The Spiritual Genocide of a Godly people: The Case of Ahmadis in Pakistan By Muhammad Yunus, NewAgeIslam.

com (Joint Author), Essential Message of Islam, Amana Publications, USA, 2009. In an audaciously dramatic assumption of divine authority, the Pakistan parliame nt back in 1974 passed a constitution amendment (Bill No. 29, 7th September) tha t virtually expanded the expression of Shahadah [I testify that there is no deity b ut God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.] with a declaration regarding the abs olute and unqualified finality of Muhammad (PBUH) as Gods Messenger. Since Ahmadis interpretation of the Quranic expression khatam an nabiyin(33:40) does not accord w ith the superimposed statement, the amendment expressly revoked their religious status and declared them non-Muslims. Thus, in a single constitutional stroke, e very individual Ahmadi Muslim was stripped of his/her most cherished spiritual p ossession faith in God and the Prophet and the Quran. The agony and trauma that i t must have caused the Ahmadis is beyond imagination. At the moment of the decla ration of the constitutional amendment all the inter-sect marriages between the Ahmadis and the mainstream Muslims stood abrogated, the young men and women of t he mixed community entertaining softer feelings for one another were inexorably pulled apart, all the devout Ahmadis were barred from ever performing hajj or ev en entering a mosque, and all their womenfolk were virtually reduced to mushrika t or fasiqun the ultimate disgrace a Muslim lady can suffer. In a word, it was ta ntamount to a spiritual genocide that only people with a satanic soul and schizo phrenic mind can commit against fellow believers. The tendency of the Muslims to dub arly centuries of Islam. Given the denier of truth, one group can, in ning a Quranic fundamental notion ng God on earth evil, abominable their rival sects as kafir goes back to the e generic definition of this word (kafir) as a theory, call its opponent as such. But redefi to expel a sect from the pale of Islam is playi and satanic.

The Pakistan parliamentarians will defend the constitutional amendment as their Quranic right to exercise consensus (Shura), but if so, they will only be distort ing the message of the Quran as the verse enjoining consultation (Shura) is prece ded by an exemption verse that limits the scope of Shura: (Gods reward is) for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord (42:36), a nd who avoid grave sins and abominations and forgive (even) when they are angere d (42:37), who respond to their Lord, keep up prayer, (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation (Shura), and spend (in charity) of what We have given them ( 42:38). The prohibition of grave sins and abominable deeds in the verse 42:37 limits the scope of mutual consultation or consensus: it cannot justify a grave sin such a s questioning one of the fundamental dicta of the Quran the definition of a Muslim. How does the Quran define a Muslim? From the Quranic perspective all faith communities Christians, Jews, and others r egardless of whether or not they are mentioned in the Quran (4:164, 40:78), who s ubmit or orient themselves (asslama) to God and are under covenant to do good de eds are all Muslims. Accordingly, the Quran declares: Indeed! Whoever commits (asslama) his whole being to God, and does good deeds - w ill get his reward from his Lord. There will be no fear upon them nor shall they grieve. (2:112). When his Lord said to him (Abraham), Submit (asslim), he said, I submit (asslamtu) t

o the Lord of the worlds. Abraham enjoined his sons to do so, as did Jacob: O my s ons, God has chosen the religion (din) for you; so you should not die unless you have submitted (muslimun). Were you witnesses when death came to Jacob? He said to his sons, What will you serve after I am gone? They said, We will serve your Go d; the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac - the One God; and to Hi m we have truly submitted (muslimun) (2:131-133). They say: become Jews or Christians and you will be guided. You say, (Ours is) the creed of Abraham, who was truly devoted to God, and did not associate anything with Him (2:135). You say, We believe in God, and in what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isac, Jacob, and the tribes and what is given to Moses and Jesus and to the Prophets from their Lord, and We make no dis tinction between any of them and we have truly submitted (muslimun) (2:136). Say: We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us, and in what has been revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, and to Jesus and Mos es and (other) prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of t hem; and surely to Him do we all submit (muslimun) (3:84). And who can be better in religion (din) than the one who orients (asslama) his w hole being to God, and does good deeds, and follows the way of Abraham, the upri ght one, and God took Abraham as a friend (4:125). And do not debate with the People of the Book (the Christian and Jews), but more graciously, except with those of them who oppress (others); and say We believe in what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to you, for our God and your God is One (and the same), and it is to Him that we (all) submit (muslimun) (29:46). Whoever orients (asslama) his whole being to God, and does good deeds, has taken hold of the most trustworthy support, as the outcome of all affairs is up to God (31:22) And who is finer in speech than the one who invites to God, does good deeds and s ays: I am of those who submit to God (muslimun) (41:33). [See also 3:52, 3:64, 3:80, 3:83, 28:53, 46:15] As the Quranic revelation was coming to a close, the followers of the Prophet nee ded a religious identity. The Quran chooses the name Islam for their religion: This day, those who reject (this Qur an) despair of (ever harming) your religion. Therefore, do not fear them; fear Me. This day I have perfected your religion fo r you, completed My favor on you, and have chosen Islam for your religion (5:3). Thus, in a specific sense, anyone who believes in the divinity of the Quran and i n Muhammad (PBUH) as its conveyer belongs to the universal faith of Islam that e spouses submission or orienting oneself to God and doing good deeds. The Quran re mains immaculately consistent in its definition of the notion of Islam/Muslim th rough entire revelation period (610-632). At one stage, the Prophets opponents pu t enormous pressure on him to alter some wordings or contents of the revelation. This is how the divine voice retorted: If he [Muhammad] attributed to Us anything other than what is said (baad al aqawil ) (69:44), We would seize him by the right hand (45), then We would sever his ao rta (46) and none of you could prevent it (69:47). And some fourteen centuries after the Prophets death, we have a house of Pakistan i parliamentarians, altering the Quranic definition of its core term, a Muslim how whimsical, how immature, how scandalous, how preposterous and how blasphemous!

Conclusion: It goes without saying that it is not for any human court to strip a ny person who declares the Shadah as the Ahmadis do, of his religious identity a s Muslims. Nowhere does the Quran connect a singular interpretation of the term kh atama in a given verse (33:40), or, for that matter, any theological or doctrinal interpretation or orientation of a Muslim sect with the religiosity of its indi vidual members. Thus, to enact a law that effectively condemns each and every Ah madi as a non-Muslim because of theological, interpretational or doctrinal diffe rences is no less than a grand mockery of constitutional process - a spiritual c arnage that is ultra-vires of law. The author may only say, that were Allama Iqba l to come alive today, he may readily recall this poetic imagery of his epic poe m, taswire dard: zamin kiya asmaan bhi teri kajbini pe rota hai - ghathab hai satre Quran ko chalipa kar diya too nein [What to speak of this world, even the heavens cry at the crookedness of your vision It is a curse that you have distorted the lines of the Quran.] Given the growing violence and sectarian fragmentation in Pakistan, it is high t ime for its Parliament to revoke the clause redefining a Muslim, before it may b e forced into it by the Big Brother or historical realities. The writer, of cour se, is not an Ahmadi, but he does not have the audacity to think of each of them as a non-Muslim. November 10, 2011 Muhammad Yunus, a Chemical Engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technol ogy, and a retired corporate executive has been engaged in an in-depth study of the Quran since early 90s, focusing on its core message. He has co-authored the re ferred exegetic work, which received the approval of al-Azhar al-Sharif, Cairo i n 2002, and following restructuring and refinement was endorsed and authenticate d by Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl of UCLA, and published by Amana Publications, Maryl and, USA, 2009. URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamWarWithinIslam_1.aspx?ArticleID=5883

Forward to a friend COMMENTS 11/21/2011 12:46:29 PM

Print Muhammad Wajihulla

A brilliant article and a courageous and respectful effort taken by Mr Muhammad Younis.. im an Ahmadi and i feel honored privileged by being a part of this hol y society.! the highlight of this article is the way u have showed the world tha t the ulemas or the so called ulemas have gone far away from the teachings of th e Holy Quran. and how with their own wimps and fancies altered the meaning and h ow the have gone against the teachings of the Holy Quran.! through this we even get an idea bout the state of affairs of Pakistan. if the country was administer ed with logic and teachings of the holy Quran and if the people of Pakistan were enlightened bout the actually truth of this ordinance.. i guarantee we will hav e a sober and a peaceful Pakistan..! thank you so much for this article. it feel s good to know that in spite of all the false criticism and persecution that th is community has faced . we have people like you. who love to express their view s and even show the difference between an observer and a listener.. thank you very much.. Khuda hafiz.

11/15/2011 5:18:09 AM Zeeshan Saigal A great article showing what Pakistan did to Ahmadis. The think themselves to be god and decide who will be called Muslim and who non Muslim. Religion is the ma tter between one mans heart and God. No human being or government is so big to de cide one mans religion. Hope this article will go far and serve the purpose.

11/15/2011 4:02:33 AM Zeeshan Saigal This article is an eye opener to everybody especially for the Pakistani governme nt who has declared us Ahmadis as non Muslim. When from Quran it is proven who h as the right to be called Muslims. And no individual or country has the right to define another man s religion. Hope everybody take notice.

11/14/2011 12:18:57 PM great article!

11/13/2011 1:40:13 AM Mariam Excellent article. I totally agree that no individual/group should have the auda city to judge who is a Muslim and who isn t based on their preferential interpre tation of the Quran, especially when it is contradicting the definition of the w ord "Muslim" as defined in the Quran. If a supposedly enlightened group denies another the fundamental right to pray t o God, justice, freedom, respect and a sense of security and well being - how en lightened can this group be to judge others? Is it lack of fear of God or lack of belief itself that has prompted the Pakista n Govt. to have the courage to take such a step, I do not know. But the irony is that they accuse others of blasphemy. Do they even know what it means?

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