Punjab

Karachi attack: ‘We stand by the Ismaili community’

The attack on the Ismaili community is an attack on Islam, he said

NNI May 21, 2015

LAHORE: Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Allama Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Thursday condemned the attack on the Ismaili community. He met Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan president Sultan Ali Allana and other Ismaili Community members. Maulana Tariq Mehmood Madni, Maulana Taj Muhammad Makki, Maulana Ayub Safdar, Maulana Azam and Karim Amanat Turab were also present in the meeting. “The ruthless attack is condemnable. We are with the Ismaili community in this hour of need. Those who are spreading hatred in the name of religion cannot be the well wishers of Islam and Pakistan. The attack on the Ismaili community is an attack on Islam,” he said. Allana said the Ismaili community was peaceful and patriotic.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Mahmoud S. Aziz | 9 years ago | Reply Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman, Allama Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi's statement, “The ruthless attack is condemnable. We are with the Ismaili community in this hour of need. Those who are spreading hatred in the name of religion cannot be the well wishers of Islam and Pakistan. The attack on the Ismaili community is an attack on Islam,” is indeed true and profound. No religion, especially Islam, espouses hatred, intolerance and violence. These traits contradict the very ethics of Islam, in any of its interpretations. Those who preach, perpetrate and act on these traits violate the basic ethics and tenets of Islam and cannot, in any interpretation of Islam, be considered Muslims. Islam means peace and submission to the will of Allah. The Holy Qur'an rightly terms such people Munafiqoon or hypocrites. Furthermore, the Holy Qur'an and Hadith confirm the pluralistic nature of Allah's creation and Ummah and the diverse interpretations of Islam. Those Muslim leaders who invoke Takfiri fatwas or promote sectarianism violate Islam and truly need to re-educate themselves on Islam. The non-violent and pacifist response and reaction of the global Ismai'ili community, to the senseless and barbaric massacre of its 45 shaheed, is truly exemplary and in concordance with the true message and teachings of Islam. Allama Hafiz's statement that, "The attack on the Isma'ili community is an attack on Islam," therefore rings loud and clear.

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