In 1966, nearly 180 million people in the US received Miranda rights – the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination.
Half a century later, a religious community in Pakistan, another country of nearly 180 million people, is facing a rather caustic version of the Miranda rights. They don’t have the right, but a duty, to remain silent.
The religious group is the Ahmadiyya community.
Two recent events frame the issue aptly. First, on January 29, 2012, clerics organized an anti-Ahmadiyya rally in Rawalpindi, attended by 5,000 madrassah students, chanting threatening anti-Ahmadiyya slogans and demanding to take over a 17-year-old Ahmadiyya ‘place of worship’. Then on February 11, 2012, approximately 100 lawyers, from the Lahore Bar Association, rallied to ban Shezan drinks on court premises.
So while the clerics have the right to incite violence against Ahmadis, by publicly calling them ‘worthy of death’ and madrassah students have the right to wall chalk phrases like, ‘hang them all’, schools have the right to expel Ahmadi students and lawyers have the right to ban Shezan – Ahmadis, on the other hand, have the right to remain silent!
Is it not true that the right to remain silent assumes a right to free speech in the first place? Something the Ahmadis have been long deprived of?
Shame chief justice mr Chaudhry of Pakistan is also keeping his lips and eyes shut no sue motto action he has taken in this regard shows tacit support of the anti constitution acts providing open impunity to do anything against poor innocent harmless non violent Ahmadis
This question is only for the sane and God fearing people not insane irreligious agnostic Mullahs and inhuman people of Pakistan or elsewhere.
May Allah help Pakistan and rational Pakistanis ( if there is any) and save them from the consequences of this brutal practice.Amen
And may Allah save all Ahmadies form their mischiefs. And May the day come now that the whole of Pakistan accepts the Imam of the time and be saved from the disgrace and wrath of Allah that is pouring on this country every passing moment. Amen
The situation in Pakistan is surely becoming intolerable. Yet, our community, is silently and with sabr bearing all this pain.
Since the non-Ahmadis of Pakistan seem to have lost their very intelligence and commonsense, they cannot and will not see the similarity in persecution of our community with the first community of Muslims at the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).
We, like them, can only pray and cry to Allah, as Anisa suggests and hope that our prayers are heard soon, Insha’Allah.