Are All Ahmadis Vulnerable to Being Charged Under the Blasphemy Laws?
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BLASPHEMY LAWS in the 21ST CENTURY: a VIOLATION of HUMAN RIGHTS in PAKISTAN Fanny Mazna Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected]
Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Research Papers Graduate School 2017 BLASPHEMY LAWS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN Fanny Mazna Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp Recommended Citation Mazna, Fanny. "BLASPHEMY LAWS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN." (Jan 2017). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Papers by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BLASPHEMY LAWS IN THE 21ST CENTURY A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN by Fanny Mazna B.A., Kinnaird College for Women, 2014 A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Science Department of Mass Communication and Media Arts in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 2017 RESEARCH PAPER APPROVAL BLASPHEMY LAWS IN THE 21ST CENTURY A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN By Fanny Mazna A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the field of Mass Communication and Media Arts Approved by: William Babcock, Co-Chair William Freivogel, Co-Chair Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale April, 6th 2017 AN ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER OF FANNY MAZNA, for the Master of Science degree in MASS COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ARTS presented on APRIL, 6th 2017, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: BLASPHEMY LAWS IN THE 21ST CENTURY- A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. -
The Detroit Address
The Detroit Address by Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad rta Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya USA The Detroit Address An English translation of the Friday Sermon delivered by by Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad , Khalifatul-Masih IV rta on October 16th, 1987 at Detroit, Michigan, United States of America First published in USA, 1987 Republished in USA, 2018 © MKA USA Publications Ltd. Published by Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya USA Isha‘at Department 15000 Good Hope Rd. Silver Spring, Maryland 20905, USA For further information please visit www.alislam.org. ISBN 978-0-9990794-1-6 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents About The Author ............................................... v Foreword ...........................................................vii The Detroit Address ................................... 1 Publisher’s Note ................................................37 Glossary ............................................................41 Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Khalifatul-Masih IV rta About The Author Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (December 18th, 1928 – April 19th 2003), Khalifatul-Masih IV rta, was the supreme head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as, the Promised Messiah, on June 10th 1982. Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad passed away on April 19th, 2003. His successor, Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad atba, is the present Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad was born on December 18th, 1928, in Qadian, India, to Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ra and Hadrat Syeda Maryam Begum. He received his early schooling in Qadian before immigrating to Pakistan, where he completed his Shahid Degree with dis- tinction from Jamia‘ [Theological Academy] Ahmadiyya Rabwah and an Honors degree in Arabic from Punjab viii The Detroit Address University. -
Download Book
THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF INDIA EDITED BY J. N. FARQUHAR, M.A., D.Litt. LITERARY SECRETARY, NATIONAL COUNCIL, YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS, INDIA AND CEYLON ; AND NICOL MACNICOL, M.A., D.Litt. ALREADY PUBLISHED THE VILLAGE GODS OF SOUTH INDIA. By the Bishop OF Madras. VOLUMES UNDER PREPARATION THE VAISHNAVISM OF PANDHARPUR. By NicoL Macnicol, M.A., D.Litt., Poona. THE CHAITANYAS. By M. T. Kennedy, M.A., Calcutta. THE SRI-VAISHNAVAS. By E. C. Worman, M.A., Madras. THE SAIVA SIDDHANTA. By G. E. Phillips, M.A., and Francis Kingsbury, Bangalore. THE VIRA SAIVAS. By the Rev. W. E. Tomlinson, Gubbi, Mysore. THE BRAHMA MOVEMENT. By Manilal C. Parekh, B.A., Rajkot, Kathiawar. THE RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT. By I. N. C. Ganguly, B.A., Calcutta. THE StJFlS. By R. Siraj-ud-Din, B.A., and H. A. Walter, M.A., Lahore. THE KHOJAS. By W. M. Hume, B.A., Lahore. THE MALAS and MADIGAS. By the Bishop of Dornakal and P. B. Emmett, B.A., Kurnool. THE CHAMARS. By G. W. Briggs, B.A., Allahabad. THE DHEDS. By Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson, M.A., D.Sc, Rajkot, Kathiawar. THE MAHARS. By A. Robertson, M.A., Poona. THE BHILS. By D. Lewis, Jhalod, Panch Mahals. THE CRIMINAL TRIBES. By O. H. B. Starte, I.C.S., Bijapur. EDITORIAL PREFACE The purpose of this series of small volumes on the leading forms which religious life has taken in India is to produce really reliable information for the use of all who are seeking the welfare of India, Editor and writers alike desire to work in the spirit of the best modern science, looking only for the truth. -
35 Ahmadiyya
Malaysian Journal of International Relations, Volume 6, 2018, 35-46 ISSN 2289-5043 (Print); ISSN 2600-8181 (Online) AHMADIYYA: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PERSECUTED COMMUNITY Abdul Rashid Moten ABSTRACT Ahmadiyya, a group, founded in 19th century India, has suffered fierce persecution in various parts of the Muslim world where governments have declared them to be non-Muslims. Despite opposition from mainstream Muslims, the movement continued its proselytising efforts and currently boasts millions of followers worldwide. Based on the documentary sources and other scholarly writings, this paper judges the claims made by the movement's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, analyses the consequences of the claims, and examines their proselytizing strategies. This paper found that the claims made by Mirza were not in accordance with the belief of mainstream Muslims, which led to their persecution. The reasons for their success in recruiting millions of members worldwide is to be found in their philanthropic activities, avoidance of violence and pursuit of peace inherent in their doctrine of jihad, exerting in the way of God, not by the sword but by the pen. Keywords: Ahmadiyya, jihad, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Pakistan, philanthropy INTRODUCTION The Qur’an categorically mentions that Muhammad is the last in the line of the Prophets and that no prophet will follow him. Yet, there arose several individuals who claimed prophethood in Islam. Among the first to claim Prophecy was Musailama al-Kazzab, followed by many others including Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri who took the name Bahaullah (glory of God) and formed a new religion, the Bahai faith. Many false prophets continued to raise their heads occasionally but failed to make much impact until the ascendance of the non-Muslim intellectual, economic and political forces particularly in the 19th century A.D. -
Statement by Dr. Richard Benkin
Dr. Richard L. Benkin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Email: [email protected] http://www.InterfaithStrength.com Also Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Bangladesh: “A rose by any other name is still blasphemy.” Written statement to US Commission on Religious Freedom Virtual Hearing on Blasphemy Laws and the Violation of International Religious Freedom Wednesday, December 9, 2020 Dr. Richard L. Benkin Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” While few people champion an unrestricted right to free of expression, fewer still stand behind the use of state power to protect a citizen’s right from being offended by another’s words. In the United States, for instance, a country regarded by many correctly or not as a “Christian” nation, people freely produce products insulting to many Christians, all protected, not criminalized by the government. A notorious example was a painting of the Virgin Mary with elephant dung in a 1999 Brooklyn Museum exhibit. Attempts to ban it or sanction the museum failed, and a man who later defaced the work to redress what he considered an anti-Christian slur was convicted of criminal mischief for it. Laws that criminalize free expression as blasphemy are incompatible with free societies, and nations that only pose as such often continue persecution for blasphemy in disguise. In Bangladesh, the government hides behind high sounding words in a toothless constitution while sanctioning blasphemy in other guises. -
Zaheeruddin V. State and the Official Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan
Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality Volume 14 Issue 1 Article 5 June 1996 Enforced Apostasy: Zaheeruddin v. State and the Official Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan M. Nadeem Ahmad Siddiq Follow this and additional works at: https://lawandinequality.org/ Recommended Citation M. N. Siddiq, Enforced Apostasy: Zaheeruddin v. State and the Officialersecution P of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan, 14(1) LAW & INEQ. 275 (1996). Available at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineq/vol14/iss1/5 Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Enforced Apostasy: Zaheeruddin v. State and the Official Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan M. Nadeem Ahmad Siddiq* Table of Contents Introduction ............................................... 276 I. The Ahmadiyya Community in Islam .................. 278 II. History of Ahmadis in Pakistan ........................ 282 III. The Decision in Zaheerudin v. State ................... 291 A. The Pakistan Court Considers Ahmadis Non- M uslim s ........................................... 292 B. Company and Trademark Laws Do Not Prohibit Ahmadis From Muslim Practices ................... 295 C. The Pakistan Court Misused United States Freedom of Religion Precedent .............................. 299 D. Ordinance XX Should Have Been Found Void for Vagueness ......................................... 314 E. The Pakistan Court Attributed False Statements to Mirza Ghulam Almad ............................. 317 F. Ordinance XX Violates -
A Message of Peace and a Word of Warning
A Message of Peace And a Word of Warning by Hadhrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad rh Khalifatul Masih III A Message of Peace and a Word of Warning A lecture delivered by Hadrat Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh, Khalifatul Masih III, on 28th July 1967, at Wandsworth Town Hall, London. © Islam International Publications Ltd. First Edition published undated by the Oriental and Religious Publishing Corporation Ltd, Rabwah, Pakistan. First Edition published in UK in 2006 First Edition Published in India in 2008 Present Edition Published in India in September 2014 Copies: 2000 Published By: Nazarat Nashr-o-Isha’at, Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya Qadian, Distt Gurdaspur, Punjab – 143516, India. Printed in India at: Fazle Umar Printing Press Qadian. ISBN: 978-81-7912-202-0 ABOUT THE AUTHOR rh Hadrat Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad M.A. (Oxon)–1909–1982–of blessed memory, the third Manifestation of Divine Providence, the Imam of the International Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at, the Voice Articulate of God, sign and fulfillment of His Promise and the Promised Grandson was elected as the third successor (Khalifa) of the Promised as Messiah and Mahdi on November 8, 1965 on the demise of his great and illustrious father, the second successor of the Promised as Messiah , Hadrat Mirza Bashirud Din ra Mahmood Ahmad , al-Muslih Ma‘ud (the Promised Reformer). He occupied this exalted spiritual station for seventeen years till his death, and as the Promised as Grandson of the Promised Messiah , he was a Sign of Allah Who bestowed on him His special Graces and Favours from the time of his birth to his death. -
Persecution of Ahmadis
Table of Contents Persecution of Ahmadis Protestant church shut down in Algeria: 'They came bearing truncheons' Muslims reopen a Tizi-Ouzou church, closed by the authorities Algiers closes another two churches: the reasons are still unknown Christians in Algeria hit with more church closures A young Christian fined in Akbou Ramadan: Violence against those who do not fast Upcoming hearing of the owner of the land of a Protestant church in Kabylia Persecution of Ahmadis HRWF (31.10.2019) - “Ahmadis are particularly persecuted in Algeria as ‘heretics’ and ‘apostates’, and dozens of them have been sentenced to prison terms in the last few years.” This is a statement that Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) made at an academic conference titled “Ahmaddiya in a scholarly perspective” organized by the Faculty for Comparative Study of Religions and Humanism in Antwerp-Wilrijk (Belgium) on 24-25 October. Here is the excerpt of the paper concerning Algeria that HRWF presented at that conference: There are an estimated 2,000 Ahmadis in Algeria, according to the Ahmadi community. In 2015, they applied for registration, but they received a negative answer from the Algerian authorities the following year. Their refusal was based mainly on articles which give the authorities broad leeway to refuse authorization if they deem the content and objectives of a group’s activities to violate Algeria’s “‘fundamental principles’ (constantes nationales) and values, public order, public morals, and the applicable laws and regulations.”[1] -
Freedom of Religion & Religious Minorities in Pakistan: a Study Of
Fordham International Law Journal Volume 19, Issue 1 1995 Article 5 Freedom of Religion & Religious Minorities in Pakistan: A Study of Judicial Practice Tayyab Mahmud∗ ∗ Copyright c 1995 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj Freedom of Religion & Religious Minorities in Pakistan: A Study of Judicial Practice Tayyab Mahmud Abstract Pakistan’s successive constitutions, which enumerate guaranteed fundamental rights and pro- vide for the separation of state power and judicial review, contemplate judicial protection of vul- nerable sections of society against unlawful executive and legislative actions. This Article focuses upon the remarkably divergent pronouncements of Pakistan’s judiciary regarding the religious status and freedom of religion of one particular religious minority, the Ahmadis. The superior judiciary of Pakistan has visited the issue of religious freedom for the Ahmadis repeatedly since the establishment of the State, each time with a different result. The point of departure for this ex- amination is furnished by the recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (”Supreme Court” or “Court”) in Zaheeruddin v. State,’ wherein the Court decided that Ordinance XX of 1984 (”Ordinance XX” or ”Ordinance”), which amended Pakistan’s Penal Code to make the public prac- tice by the Ahmadis of their religion a crime, does not violate freedom of religion as mandated by the Pakistan Constitution. This Article argues that Zaheeruddin is at an impermissible variance with the implied covenant of freedom of religion between religious minorities and the Founding Fathers of Pakistan, the foundational constitutional jurisprudence of the country, and the dictates of international human rights law. -
7 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
7 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad In 1530, the last year of the Emperor Babar’s reign, Hadi Baig, a Mughal of Samarkand, emigra- ted to the Punjab and settled in the Gurdaspur district. He was a man of some learning and was appointed Qazi or Magistrate over 70 villages in the neighbourhood of Qadian, which town he is said to have founded, naming it Islampur Qazi, from which Qadian has by a natural change arisen. For several generations the family held offices of respectability under the Imperial Government, and it was only when the Sikhs became powerful that it fell into poverty. Gul Muhammad and his son, Ata Muhammad, were engaged in perpetual quarrels with Ramgarhia and Kanahaya Misals, who held the country in the neighbourhood of Qadian; and at last, having lost all his estates, Ata Muhammad retired to Begowal, where, under the protection of Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluvalia (ancestor of the present ruling chief of the Kapurthala State) he lived quietly for twelve years. On his death Ranjit Singh, who had taken possession of all the lands of the Ramgarhia Misal, invited Ghulam Murtaza to return to Qadian and restored to him a large portion of his ancestral estate. He then, with his brothers, entered the army of the Maharaja, and performed efficient service on the Kashmir frontier and at other places. During the time of Nao Nahal Singh and the Darbar, Ghulam Murtaza was continually employed on active service. In 1841 he was sent with General Ventura to Mandi and Kalu, and in 1843 to Peshawar in command of an infantry regiment. -
Pakistan: Massacre of Minority Ahmadis | Human Rights Watch
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH http://www.hrw.org Pakistan: Massacre of Minority Ahmadis Attack on Hospital Treating Victims Shows How State Inaction Emboldens Extremists The mosque attacks and the June 1, 2010 subsequent attack on the hospital, amid rising sectarian violence, (New York) – Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments should take immediate legal action underscore the vulnerability of the against Islamist extremist groups responsible for threats and violence against the minority Ahmadiyya Ahmadi community. religious community, Human Rights Watch said today. Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher 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. -
Selected Blasphemy Cases
SELECTED BLASPHEMY CASES SEPTEMBER 2017 U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Mohamed Basuki “Ahok” Abdullah al-Nasr Andry Cahya Ahmed Musadeq Sebastian Joe Tjahaja Purnama EGYPT INDONESIA INDONESIA INDONESIA INDONESIA Ayatollah Mohammad Mahful Muis Kazemeini Mohammad Tumanurung Boroujerdi Ali Taheri Aasia Bibi INDONESIA IRAN IRAN PAKISTAN Ruslan Sokolovsky Abdul Shakoor RUSSIAN Raif Badawi Ashraf Fayadh Shankar Ponnam PAKISTAN FEDERATION SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI ARABIA UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SELECTED BLASPHEMY CASES SEPTEMBER 2017 WWW.USCIRF.GOV COMMISSIONERS Daniel Mark, Chairman Sandra Jolley, Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga de Bucholz, Vice Chair Tenzin Dorjee Clifford D. May Thomas J. Reese, S.J. John Ruskay Jackie Wolcott Erin D. Singshinsuk Executive Director PROFESSIONAL STAFF Dwight Bashir, Director of Research and Policy Elizabeth K. Cassidy, Director of International Law and Policy Judith E. Golub, Director of Congressional Affairs & Policy and Planning John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications Elise Goss-Alexander, Researcher Andrew Kornbluth, Policy Analyst Tiffany Lynch, Senior Policy Analyst Tina L. Mufford, Senior Policy Analyst Jomana Qaddour, Policy Analyst Karen Banno, Office Manager Roy Haskins, Manager of Finance and Administration Travis Horne, Communications Specialist SELECTED BLASPHEMY CASES Many countries today have blasphemy laws. Blasphemy is defined as “the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.” Across the globe, billions of people view blasphemy as deeply offensive to their beliefs. Respecting Rights? Measuring the World’s • Violate international human rights standards; Blasphemy Laws, a U.S. Commission on Inter- • Often are vaguely worded, and few specify national Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report, or limit the forum in which blasphemy can documents the 71 countries – ranging from occur for purposes of punishment; Canada to Pakistan – that have blasphemy • Are inconsistent with the approach laws (as of June 2016).