This is the problem with purists like you who believe in sharply defined Islam, and this attitude is the cause of all hatred, division, and violence. Let all who claim themselves to Muslims worship in their own ways. It should not matter if he is Sunni, Shia, Ahmadi, or Ismaili. Who cares even if they go to different mosques. The Christians go to different churches. We need peace and unity, not theoretical and theological discourses to divide Muslim population in violent manner.
If 80% of Indian population and 10% of Bangladeshi population are convinced that they are Hindus, I will not tell them that they are not Hindus. There is some thing called unity in diversity.
I am sure among the exclusivist Hindutvabadis there are purists like you who maintain the orthodox views about who a true Hindu is.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
While we have some areas (Few of them) of "Fundamental" differences with people who refers to themselves as "Ahmadia", I do not agree with how Pakistanis are dealing with them.
As I said earlier, we can ask for truth in labeling. Since Ahmadia followers do not agree with some fundamental teachings of Islam (While we are very similar with many many things), they can call themselves as "Ahmadia-Muslim".
I do NOT support any kind of violence towards Ahmadia followers. Pakistanis (And some others in this region) have a disturbing addiction to solve every crisis with violence. I do not feel this is part of Islam. According to Islam, violence is ONLY justified for self-defense and it is the LAST resort.
It is useless to rationalize Islam with how Hindus deal with their issues. Hinduism is NOT a religion (As per basic understanding of the term). It is more like social customs followed by majority of people who lived on the eastern side of river Sindh. Practice of Hinduism differs wides all over India, so we would illogical to compare Islam (Or even Judaism--which is similar to Islam in rituals) with Sanatana practices.
Some of your criticisms about Maulana Maududi is valid and I'll leave it to his followers to explain them to us. Specifically they should try to be more tolerant of both Muslims and non-Muslims. I found extraordinary level of tolerance among early Muslims in Islamic history and we have to bring it back to our practices.
Shalom!
-----Original Message-----
From: Subimal Chakrabarty <subimal@yahoo.com>
To: mukto-mona <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Dec 25, 2013 2:33 pm
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Time for Ahmadedias to leave Pak-Stan?
Every religion has many subgroups or denominations. Think about Hinduism. There are people who are Shaivas, Shaktos, Vaishnavas, etc. There are so many different ways to reach God who Himself/Hersrlf has many forms and manifestations. God can also be formless and even you don't have to believe in God like the followers of Charvak. Christians, I guess, have more denominations than Muslims have. Even Buddhists have multiple denominations. If you are fanatic and believe that yours is the best, you try to negate the rest resorting to violence. This happened with Mowdudi. His theological theory has created havoc in Pakistan. He has followers in Bangladesh also. They are trying to declare them non-Muslims.Sent from my iPhonThis whole episode of Shia and Sunni conflicts puzzles me. Yes, Ahmadis are oppressed in Pakistan, so are the Christians, and the Jews in Iran. What I can say, except that - as long as humankind have religion and religious sects, there will be natural hatred between them. Table just get turned depending on the region of interest; it's a natural consequence, and no religious sect is better than the other in this respect.
Jiten Roy
On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 10:45 PM, Shah Deeldar <shahdeeldar@yahoo.com> wrote:
How can you be pure enough to be a Pakistani when a Pakistani would love to have one way ticket to an infidel country like US or EU? Is this the face of an evil? Has Islam become a cult religion in Pakistan?-SDJailed British Ahmadi Masood Ahmad in Pakistan blasphemy appeal
Ahmadis are increasingly being persecuted under Pakistan's laws, activists say
A British man of the minority Ahmadi sect is appealing to the UK for help after being jailed in Pakistan on blasphemy charges. Human rights activists say laws in Pakistan, where Ahmadis are considered heretics, are being increasingly used to persecute the community, as the BBC's Saba Eitizaz reports.It was a home video that turned a man viewed as the old neighbourhood doctor into a prisoner without bail.Masood Ahmad shuffles through the dank prison corridor, smiling when he greets me. He looks weak and speaks little. And he worries - but not for his freedom."I just want you to tell my children that I am fine. It grieves me more that they must be so worried."Continue reading the main story"Start Quote
Masood AhmadHave I killed or robbed anyone? I request the British government to help me ensure a fair trial"He asks me to convey this message to his seven children living in Britain and Australia.Last month Mr Ahmad, 72, was arrested at his homeopathic clinic in Lahore on blasphemy charges.Two people posing as patients came to him for treatment and had a conversation about religion instead.They used mobile phones to secretly film him reciting a verse from the Koran, and then called the police to have him arrested.Masood Ahmad says he felt "marked", but didn't see his arrest coming
The homeopathy practitioner belongs to the Ahmadi minority sect that a large number of Pakistanis view with suspicion because of a law declaring them to be non-Muslims.Ahmadis, whose holy book is also the Koran, believe their own founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a prophet, which most Muslims say contradicts mainstream Islamic teaching.Ahmadis can be jailed for up to three years in Pakistan for "behaving like Muslims", having Muslim names or using Islamic terms for their places of worship or religious rituals.Human rights activists say the law is now being used to push the Ahmadi community into a legal corner by right-wing religious groups in Pakistan. They are also open targets for sectarian violence by extremists."When you formalise persecution of minorities, you should expect extremist elements to take advantage of that, because that is what they thrive on," says human rights lawyer Asma Jehangir, who has raised the issue at several international forums.Masood Ahmad says he felt "marked" even before he was picked up."Somebody had painted a black mark on my car and outside my house a few weeks before I was arrested, so I knew I was being watched."He still did not see his arrest coming. After all, he had lived in the old neighbourhood of Anarkali since the late 1980s and had close ties with the community.He is a Pakistani-British dual national who says he returned with a desire to raise his children with Pakistani values and to help people through his medicine.According to police sources, almost 10 of his neighbours gave eyewitness testimony against him for preaching his faith.He tells me that many of them also came to see him in jail, concerned for his wellbeing."I do not partake in religious debate. I am a doctor, a professional," he says.Mohammad Hasan Moawwiya says what he is doing is in line with the law
The official complaint registered is in the name of a local cleric who refused to speak to the BBC - but the phone number on it was traced to an activist called Mohammad Hasan Moawwiya, whose name appears in several similar cases against Ahmadis.He is associated with an emerging group called The Khattam-e-Nabuwwat Lawyer's Forum - an extended legal wing of Khattam-e-Nabuwwat - a right-wing religious group that has also been associated with distributing hate literature and actively campaigning against the Ahmadiyya community in the past.Mr Moawwiya says it is his legal and constitutional right to do so."After the law of 1984 was made, it doesn't mean that it should be neglected, it should be implemented actively," he says. "They [Ahmadis] should name their religion and names as separate to us Muslims, otherwise it's a violation and we are allowed by the law of the country to carry on our work."However, huge mobs were reported outside the police station when Mr Ahmad was arrested, chanting "Be Qadri! Be Qadri!"This was a reference to Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who he killed for speaking out against the blasphemy laws in 2011. He is currently in jail but revered by many."The danger is not inside jail, the danger to me is outside," says Mr Ahmad, who is being kept under tight security in Lahore's District Jail.Ahmadis now worship and remember their dead behind high walls and barbed wire
The same angry crowds are seen at every court hearing and Mr Ahmad fears the judges may feel pressurised while reaching a verdict. His lawyers have applied for bail twice, due to his old age and illness - but their attempts have failed. The court has cited "insufficient grounds for bail".Mr Ahmed is now appealing to the British High Commission. "Have I killed or robbed anyone? I request the British government to help me ensure a fair trial. That is all I ask."His daughter in Australia, Sophia Ahmad, says she is corresponding with the British High Commission and international legal charities to help her father."He is recovering from cancer, he is sick and needs medication. We are very worried for him," she told the BBC in Skype conversation.According to Ahmadi groups, more than 20 cases have been registered against Ahmadis this year alone.Many others remain in jail.=2
