Ahmadis In Pakistan Were Jailed For Making Animal Sacrifice This Year
Ahmadis Have
Been Declared Non-Muslims By The Constitution Of Pakistan
Main
Points:
1. Ahmadis can
not observe any Islamic ritual in Pakistan.
1. 2.Ahmadis
can not use any Islamic term.
2. They can not
greet anyone by saying Assalam u Alaikum.
3. 4.They can
not call their place of worship a mosque.
4. 5.They can
not make animal sacrifice on Eidal Adha.
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By
New Age Islam Edit Desk
23 July
2022
Representative Image | Photo Credit:
Wikimedia Commons
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The Ahmadis
in Pakistan had a harrowing time this Eid al Adha. As they have been declared
non-Muslims by the second amendment of constitution,1974, they can not use any
Islamic term or observe any Islamic ritual. Doing so will be treated as
blasphemy to be dealt with under Sections 295-C and 298-C. Therefore, 3 Ahmadis
were arrested for making animal sacrifice in their homes. 2 others were booked
for blasphemy.
Muslims
kept a watch on Ahmadis and reported animal sacrifice by Ahmadis to the police.
They filmed the animal sacrifices from roof tops or peeked through the doors to
report this to the police. This way they celebrated Eid al Adha this year.
Before Eid al
Adha, graves of Ahmadis were vandalised because they were mentioned as graves
of Muslims.
In
Pakistan, blasphemy has become a tool for harassing minorities. Members of
minorities including Ahmadis are booked under false blasphemy charges ore often.
Some times they are framed due to business rivalry and some times due to
personal enmity. Recently a Christian Ashfaque Masih was sentenced to death for
blasphemy. He had an altercation with a Muslim customer whose cycle he had
repaired. The 'Muslim' customer refused to pay PKR 40 and accused him of
blasphemy. Such incidents are common in Pakistan. The following article gives
an account of the misuse of blasphemy laws and persecution of minorities in
Pakistan.
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Pakistan’s
‘Devout’ Muslims Had A New Purpose On Eid: Forget ‘Qasais’, Become ‘Chowkidars’
By Naila Inayat
14 July,
2022
As Muslims
all over the world celebrated Eid-ul-Adha, blasphemy charges rained in
Pakistan. Some were prohibited from offering animal sacrifices by the State,
while others became self-proclaimed Chowkidars of the State-sanctioned
prohibition. Blasphemy, once weaponised by the State against political
opponents, activists, and dissenters of its policies, is now a weapon being
used at will.
For the
Muslim majority in Pakistan, Eid is an important festival that is celebrated
for days. But for State-declared non-Muslims, Eid is not theirs to celebrate.
In the city of Faisalabad, three men from the Ahmadiyya community were arrested
for sacrificing animals in their homes, and two others were booked for hurting
the sentiments of Muslims under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. These
laws were curated to stop the Ahmadis from associating as Muslims faithfully.
While most
people on Eid day are busy looking for a qasai (butcher), a section of devout
Muslims made it their life’s purpose to hunt for Ahmadis trying to sacrifice
animals. Even if that meant clambering over rooftops and filming the sacrifice
within their four walls.
A video was
enough to hurt the emotions of, blackmail, and harass a persecuted community.
And that is what happened. Two other Ahmadis have been arrested in Sheikhupura
and two arrested in Rabwah, while a crackdown to arrest six others continues.
Apart from
animal sacrifices, before Eid, 53 Ahmadi graves in Gujranwala were desecrated,
with epitaphs carrying Islamic verses removed. This has become a common feature
with the police being party to it. Having declared Ahmadis ‘non-Muslims’ with
the Second Amendment in 1974, Pakistan now considers being an Ahmadi such a
crime that even their buried continue to fall prey to vandalism in the garb of
blasphemy. Pakistan’s first Nobel Laureate, Dr Abdus Salam’s grave in Rabwah,
was defaced on government orders and the word ‘Muslim’ was removed from his
epitaph.
Beyond Posthumous
Blasphemy
Last week,
a Christian mechanic was handed a death sentence under Section 295-C by a trial
court in Lahore. Ashfaq Masih had an argument with a customer in 2017, who was
refusing to pay him PKR 40 for a bicycle repair job. He was accused of
disrespecting the prophet Muhammad for allegedly saying that for Christians,
Jesus is the final prophet.
It’s a
charge he has denied. Maish maintained that the rival shop owner, who was also
the complainant, framed him for blasphemy because he wanted to take over his
clients.
There’s
also the case of blasphemy accusations against a Samsung employee for allegedly
putting a WiFi device username that insulted the companion of the prophet. A
mob in the mobile market in Karachi vandalised hoardings of Samsung; sectarian
group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat led protests and claimed credit for getting the
‘blasphemer’ arrested. Samsung, in its public statement, maintained neutrality
on all religious matters. However, the incident led to online protests as well,
with TikTokers burning Samsung smartphones and even smashing them with a
hammer.
There is no
end to the demand for blasphemy cases—now Shia leaders seek a blasphemy case
against a Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) leader for allegedly sitting next to
the shrine of Bibi Pak Daman while wearing his shoes. This is much like when
Tehreek-e-Labbaik supporters wanted Fawad Chaudhry to be booked for blasphemy
for just standing outside Wazir Khan mosque, while the dhamal playing was
considered an insult.
Weapons Of
The Devout
History is
a lesson no one wants to learn from. From the assassination of the former
governor of Punjab Salman Taseer for calling man-made blasphemy laws “a black
law”, to slain minister Shahbaz Bhatti standing up for blasphemy victim Asia
Bibi and the shooting by Tehreek-e-Labbaik supporter of a PML-N minister in
2018 over a change in the election oath.
Settling
personal grudges, vendettas and feuds are beneath the surface of most blasphemy
allegations. Yet the state remains a bystander now—too weak to put the genie
back into the bottle. Or so it seems.
Blasphemy
Has Become The Go-To Weapon Of The ‘Devout’.
Television
commentator Orya Maqbool Jan once narrated a certain professor’s dream, in
which in the court of the prophet army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was
handed over a file. Now in 2022, his interpretation of the same dream has
changed—just like his feelings for Bajwa. He now questions the faith of the
army chief and declares the dream didn’t mean Bajwa was religiously ordained to
lead because using the Prophet’s name for one’s own agenda can be blasphemous
on any given day.
A good
mufti is now facing blasphemy charges for telling his audience that blasphemy
laws are being misused, drawing comparisons to a wholesale market.
And all
these good men of God would have once even cheered on as religious minorities
were jailed, spending years in jail for acts of blasphemy they never committed.
They would have frowned at the West for showing disdain for these laws in
Pakistan. And they would have considered themselves untouchable to ever face
such allegation. However, they forgot that Chirag Sabke Bujhenge Hawa Kisi
Ki Nahin.
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Naila Inayat is a freelance journalist from
Pakistan. Her Twitter handle is @nailainayat. Views are personal.
(Edited
by Srinjoy Dey)
Source: Pakistan’s
‘Devout’ Muslims Had A New Purpose On Eid: Forget ‘Qasais’, Become ‘Chowkidars’
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/ahmadis-pakistan-animal-sacrifice/d/127546
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