Repeal Now - A Human Rights Campaign

Timeline

1953 Feb23

Anti-Ahmadi riots

Extremists lead mobs to kill Ahmadis; martial law instituted
1974 Sep7

Amendment is passed

Ahmadi Muslims declared "non-Muslim" in Constitution
1984 Apr26

Ordinance XX passed

Criminalized Islamic acts by Ahmadi Muslims
2010 May28

100+ massacred in Lahore

Extremists martyr 100+ Ahmadis during prayers in Lahore

public STATEMENTS

2010-05-28 Naveed Malik Public Statements

UNITED NATIONS 5/28/10 Three United Nations human rights experts today called on the Pakistani Government to take every step to ensure the safety of religious minorities after the killing of at least 70 members of the Ahmadiyyah community, noting that numerous early warning signs had not been properly heeded. “Members of this religious community have faced continuous threats, discrimination and violent attacks in Pakistan,” the experts said in a joint statement on the attack, which was also condemned by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The attack occurred during Friday prayers, when gunmen armed with grenades attacked two Ahmadi mosques in the city of Lahore. While the police responded to the attacks, the gunmen took control of one mosque and reportedly held hundreds of Ahmadi worshippers hostage. In Pakistan and elsewhere, Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims and have been subject to a number of undue restrictions and in many instances institutionalized discrimination. This emboldens opinion makers who wish to fuel hatred and perpetrators of attacks against religious minorities, the experts said. “There is a real risk that similar violence might happen again unless advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence is adequately addressed,” they stressed, adding that the Government must ensure a prompt and impartial investigation, followed by effective prosecution of all those responsible for the killings. “The Government must take every step to ensure the security of members of all religious minorities and their places of worship so as to prevent any recurrence of today’s dreadful incident,” they declared, while noting the condemnation by senior Pakistani leaders. This is all the more important since there have been numerous early warning signs which have not been properly heeded, they said. The independent experts – Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Asma Jahangir, Independent Expert on minority issues Gay McDougall and Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston – report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity. Mr. Ban voiced his condemnation of the attack through his spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, who added that the Secretary-General extended his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and UN Experts, Asma Jahanghir, Gay McDougall, Philip Alston: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=34849&Cr=&Cr1=

United Nations

Three United Nations human rights experts today called on the Pakistani Government to take every step to ensure the safe...

2010-06-12 Naveed Malik Public Statements

28 May 2010 Amnesty International condemns the twin attacks on Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore Amnesty International strongly condemns the twin attacks on two Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore today and calls for increased and meaningful protection for the country’s religious minorities. The organization also calls on the Pakistan government to carry out a thorough independent and impartial investigation into the brutal attacks on the two places of worship in Garhi Shahu and Model Town in Lahore in which at least 70 people were reportedly killed and 78 injured.According to members of the Ahmadi community, the Dharul Zikr is the largest Ahmadi place of worship in Lahore, with 1,500 to 2000 worshippers. Ahmadi sources told Amnesty International that among the dead were the President, Vice President and Missionary of Dharul Zikr.An Ahmadi source told Amnesty International that the attack coincides with the anniversary of the death of the community's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, who is believed to have passed away on 26 May 1908.There have been contradictory reports in the media as to which group was behind the attack despite an earlier statement by the Punjab Taleban claiming responsibility. Some of the gunmen remain at large.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in a statement said that it had repeatedly warned the Punjab Chief Minister of threats against the Ahmadi community centre in Model Town in Lahore for more than a year, calling for “enhanced security measures to protect the vulnerable minority and its places of worship” which has come under increasing attack in tandem with the rise of religious extremism in the country.BackgroundThe Ahmadiyya are a religious group who consider themselves a part of Islam, although many mainstream Muslim groups view them as not adhering to the accepted belief system. In 1974, Pakistan’s parliament passed a new law declaring the Ahamdis non-Muslims. Attacks on religious minorities have been compounded by the countr y’s blasphemy laws that have fostered a climate of religiously-motivated violence and persecution. Accusations of blasphemy have frequently resulted in the murder of both Muslims and members of religious minorities. Read original

Amnesty International Condemns Lahore Attacks

Amnesty International strongly condemns the twin attacks on two Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore today and calls for i...

2010-07-11 Naveed Malik Public Statements

(New York) – Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments should take immediate legal action against Islamist extremist groups responsible for threats and violence against the minority Ahmadiyya religious community, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 28, 2010, extremist Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques in the central Pakistani city of Lahore with guns, grenades, and suicide bombs, killing 94 people and injuring well over a hundred. Twenty-seven people were killed at the Baitul Nur Mosque in the Model Town area of Lahore; 67 were killed at the Darul Zikr mosque in the suburb of Garhi Shahu. The Punjabi Taliban, a local affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban, called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility. On the night of May 31, unidentified gunmen attacked the Intensive Care Unit of Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital, where victims and one of the alleged attackers in Friday's attacks were under treatment, sparking a shootout in which at least a further 12 people, mostly police officers and hospital staff, were killed. The assailants succeeded in escaping. “The mosque attacks and the subsequent attack on the hospital, amid rising sectarian violence, underscore the vulnerability of the Ahmadi community,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s failure to address religious persecution by Islamist groups effectively enables such atrocities.” The US Department of State annual report on human rights recorded the killing of 11 Ahmadis for their faith in 2009. Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan's government to immediately introduce legislation in parliament to repeal laws discriminating against religious minorities such as the Ahmadis, including the penal statute that makes capital punishment mandatory for “blasphemy.” Human Rights Watch also urged the government of Punjab province, controlled by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, to investigate and prosecute as appropriate campaigns of intimidation, threats, and violence against the Ahmadiyya community by Islamist groups such as the Sunni Tehrik, Tehrik-e-Tahafaz-e-Naomoos-e-Risalat, Khatm-e-Nabuwat and other groups acting under the Taliban’s umbrella. Leaders of these groups have frequently threatened to kill Ahmadis and attack the mosques where the killings took place. The anti-Ahmadiyya campaign has intensified in the past year, exemplified by the government allowing groups to place banners seeking the death of “Qadianis” (a derogatory term for Ahmadis) on the main thoroughfares of Lahore. The independent, non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Ahmadi community leaders told Human Rights Watch that they had repeatedly brought these threats to the notice of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the provincial government, and the police controlled by the provincial authorities, and that they had asked for enhanced security for Ahmadiyya mosques given their vulnerability to attack. However, Human Rights Watch research found that the provincial government failed to act on the evidence or to ensure meaningful security to the mosques. On May 30, Zaeem Qadri, advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, said in an interview on Dunya TV that the provincial government had failed to remove the threatening banners from the city’s thoroughfares in order to prevent “adverse reaction against the government” by the groups responsible. On the same day, a Taliban statement “congratulated” Pakistanis for the attacks, calling people from the Ahmadiyya and Shia communities “the enemies of Islam and common people” and urging Pakistanis to take the “initiative” and kill every such person “in range. “The Punjab government is either in denial about threats to Ahmadis and other minorities or is following a policy of willful discrimination,” said Hasan. “The Punjab government’s law enforcement authorities need to dispense with traditional prejudices and proactively protect heterodox communities like the Ahmadis, who now are in clear and serious danger from both the Taliban and sectarian militant groups historically supported by the state. ” Founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Ahmadiyya community is a religious group that identifies itself as Muslim. Estimates suggest at least two million Ahmadis live in Pakistan. Ahmadis differ with other Muslims over the exact definition of Prophet Mohammad being the “final” monotheist prophet. Many Muslims consider the Ahmadiyya to be non-Muslims. The persecution of the Ahmadiyya community is wholly legalized, even encouraged, by the Pakistani government. Pakistan’s penal code explicitly discriminates against religious minorities and targets Ahmadis in particular by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” Ahmadis are prohibited from declaring or propagating their faith publicly, building mosques or even referring to them as such, or making the call for Muslim prayer. Pakistan’s “Blasphemy Law,” as section 295-C of the Penal Code is known, makes the death penalty mandatory for blasphemy. Under this law, the Ahmadiyya belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is considered blasphemous insofar as it “defiles the name of Prophet Muhammad.” In 2009, at least 50 Ahmadis were charged under various provisions of the blasphemy law across Pakistan. Many of these individuals remain imprisoned. Since the military government of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq unleashed a wave of persecution in the 1980s, violence against the Ahmadiyya community has never really ceased. Ahmadis continue to be killed and injured, and have their homes and businesses burned down in anti-Ahmadi attacks. The authorities continue to arrest, jail and charge Ahmadis for blasphemy and other offenses because of their religious beliefs. In several instances, the police have been complicit in harassment and the framing of false charges against Ahmadis, or stood by in the face of anti-Ahmadi violence. “Ahmadis unfortunately become easy targets in times of religious and political insecurity,” said Hasan. “The Pakistani government has emboldened the extremists by failing to take action. It needs to repeal the laws used to persecute Ahmadis, and it must prosecute those responsible for anti-Ahmadi intimidation and violence.” However, the government seldom brings charges against perpetrators of anti-Ahmadi violence and discrimination. Research by Human Rights Watch indicates that the police have failed to apprehend anyone implicated in such activity in the last several years. Since 2000, an estimated 400 Ahmadis have been formally charged in criminal cases, including blasphemy. Several have been convicted and face life imprisonment or death sentences pending appeal. The offenses charged included wearing an Islamic slogan on a shirt, planning to build an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore, and distributing Ahmadi literature in a public square. As a result, thousands of Ahmadis have fled Pakistan to seek asylum in countries including Canada and the United States. Human Rights Watch said that the Pakistani government continues to actively encourage legal and procedural discrimination against Ahmadis. For example, all Pakistani Muslim citizens applying for passports are obliged to sign a statement explicitly stating that they consider the founder of the Ahmadi community an “imposter” and consider Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. “Under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi can be treated as a criminal offense,” said Hasan “Ahmadis could be sentenced to death for simply professing their faith.” Human Rights Watch urged concerned governments and inter-governmental bodies to press the Pakistani government to: * Repeal the Blasphemy Law; * Prosecute those responsible for harassing, and planning and executing attacks against the Ahmadiyya and other minorities; and * Take steps to encourage religious tolerance within Pakistani society. “Pakistan’s continued use of its blasphemy law against Ahamdis and other religious minorities is despicable,” said Hasan. “As long as such laws remain on the books, Pakistan will remain a laboratory for abuse in the name of religion.” Background on the Ahmadiyya community The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the official name of the community, is a contemporary messianic movement founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839–1908), who was born in the Punjabi village of Qadian, now in India. The relevant discriminatory laws in the Pakistani constitution and extremist Islamist groups derogatorily refer to the Ahmadiyya community as the “Qadiani” community, a term derived from the birthplace of the founder of the movement. In 1889, Ahmad declared that he had received divine revelation authorizing him to accept the baya’ah, or allegiance of the faithful. In 1891, he claimed to be the expected mahdi or messiah of the latter days, the “Awaited One” of the monotheist community of religions, and the messiah foretold by the Prophet Mohammed. Ahmad described his teachings, incorporating both Sufi and orthodox Islamic and Christian elements, as an attempt to revitalize Islam in the face of the British Raj, proselytizing Protestant Christianity, and resurgent Hinduism. Thus, the Ahmadiyya community believes that Ahmad conceived the community as a revivalist movement within Islam and not as a new religion. Members of the Ahmadiyya community (“Ahmadis”) profess to be Muslims. They contend that Ahmad meant to revive the true spirit and message of Islam that the Prophet Mohammed introduced and preached. Virtually all mainstream Muslim sects believe that Ahmad proclaimed himself as a prophet, thereby rejecting a fundamental tenet of Islam: Khatme Nabuwat (literally, the belief in the “finality of prophethood” – that the Prophet Mohammed was the last of the line of prophets leading back through Jesus, Moses, and Abraham). Ahmadis respond that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a non-law-bearing prophet subordinate in status to Prophet Mohammed; he came to illuminate and reform Islam, as predicted by Prophet Mohammed. For Ahmad and his followers, the Arabic Khatme Nabuwat does not refer to the finality of prophethood in a literal sense – that is, to prophethood’s chronological cessation – but rather to its culmination and exemplification in the Prophet Mohammed. Ahmadis believe that “finality” in a chronological sense is a worldly concept, whereas “finality” in a metaphoric sense carries much more spiritual significance. The exact size of the Ahmadiyya community worldwide is unclear, but estimates suggest they number under 10 million, mostly concentrated in India and Pakistan but also present in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Europe, and North America. Background on persecution of the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan The Ahmadiyya community has long been persecuted in Pakistan. Since 1953, when the first post-independence anti-Ahmadiyya riots broke out, the relatively small Ahmadi community in Pakistan has lived under threat. Between 1953 and 1973, this persecution was sporadic but, in 1974, a new wave of anti-Ahmadi disturbances spread across Pakistan. In response, Pakistan’s parliament introduced amendments to the constitution which defined the term “Muslim” in the Pakistani context and listed groups that were deemed to be non-Muslim under Pakistani law. Put into effect on September 6, 1974, the amendment explicitly deprived Ahmadis of their identity as Muslims. In 1984, Pakistan’s penal code was amended yet again. As a result of these amendments, five ordinances that explicitly targeted religious minorities acquired legal status: a law against blasphemy; a law punishing the defiling of the Quran; a prohibition against insulting the wives, family, or companions of the Prophet of Islam; and two laws specifically restricting the activities of Ahmadis. On April 26, 1984, Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq issued these last two laws as part of Martial Law Ordinance XX, which amended Pakistan’s Penal Code, sections 298-B and 298-C. Ordinance XX undercut the activities of religious minorities generally, but struck at Ahmadis in particular by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” Ahmadis thus could no longer profess their faith, either orally or in writing. Pakistani police destroyed Ahmadi translations of and commentaries on the Quran and banned Ahmadi publications, the use of any Islamic terminology on Ahmadi wedding invitations, the offering of Ahmadi funeral prayers, and the displaying of the Kalima (the statement that “there is no god but Allah, Mohammed is Allah’s prophet,” the principal creed of Muslims) on Ahmadi gravestones. In addition, Ordinance XX prohibited Ahmadis from declaring their faith publicly, propagating their faith, building mosques, or making the call for Muslim prayer. In short, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi could be treated as a criminal offense. With the passage of the Criminal Law Act of 1986, parliament added section 295-C to the Pakistan Penal Code. The “Blasphemy Law,” as it came to be known, made the death penalty mandatory for blasphemy. General Zia-ul-Haq and his military government institutionalized the persecution of Ahmadis as well as other minorities in Pakistan with section 295-C. The Ahmadi belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was now considered blasphemous insofar as it “defiled the name of Prophet Muhammad.” Therefore, theoretically, Ahmadis could be sentenced to death for simply professing their faith. Though the numbers vary from year to year, Ahmadis have been charged every year under the Blasphemy laws since their introduction. In 2009, at least 37 Ahmadis were charged under the general provisions of the Blasphemy Law and over 50 were charged under Ahmadi-specific provisions of the law. For example, in January 2009, five Ahmadis, including four children, were charged with blasphemy in Layyah district of Punjab province. The children were released after being jailed for six months. In July 2009, activists of the Sunni Tehreek, a militant group, staged protests until the local police in Faisalabad district of Punjab province agreed to register blasphemy cases against 32 Ahmadis for writing Quranic verses on the outer walls of their houses. The police registered cases against them under sections 295-A and 295-C. Throughout 2009, Ahmadi graveyards were threatened with desecration, and Ahmadi mosques continued to receive threats. In 2008, at least 15 Ahmadis were charged under various provisions of the Blasphemy Law. In addition to blasphemy charges, Ahmadis have sporadically come under physical attack. For example, in June 2006, a mob burned down Ahmadi shops and homes in Jhando Sahi village near the town of Daska in Punjab province, forcing more than 100 Ahmadis to flee. The police, though present at the scene, failed to intervene or arrest any of the culprits. However, the authorities charged seven Ahmadis under the blasphemy law. The Ahmadis subsequently returned to their homes. In October 2005, masked gunmen attacked Ahmadi worshippers in a mosque in the near the town of Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab province. Eight Ahmadis were killed and 18 injured in the attack. The perpetrators remain at large.

Human Rights Watch: "Massacre of Minority Ahmadis"

Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments should take immediate legal action against Islamist extremist groups r...

2010-06-26 Naveed Malik Public Statements

Russian Prime Minister Putin

5/29/10 Prime Minister of Russia, Validimir Putin Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, on Friday, conveyed...

2010-05-28 Naveed Malik Public Statements

Statement of His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community May 28, 2010 In response to the terrorist attacks that took place at two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore earlier today, His Holiness, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has issued the following statement: “The terrorist attacks that occurred today at two of our mosques in Lahore were completely barbaric and alien to all forms of humanity. These attacks took place in mosques which are places of worship and at the time of the Friday prayers which all Muslims know is a holy and sacred time. No true Muslims could ever countenance such attacks, such cruelty and such barbaric behaviour. No form of terrorism has any place in Islam and thus those who were behind these attacks may justify their acts in its name, but let it be clear they are Muslim only in name and never in deed. The situation in Pakistan is extremely grave. For decades Ahmadi Muslims have not been able to live in peace, in fact they live their lives in constant danger. In 1974 Ahmadi Muslims were declared ‘non-Muslim’ by the Government of Pakistan and then ten years later the infamous Ordinance XX was adopted which criminalised all forms of Ahmadi worship and the practice of its faith. These laws effectively legitimised the exclusion and persecution of our Jamaat in Pakistan. Ever since, extremists have taken advantage and targeted Ahmadis. Despite this cruelty Ahmadis have remained loyal citizens of Pakistan and have never shown any form of civil disobedience. At this time we do not know the full extent of what has happened. However it is clear that dozens of Ahmadis have been killed and many others have been injured. I pray that Allah may grant patience to all those who have been left bereaved and grant an elevated status in Paradise to those who have been martyred. May God restore to health those who have been injured. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat is a peace loving true Muslim Jamaat. Thus there will be no improper reaction from any Ahmadi. Our salvation lies in our supplications to God Almighty and we believe that He has, and always will, help us. No terrorist and no government can ever stop the progress of our Jamaat because it is a Divine organisation. May Allah protect all good natured people from the evil acts of those opposed to peace.” Further Info: Abid Khan press [at] ahmadiyya.org.uk / +44 0208 5447613

Statement of His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad

Statement of His Holiness Mirza Masroor AhmadHead of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community May 28, 2010 In response to the terr...

2010-06-09 Naveed Malik Public Statements

By: Asma Jahangir, Chairperson Lahore, May 28: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the militant attacks on the worship places of Ahmadi community in Lahore and called upon the government to take adequate measures to protect the minorities. In a statement issued May 28, HRCP Chairperson Asma Jahangir said the commission had been warning the Punjab government about the threats being given to the Ahmadi [[community centre]] in Model Town, Lahore for more than a year. An HRCP delegation had held meetings with Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif to apprise him of the situation and had demanded enhanced security measures to protect the vulnerable minority and its worship places. HRCP is of the view that though the Punjab government apparently took some steps to bolster the security but they were not enough to face the well-coordinated and well-planned terrorist attack as witnessed on Friday. HRCP is concerned over the increasing sectarian dimension of the militancy and considers it a big security threat to the entire society. In carrying out such barbaric attacks, the militants have no such objective that could be acceptable to the civil society. HRCP urges on the government to provide foolproof security and protection to the Ahmadi community. The Commission also appeals to the sections of the civil society that have been sympathetic to the militants, for some inexplicable reasons, to raise their voice on this inhuman act and express their solidarity with the country’s vulnerable communities. www.hrcp.cjb.net

"HRCP blasts attacks on Ahmadis in Lahore"

Date: 28 May 2010 “HRCP blasts attack on Ahmadis in Lahore” HRCP has strongly condemned the militant attacks on th...

2010-06-12 Naveed Malik Public Statements

American Islamic Fellowship Statement

Peaceful Greetings-- The American Islamic Fellowship sends its prayers and thoughts to the Ahmadyyia Muslim Communi...

2010-06-12 Naveed Malik Public Statements

U.S. Dept of State Statement on Lahore Attacks

"[W]e extend our condolences to the families of those killed in the violent attack on mosques in Lahore during Friday pr...

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Timeline

Anti-Ahmadi riots

Amendment is passed

Ordinance XX passed

100+ massacred in Lahore

public STATEMENTS

United Nations

Amnesty International Condemns Lahore Attacks

Human Rights Watch: "Massacre of Minority Ahmadis"

Russian Prime Minister Putin

Statement of His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad

"HRCP blasts attacks on Ahmadis in Lahore"

American Islamic Fellowship Statement

U.S. Dept of State Statement on Lahore Attacks

EU Diplomatic Chief

Canadian Officials

UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs

Japanese Foreign Ministry