In a previous essay in April, “Learn from Pakistan“, I described the rapidly increasing coarseness of feeling and language against the Ahmadis in the Indian Urdu press, concluding that it does not bode well for either India or its Muslims. The article mainly dealt with some events in Punjab, Haryana, and U.P. Previously, in August 2010, in another article, “Anti-Ahmadism in India“, I had described what was happening in Hyderabad and U.P. That article also laid out a brief history of the rise and spread of Anti-Ahmadism in South Asia since 1947.

Matters in Hyderabad recently got worse, with one leading Urdu newspaper, Munsif, apparently playing a prominent role. The first inkling of it came in a report published in that paper on July 5, under the headline, “Qadiani Terrorism is Condemned. Injured under treatment supervised by the Majlis-i-Tahaffuz-i-Khatm-i- Nabuwwat.” The latter long title means: Organization for the Protection of the End of Prophethood. Apparently there was a violent incident at some place called Khumam or Khimam—the Urdu does not indicate its vowels—in which one non-Ahmadi person was injured. No other details of the incident were given. The story, however, opened with this sentence:

Now this miniscule Qadiani Jama’at has become so bold against the Muslim Millat that its trouble-making “preachers” have started attacking poor Muslim villagers in order to gain their filthy objectives.

It seems that Munsif subsequently published several inflammatory articles that led to a legal challenge from the local Ahmadi organization. I was unable to access the articles or the legal challenge, but I learned about the matter in a report in Munsif, dated July 15.

“[One expected] that the publication in Munsif of the articles on protecting the Doctrine of the Finality of Prophethood would lead the deniers of the Finality of Prophethood to draw guidance from them and become Muslim, but instead they have threatened to silence the voice of Truth. Their threat is a challenge not merely to Munsif; it is a challenge indeed to the Muslim community’s sense of honour and its love and fervour for the Prophet. Under present circumstances, it is necessary that all newspapers edited by Muslims should show solidarity withMunsif; they should write supporting editorials on their front pages, and continuously publish research articles on the Doctrine of the Finality of Prophethood.” So said Maulana Syed Khwaja Mu’izuddin Ashrafi, Khatib of the Jama Masjid Muhammadi, Kishan Bagh, and Director of Idarah Tahqiqat-i-‘Ilmiya, A.P.

The report further informed that a joint statement of condemnation was issued by Qazi Afzal Sharif, President of the City branch of Jam’iat-i-‘Ulama-i-Hind, and Muhammad Murtaza, Convenor of the Minorities Wing of the city’s Congress Committee, as well as many NRIs residing in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. They reportedly praised the “bold truth-telling of Munsif” and its efforts “to spread the True Religion and inform the public of the non-Islamic, mischief-mongering actions and beliefs of the Qadianis.” It ended: “In matters of Truth, every member of the community is with Munsif. The Qadianis should end their cowardly activities, otherwise the wrath (qahr) of the community will for sure fall upon them.”

The only other context qahr is commonly found in Urdu is like in “the Wrath of God.” I wonder if any local English or Telugu language newspaper, not to mention the law-and-order authorities in Hyderabad took notice of these ominous developments?

Meanwhile the July 16th issue of Sahafat (Delhi) carried on its front page an astonishing headline: “Was Gandhiji Mentally Inclined Towards Qadiyaniat?” What followed was a note by one Athar Siddiqui, who in the 1960s and 70s worked in some important capacity at the Parliament House. Siddiqui begins by expressing his deep and sincere respect for Gandhiji, particularly for the latter’s habit of honouring all religions. He then writes:

In Gandhiji’s daily routine were included readings from the Gita, the Quran, and the Bible. Every morning he would read from the English translation of the Quran done by Mohammad Ali Ahmadi (sic). Research needs to be done on just who advised him to read the Quran of Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, for Mohammad Ali Ahmadi was the greatest champion of Qadianiyat in the sub-continent, and with his poisonous writings in English, he greatly strengthened Qadianiyat. Despite the fact that the English translations by Marmaduke Pickthall, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and Abdul Majid Dariyabadi had come out in 1930, 1934, and 1941, respectively, Gandhiji used to read only the translation by Mohammad Ali Ahmadi. It gave much publicity to his translation. Other public figures close to Gandhiji also started reading that book.

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