Sharif’s statement on Ahmadis

DUBAI: This is with reference to your report of June 7 ‘Sharif’s statement on Ahmadis angers clerics’.

I am tired of sneering, self-appointed bigots, whether Christian, Jew, or Muslim, arrogating to themselves the authority to judge the faith of another. These people are sanctimonious and intolerant, and discredit the beauty of the faiths that they purport to represent.

If some claims to be of a particular faith, who are we to judge them? This obsession with denouncing others undermines us all and damages the country we love. Mr Sharif deserves praise and support for building bridges, rather than tearing them down. Allah bless him.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2010.