Ahmadis: The lightning rod that attracts the most hatred
A month after ten Ahmadi students were expelled from two
schools in the village of Dharinwala, in Faisalabad district, all have
been put back to school, not in there old ones, but in two schools in
Hafizabad, thanks to Khalil Ahmad, father and grandfather of four
students who were among those expelled.
“I managed to get
all of them enrolled in two schools in the nearby city of Hafizabad,”
he said talking to Dawn.com over phone from his village.
But it’s
not been easy. Most parents of the expelled children are too poor, so
Ahmed volunteered to pay for their admissions, their books and
stationery. And that is not all. He, with the help of his two sons,
makes sure they drop and pick all of them on a motorbike, doing turns.
In
one school, the principal knows he has given admission to Ahmadi
students but the educator believes faith should not come in the way of
those seeking education. “In the other the principal has not been told,”
Ahmed revealed.
Sadly, all during this episode, the government has remained a quiet bystander, as always.
It
is not the first time that students have been expelled from an
educational institution in Punjab because of their religious
affiliations, remarked Bushra Gohar, a parliamentarian belonging to the
secular Awami National Party. According to Gohar, her party members had
condemned the expulsion of students belonging to the Ahmadiyya
community each time on the floor of the house. “However, a protest or
condemnation from the parties leading in the Punjab has not been
forthcoming,” she said.
For far too long, Pakistani students
belonging to this minority community have been facing various forms of
discrimination based on their faith.
“This tidal wave against the
Ahmadiyya education shows no sign of ebbing,” Saleemuddin, the
spokesperson of the Ahmaddiya Jammat, told Dawn.com.
He said after
1984, when the government promulgated the anti Ahmadiyya ordinance,
both the government and the clerics have been trying their utmost to
punish them in various ways.
“Ahmadi lecturers were posted away to
distant locations and some were not allowed to teach. Ahmadi principals
and headmasters were replaced. Ahmadi students were deprived admission
in professional colleges. They were refused accommodation in attached
hostels. They suffered attacks by extremist elements on campuses.”
According
to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the
student wing of the Islami Jamiat has been tasked to cleanse the
educational institutions, including universities and professional
colleges of Ahmadi students.
Hasan Ahmed, who was among the 23
students who were expelled from Punjab Medical College, in Faisalabad,
back in 2008, can never forget the stressful event and how “night after
night, for over a month” he kept stressing over the events that turned
his settled student life all topsy-turvy.
“I knew it happened to
others, so was not completely caught unawares,” Hasan acknowledged. He
is at present completing his house job in Lahore, keeping an “ultra busy
schedule”.
Eventually all were re-instated in some college or
another. “After months of waiting, just before exam, my friend was sent
to Bahawalpur while I went off to a distant place of Rahimyar Khan in a
college of lower merit,” narrated Hasan.
After a gargantuan
effort, he was finally allowed to appear in exams from Lahore and then
got admitted to Allama Iqbal Medical College, in Lahore.
“To be in
a state of flux was the worst part of this episode specially since
exams were approaching and I didn’t know which place I was to appear
from,” said Hasan.
He expressed that till the identity of an Ahmadi remains undisclosed “he remains safe”.
But
that is sadly not the case if you are living in Pakistan. People are
culturally nosy and want to know your cast and sect. “Eventually they
end up finding that you are an Ahmadi. Once they know, you can feel a
change of attitude and it just takes a mischief maker to exploit others’
feelings against you,” said Hasan.
Till Hina Akram’s faith
remained unknown to her teacher in Faislabad’s National Textile
University, she was considered a star student. But after it became known
she belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, she faced so much faith-based
harassment that she had to quit studies.
“I was told to convert to Islam,” said Hina, who was studying in the sixth semester of her BSc.
“I
was handed some anti-Ahmadiyya literature to read, offered a refuge in
Muslim home. But when she told the teacher she was an Ahmadi by choice
he called her an infidel and warned her of severe consequences.
“You
will face such a fire of animosity in the campus that not even the vice
chancellor will be able to help you,” he threatened her.
True to
his word, a hate campaign was initiated and a social boycott began. Out
of college, she is desperately trying to go abroad. Her fate remains in
balance.
But it’s not just the education aspect where the
anti-Ahmadiyya lobby is hitting, said Saleemuddin. Since 1984, some 208
faith-based killings have taken place. The persecution against the
community has surged following the May 28, 2010 massacre of 94 members
of the community in Lahore.
After the four million Ahmadis were
officially declared non-Muslims in 1984 by the state, they cannot call
themselves Muslims or go to mosques. They cannot be overheard praising
Prophet Mohammad. To add insult to injury, every Pakistani who claims to
be a Muslim and owns a passport has declared that he or she considers
them to be non-Muslims and their leader an imposter prophet.
Pakistani
Ahmadis today live in constant fear and humiliation. So much so, the
hatred has permeated into each and every slice of society and the
oppressors have become more vocal and aggressive.
“The extremist
elements are getting more and more powerful because of Saudi-US
influence and the government’s policy of appeasement,” said I.A. Rehman,
General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
“The
Ahmadis are already the worst persecuted minority in our country – and
things for them appear to be growing worse as hatred and intolerance
spread,” Kamila Hyat, a journalist and a rights activist echoed the same
sentiments. “The lack of enforcement of laws to prevent the preaching
of hatred adds to the problem,” she added.
Saleemuddin said by
allowing the extremist clerics to hold anti-Ahmadiyya rallies and
conferences, the government is adding fuel to this venom. “People are
openly instigated to kill us in the name of Islam,” he said.
“Violence
and the advance of bigotry, prejudice and hate against minorities have
never really been met with the resolve needed to remove impunity from
the social equation in Pakistan,” Sherry Rehman, a legislator belonging
to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, agreed.
Instead, she told Dawn.com what is seen is an “expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality and exclusion of many, particularly Ahmadis.”
Instead, she told Dawn.com what is seen is an “expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality and exclusion of many, particularly Ahmadis.”
She warned: “This is a dangerous trend that conflates national identity with religion.”
Perhaps
that is one reason why Pervez Hoodbhoy expresses: “Today, when religion
has become so central in matters of the state, they [Ahmadis] do not
stand a chance in Pakistan of getting rights, respect, and dignity. The
overdose of religion given to young Pakistanis in their schools and
homes means that nothing matters more than which religion and sect you
belong to. Ahmadis are the lightning rod that attracts more hatred than
any other sect.”
For its part rights groups like the Human Rights
Watch (HRW) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) say they
have “repeatedly” raised the issue of “state tolerated persecution”.
“We are urging authorities to intervene in each case,” said Rehman. “But the situation is getting worse day by day.
Terming
it “abhorrent and self defeating” when society allows “for the
dehumanization of Ahmadis or Christians or the Shia for that matter, it
is effectively cannibalizing itself,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan
director of HRW.
“The federal government expresses regret at
incidents but has made clear its unwillingness to repeal or amend
discriminatory laws,” said HRW spokesperson.
Given the current intolerance, the fate of the new generation of Pakistani Ahmadis looks “quite bleak” said Rehman.
Even
Hoodbhoy said: “For years, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians have been
desperately seeking to flee Pakistan. They would be foolish to want to
stay,” said Hoodbhoy.
This fails to dampen young Hasan’s spirits. He thinks the future looks “brighter than ever before”.
“Even
if the situation is made worse in Pakistan, this does not mean the
future is not bright. It’s a matter of time before we start getting
equal rights in this country.
Often when they get together, the young Ahmadis discuss the “bitter realities” they have to face as Pakistanis.
“But
we don’t want to leave our country at the juncture that it is at,” said
a patriotic Hasan. This is because the contribution of the Ahmadi
community towards building of Pakistan has been immense,” he said with
conviction.
He said recently their leader urged all Ahmadis of the
world to “fast once a week and pray” especially for the prosperity of
Pakistan.”
Zofeen T. Ebrahim is a freelance journalist.
Source: dawn
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