari.

Can we kill Ahmadis?

Dr. Amir Liaqat, excellent orator, GEO TV host and a former Minister for Religious Affairs, is once again in trouble. This time trouble seems to be going big.

Two Ahmadis have been reportedly murdered after he called on his viewers to kill Ahmadis as they have insulted our Prophet (PBUH). Asian Human Rights Commission details:

In a program aired on 7 September 2008 the anchor of the religious program 'Alam Online', Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain--also former federal minister for religious affairs--declared the murder of Ahmadi sect members to be necessary (Wajib ul Qatal) according to Islamic teachings, because its followers don't believe in the last prophet, Mohammad, peace be upon him. Dr. Amir repeated his instruction several times, urging fundamentalists Muslims to kill without fear.

While on air the anchor person also pressured the other two Islamic scholars (from two different sects) on the program to support the statement. This resulted in a unanimous decision among the scholars, on air during a popular television show, to urge lynching with the intent to kill. This was not a one-off. On September 9, Mr. Hussain answered a query with the comment that blasphemers are liable to be put to death.

Further,

According to the information received, at 1:15pm on September 8, 18 hours after the broadcast, six persons entered the Fazle Umer Clinic, a two-story hospital at Mirpur Khas city and two of them went to the second floor and started pressuring 45 year-old Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui to come downstairs to attend to a patient in crisis. Dr. Manan left his office and descended into an ambush. He was shot 11 times and died on the spot. His private guard was also shot and is in a serious condition. A woman was also injured by firing. The killers remained at the hospital until the doctor was declared dead, then they walked out of the building's front entrance. Police registered the killers as unknown.

On September 9, 48 hours after the broadcast, Mr. Yousaf, a 75 year-old rice trader and district chief of the Ahmadi sect was killed on his way to prayer in Nawab Shah, Sindh province. Yousaf was fired on from people on motor bikes, and sustained three bullet wounds. He died on the way to the hospital. The assailants had taken a route past a police station. No one was arrested.

One thing must be noted clearly. Islam does not tolerate any non-sense when it comes to Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, it is advisable to all Muslims and Non-Muslims that they respect the sancity of the Prophet (PBUH).

But, is a commoner allowed to allow himself murder of a fellow human being? If that be the case, country would be left in total bloodshed. We've seen how Wahabis treat Shias and vice-versa. The cycle of hatred would come full circle and would certainly engulf our country (if any iota of peace is still left within). My personal view on this is that if someone finds out that there has been a travesty of faith, he may file a petition against the offender in Shariah court. The idea being that proper investigation is carried out to ascertain the truth instead of knifing the person in fit of emotional outburst.As for the case against Dr. Liaqat is concerned, I think we should not allow these media big-wigs to get away with incitement of murder (if there is any). But I must say I did not find any direct incitement of murder in the program. Therefore, it would be near impossible to directly indict Dr. Liaqat or the Ulemas present on 7th September, 2008.