Banners of hate: Violence against Ahmadis continues in Ramazan

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The Ahmadiyya community have expressed fear and worry ever since banners carrying hateful comments have been put up outside one of the biggest and busiest hospitals in Faislabad, the Allied Hospital. They have appealed to the government to have them removed and to ensure safety and security for them in the face of intimidation and threats.

This fear comes after a slew of violent incidents against the Ahmadis have taken place recently. In one of the incidents, a local leader of the community in Hasilpur (District Bahawalpur), was shot dead in the early hours of February 4, while a few days later, in two separate incidents in the same village of District Kotli, AJK, at least 10 Ahmadi graves were desecrated.

Ahmadi places of worship were also demolished in different incidents – one in Kotli on February 12, the other in Karachi on February 29.

Mubin* (name changed to protect identity), a lawyer from Faisalabad’s Ahmadi community, told Voicepk that the disturbing trend in the rise of violence against Ahmadis had become more apparent since Ramazan had begun.

“It is deplorable that this current hate campaign has been ongoing for three weeks,” he said. “It is even worse that the protest is being led by the Pakistan Medical Association. Doctors have an ethical obligation to separate their faith from their practice. Why are they involving religious beliefs?”

Outside the Allied Hospital, it is yet another day where people pass by reading the hate speech on the posters and placards targetting Ahmadis.

‘Qadianism is a cancer,’ said one of the banners, using the derogatory word ‘Qadiani’ instead of the term ‘Ahmadi’. ‘Muslims will not allow it to spread.’

 

A second one read, ‘The verdict by the Chief Justice of Pakistan is the same as encouraging Qadianiat and playing with the emotions of Muslims.’ Another says, ‘The CJP’s verdict in favour of Qadianiat goes against Pakistan’s Constitution.’

 

Spokesperson Amir Mehmood told Voicepk that by displaying such banners, the PMA was actually making blatant attempts to influence a subjudice matter.

 

 

“Their incitement to violence against the CJP is highly condemnable,” he said. “Such actions are a disgrace to the esteemed medical profession.”

 

Background

 

On December 6, 2022, Muhammad Hassan Mawaiyah, the secretary-general of the Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Forum, filed a legal complaint in Chiniot, Punjab. The complaint alleged that in March 2019, during the annual ceremony of Al-Hifz Ayesha Academy, a banned Quran commentary, ‘Tafsir-e-Saghir’, was distributed among the students.

 

The commentary is a shorter version of Tafseer-e-Kabeer, a critical explanation of the Quran containing the lectures, writings and notes on Quranic verses by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, the second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Community.

 

Mawaiyah argued this violated Article 295-B and 295-C of the Constitution, and the Quran Act. Following the complaint’s registration, police arrested accused Mubarak Ahmad Sani on January 7, 2023.

 

Mubarak Ahmad Sani was caught in a legal battle over this allegation. He was charged under the Punjab Quran (Printing and Recording) Act for distributing the commentary, of blasphemy against the Quran, and of pretending to be Muslim while belonging to the Ahmadiyya community. Sani was denied bail in the lower courts but in February 2024 the Supreme Court granted bail in exchange for a bond of Rs5000.

 

Distributing Tafsir-e-Saghir became a crime after 2021, and the Supreme Court ruled that punishing someone for an action not illegal when committed, violates the Constitution.

 

The court also found no evidence for blasphemy or misrepresenting religious identity in the police complaint. But when CJP passed the verdict, there was outrage from religious hardliners. Mirroring the thoughts that the verdict went against Islam and the constitution, many people on social media also reacted strongly, with some resorting to insults against the Chief Justice.

 

The court then announced that the petitioner had remained imprisoned for longer than what he could have been punished for is he had been found guilty.

 

“They finally decided that he should be released, but this did not sit well with those who were firmly against this decision,” says Mubin. “When the bail was announced, everyone flared up. The lawyers formed groups and started protesting, almost everyone was incensed.”

 

Hate Campaign 

 

Now the hate campaign outside one of the biggest hospitals in Faisalabad has ended up in worrying the Ahmadiya community.

 

“Such banners are worrisome, and they are everywhere,” says Mubin. “They have banners and notices put up in markets saying “Qadianis cannot enter”. Everyone knows who is an Ahmadi and who isn’t. I myself am a known Ahmadi in my place of work. There are shop owners or sellers who have been there for decades so of course everyone knows. But when such threats and intimidation are brought to the surface by radical elements, then ordinary people who want to stand by us can’t do much either. They can’t buy from us or anything.”

 

The far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has emerged as a recurring factor in incidents involving anti-Ahmadi sentiment, blasphemy allegations, and the ‘khatm-e-nabuwwat’ ideology. In Faisalabad’s Jaranwala tehsil last year, TLP elements were found to be behind the riots that resulted in the burning of 21 churches, after allegations of blasphemy were slapped on two residents of the Christian Colony there.

 

Mubin says that sometimes the lines are blurred between whether the elements are organized like the TLP or others. “It seems to be all the same now – media, doctors, lawyers – it doesn’t have to be TLP themselves,” he says. “We thought these people are professionals – that they were progressive and tolerant. But TLP has already done all the work. Now even those who want to run for the bar elections start talking about these things.”

 

He adds that in Ramazan, hate against the Ahmadis has become worse as usual but the government has not provided any extra security to their places of worship.

 

“When you complain to the police, they just say they cannot stop these elements, and that for the sake of peace, it is we who should withdraw in silence,” he says.

 

Speaking on behalf of the community, Amir Mehmood says that the government must immediately remove the hateful banners from the site and that the authorities at the PMA must hold the culprits accountable and take action against them in line with their rules.