Caving in to pressure: Ahmadi place of worship demolished
The municipal administration has razed to the ground an under-construction Ahmadi place of worship in Jannat Wala, a village on the outskirts of Lodhran, after clerics staged protests.
Construction was suspended after labourers working at the site received death threats and some were forced to flee the village to save their lives. Muslim clerics pressurised the district government to take action when they came to know about the new place of worship. They organised processions against the government in surrounding villages and protested against what they deemed to be its ‘unwillingness to check the propagation of the Ahmadi religion.’
The government, however, denies that the destruction had anything to do with anti-Ahmadi sentiment in the community. The Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) razed the building on the orders of DCO Lodhran, Ghulam Fareed. More than 60% construction on the double storey building had been completed when it was torn down.
“The construction was not authorised nor was the building’s design approved by TMA which is why we have demolished it,” Fareed told The Express Tribune. “There is no other reason.”
It was declared as a store according to the DCO. Amir, a member of the Ahmadiya community, said they were not even given time to approach the courts. TMA officials said they had failed to follow the legal procedure which prompted the action.
Members of the Ahmadi community said they had protested peacefully before the DCO. This was confirmed by Maqbool Khalid, a journalist. Most of them refuse to come on record due to fear of death threats and live in fear of Ahle-Sunnat wal Jamaat members. They have been living in Adaa Zakheera, Kahroar Pakka, Dunyapur, Lodhran and Qutubpur. They have six places worship in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2011.
COMMENTS (41)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1734419087-0/Express-Tribune-(1)1734419087-0-270x192.webp "champions trophy 2025 rawalpindi stadium s hosting status in jeopardy")
1734433829-0/Untitled-design-(7)1734433829-0-270x192.webp "system cannot run until government and opposition hold talks rana sanaullah")
1734344692-0/New-Project-(4)1734344692-0-270x192.webp "winners of rs200 prize bond draw for december 2024 announced")
1725003969-0/Untitled-design-(7)1725003969-0-270x192.webp "sabrina carpenter addresses barry keoghan split and cheating rumors in emotional interview")
1723104747-0/PIA123-(1)1723104747-0-270x192.webp "pia cuts fares for international flights")
The Hindu community in the Sindh and Baluchistan province, the christian community in the Punjab province and Sikhs in KPK province are living freely, they are enjoying the equal freedom as one Muslim in Pakistan is enjoying. Why does the problem always arises with this sect (Qadiyanis)?? Btw i am living in Sindh, so up till now i have never witnessed any dispute between hindu and muslim over religious problems. I am sure that Ahmadis/Qadiyanis should try searching for a solution within themselves. They are definitely the humans first and should be given equal opportunities, I do believe and for that I would suggest them to stop associating their religious group with Islam.
@Amaar:
Govt officials are pack of lies.
Mussarat
@wazir. You obviously don't know what you're talking about. There is no 'empirical definition (sic) accepted for centuries' which supports the conventional views on the all important subject of Prophethood. Do you know that the likes of Shah Wali Ullah, Hazrat Ibne Arabi, Hazrat Imam Raghib, Hazrat Mullah Ali Qari, Maulana Qasim Deobandi and others have all said the same thing about the institution of Prophethood as Ahmadis today espouse: that there cannot be advent of any law-bearing Prophet after Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); that there could be no Prophethood outside the ambit of Huzoor's (SAW) total and complete obedience; and that a non law bearing Prophet, one who is totally subservient to the law brought about by Huzoor (SAW) and is completely obedient to all he commanded can indeed rise from within the Ummah. The same can be proved from Quran and Hadith. But you would obviously not care to read Quran, Hadith or what previous Islamic scholars have written about this all important issue and readily accept what the present day mullah would have you believe!
It is also not true that Ahmadis believe that they are Muslims while all others are non-Muslims: you obviously talk to the mullahs too much! Ahmadis believe that anyone who reads the Kalima, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad ( may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is his messenger, is a Muslim. Apostacising believers is the hallmark of the mullah and mullah alone!
I think one of these days Pakistanis should read the The Haj, written by Leon Uris.
Oh, so the Ahmadi mosque's "design wasn't approved"? Wtf! What about the hundreds of sunni mosques that pop up at every corner without any architecture or approval? They are illegal too! This is sheer discrimination of Ahmadi MUSLIMS.
@R S JOHAR:
Why do we always blame ZIa for everything. Who declared Ahmedi's Muslim, shifted the weekly holiday to Friday and banned Alcohol (a ban im absolutely fine with if imposed properly). It wasnt Zia but your great kliberal leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who did all this. Zia was just an inevitable outcome of a rather dangerous game which was started by ZAB and he ended up being consumed by it himself.
Yes Zia deserves blame for dragging the country into a needless war, filling it up with heroin and weapons and of course promoting a version of Islam tailored to suit Jihadi elements (that to on behalf of Americans who back then used to glorify the Mujahideen in movies, novels and on TV).
@Arjun
That was a different era, when we had resources.
While my sympathies and moral support is always with the Shia/Ahmadi/Xian/Hindu community of Pakistan, they are not welcome in India for two reasons.
1) We don't have superfluous resources in this country.
2) We (and others) must fight for their rights in their homeland. Let's not make them refugees, like we have made Kashmiri Pandits in their own home.
Ahmedi Muslims are free to come to India where they can practice their faith as equal citizens of India. We have many persecuted communities from all over the world: Zoroastrians from Iran, Tibetan Buddhists, and we also have lots of Islamic sects like the Ismailis, Bohras etc. The ahmedis seem like peaceful productive people and we welcome them to our secular country to help make it our shared heaven on earth.
Islam is a religion of peace and that's it no arguments. On a different note, I too am a peaceful person myself. It's just that I will find peace only when all those disagree with me are forced to agree with my opinion/dead/maimed/enslaved/held for ransom etc. and other colorful deeds of peace are done.
@MAD: The bottom line is that its no longer Jinnah's but Zia's Pakistan.
Corruption. Natural Disasters. Electricity Crisis. Inflation. Illiteracy. Extremism. Kidnapping. Health Crisis. Population Explosion. Dishonesty. Brain Drain. Water Shortage. And so much more... And all the people of that village could see were a few under-construction rooms for the purpose of worship? Truly, a lot of citizens of this 'Land of the Pure" have properly become "Summun Bukmun Umyun" as mentioned in the Quran.
May Allah give everyone the strength of tolerance. Ameen
Place of worship or a Mosque It was being built to worship Allah To demolish a place of worship IS UN ISLAMIC@Asif rai khan: You are the Lion of Pakistan. Bravo!!
Dear Human Beings!
SOS CALL for Pakistan Ahmadiyyah Musliam Community from WORLD COMMUNITY........
Are we leaving in the society of human beings ? O GOD! PLSSSSS SAVE our innocent community. We are feeling extreme danger of lives and totally helpless.The crucial incident of murder of innocent Nasim sb is the murder of humanity and justice.
May Allah bless his SOUL.
@Kallu Mama: allow me to quote your words back to you "mere lip service from the silent masses, registering their presence only on web" if they were silent they would not be on the web also & apparently you have never heard of the power of web/social media..... how will you hear/read that in Pakistan 100 people took out a morcha for separating religion from state.... you go out on the streets & check out 'instead of criticising someone else i.e
The news item is titled wrong. Its not demolishment of " Ahmadi" place of worship, an impression that Owais Raza of ET has tried to create. It does mention that place of worship was illegal and was not approved for religious service. Then wahts the cry? Its like a driver who gets caught on highway by the cop for driving at 75 miles per hour and objects why he has been caught while others are driving at 80 miles per hour. Wake up ET. Every body knows that you get money from US and have sympathetic view of Qadinis/Ahmadis. Shame on your bias. Will not be surprised if these comments are not published.
Why even publish this story if the publication doesn't have the guts to call it a mosque in the title? Really ET? How disappointing.
"You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State."
(Quaid-e-Azam's Speech August 11 1947)
I am not an Ahmedi and neither do I have any particular fondness for them. I too question their claim of being Muslims but the above words of our founding father are binding on us all. There rights must be respected.
@Asif rai khan: Thank you for being very frank about your opinion. But you seem to have forgotten our Quaid-i-Azam message " You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. "
i think you mean 'mosque'
@Asif rai khan: I dont usually go out of my way to post a comment on these articles but I must say, everything you said was so STUPID, that I feel sorry for anyone who actually read your entire comment.
The problem is that in Pakistan, the govt does have a major role in religion (and religion has a role in the govt)
the 2nd amendment to the Pakistan constitution (1974) says,
"A person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of The Prophethood of MUHAMMAD (Peace be upon him), the last of the Prophets or claims to be a Prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after MUHAMMAD (Peace be upon him), or recognizes such a claimant as a Prophet or religious reformer, is not a Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution or law."
Thus, in Pakistan, an Ahmadi mosque is not a mosque
this is the kind of constitution that reinforces a culture of intimidation, discrimination, corruption and violence.
When..what time is the protest against the evil clerics who tore down the building? Come out on streets before its too late.
@Asif rai khan: "The ahamdis have long ago been decalred kafirs and if they want to worship they are welcome to do it in the four confines of their houses.Majority of pakistanis are muslims and as thus we cannot allow these people to build places of worship openly and mislead the innocent people away from their religion."
So by this logic they should not allow any mosques to be built in non-Muslim majority countries. Any Muslims should pray within the 4 corners of their homes in India, USA, UK etc.? What a flawed logic? Even if you refuse to recognize their place of worship as mosques - at least let them pray in peace. How does their prayer harm anyone else?
It's very sad
Natural population growth of Ahmadis requires new mosques. This is not propagation, why can't the majority see this?
I think 'Pakistani Islam' doesn't give any rights to any minorities. Unfortunately we don't have a single leader who could challenge these fanatics who are ruining this country in the name of Islam, which is supposedly a peaceful religion.
Such sad and painful events make our head hang in shame. This sort of religious persecution,spreading hatred against Ahmadis and inciting their killing is, in fact, given legal cover, through the 2nd amendment in the constitution, something never happened anywhere, any-time in human history. Hence such demolitions and their killing continues,as one more Ahmadi is killed on Sept.4,in Faisalabad, where two Ahmadi cloth-merchants were put to death only last month.And it was here only last month that printed appeals were circulated(with cell phone numbers)in which majority was incited to kill prominent members of the Ahmadiyya community. All these insane, inhuman anti-social criminal sort of 'doings'are being carreid out openly and in the full knowledge of local, provincial and national level of administration. But alas, no one shows even slightest interest in these requests and appeals from Ahmadis.
@Shaesta: mere lip service from the silent masses , registering their presence only on web, why dont you people come to the streets , never heard that in Pakistan 100 people took out a morcha for separating religion from state
wake up before iit is tooo late
Do you trust the govt officials who are in perpetual fear of mullahs?
The so-called 'Ahmadi places of worship' are in fact Mosques of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It is unfortunate that the international media, which should not be bound to the Marshall Law Ordinance of the late General Zia ul Haq of Pakistan, do not call an Ahmadiyya Mosque and Ahmadiyya Mosque. (Subsequent Presidents of Pakistan were all unable to remove this Marshall Law Ordinance dating back to 1984. Governments have come and gone, but this infamous ordinance continues its existance).
"Muslim clerics pressurised the district government to take action when they came to know about the new place of worship. They organised processions against the government in surrounding villages and protested against what they deemed to be its ‘unwillingness to check the propagation of the Ahmadi religion.’"
Anyone see the irony here?
I totally disagree with shaesta.I would request her to read quran and sunnah carefully .The theory of state being separate from religion was put forward by the christians and u can well see its consequences in the west .Did nt the prophet set up a muslim state in medina and did nt the four rightly guided caliphs follow the same model .We ,muslims ,believe that sovereignty belongs to ALLAH alone and the muslim rulers should rule the masses according to the principles laid down in quran and sunnah .The ahamdis have long ago been decalred kafirs and if they want to worship they are welcome to do it in the four confines of their houses.Majority of pakistanis are muslims and as thus we cannot allow these people to build places of worship openly and mislead the innocent people away from their religion .
And we say Islam is a peaceful religion and Pakistan is an Islamic country! Such a distorted Islam may not be suitable anywhere in the world. Ahmadis are most misunderstood sect and don't harm anyone rather are practicing better Islam even if they are termed as 'Kafirs'. Majority of the molvis and fanatics need to be performing Hajj on Government expense and be sent on a couple of big ships to wash their sins and act on an obligatory duty, that’s the only remedy to save left over Pakistan in one piece.
Religion should be separate from the state.