By Muzaffar K. Awan, MD; Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Just half a century ago, my parents gave me permission to transfer from a close-by government college (near my native Pakistani village) near the city of Chakwal to enroll at a Talim-ul-Islam (Ahmadiyya) College in Rabwah (several hundred miles) away from my home. Some of my village folks had expressed reservations and concerns about my transfer thinking that I might risk my faith because of my attending this Ahmadiyya college in Rabwah while others had approved of it based on the reputation of Rabwah college known for imparting best of education along with students’ character building and strengthening moral values.  The villagers  (even in early 60’s to the present) have had mixed feelings about Ahmadi Muslims without really knowing much about them and their community.

While during my 2-year stay in Rabwah, I came to learn soon in the early 60’s that Ahmadiyya community’s true and real purpose sadly and painfully was being generally misunderstood and confused in Pakistan and particularly so by most Pakistani mullahs who were and still are illiterate and preachers of hatred.  Looking back and to the present day, the misperceptions about the Ahmadiyya community have been worsening not only in Pakistan but also have spread to Middle East and other prominent parts of the Muslim World.

I had have and myself moved to the US since 1969 had repeated feelings of sadness and sorrow whenever I heard or read about the intensely persecuted Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan. The Ahmadi Muslims had been eventually and wrongly branded as “not-Muslim” by wrong constitutional amendments and they kept going through repeated and worsening persecutions and sufferings ever since.

From the time of Pakistan’s creation in 1947 and until 1984, all Pakistanis could vote on a joint electorate. And then in 1974, Ahmadi Muslims were apartheid by the Pakistani state from the mainstream Muslims.  Zulfikar Ali. Bhutto, a secular socialist political leader, did this apparently to appease the radical Islamists and through a wrong constitutional amendment declaring Ahmadi Muslims as  “not Muslim.”  Zia-ul-Haq, one of Pakistan’s military dictators and a radical Islamist, a decade later, issued the Ordinance XX, further suppressing the Ahmadi Muslims who could then be imprisoned for up to three years for simply using Islamic greetings like “Assalamo- alaikum” meaning “peace be upon you.”

In 1985, as a regressive step to further Islamism in Pakistan, Zia ul-Haq imposed a separate electorate for religious minorities, including the Ahmadi Muslims, who were required to declare themselves non-Muslims in order to gain the limited right to vote for the 5 percent and only minority seats of Pakistan’s National Assembly.

On may 11, 2013 only 4 months ago when Pakistanis took to the polls to elect a new government, and for the consecutive election cycle, 4 millions Muslims belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community sat home without freely exercising their right to even vote. Pakistan’s little known voter apartheid system is not only a serous human rights violation but also a self-inflicted open and bleeding wound that all Pakistanis must acknowledge and help repair it sooner than later.

Over the decades whenever it came to Pakistani corrupt politics and incompetent leadership both military autocrats and civilian Politians, Ahmadi Muslim’s sufferings has never ended to this day. Whether it was ZA Bhutto or Zia-ul-Haq, whether it was Pervez Musharraf or Nawaz Sharif, all became helpless and impotent the moment Pakistani mullahs played the Ahmadi card.  Even most recently if one went to PTI’s rallies, Imran Khan may have offered a “Naya Pakistan” lip service but all one could foresee was the helm of the old and chaotic Pakistan still in violation of minority human rights.

Having lived in Rabwah in early 60’s as an inquisitive and curious college student, and as pointed out above, I as a Sunni Muslim to this day had observed and experienced first hand this beautiful Rabwah community’s beliefs, Adab and manner that has had a lifelong positive impact on my thought processes.

The purpose of Ahmediyya Muslim community, along with some other true Muslim communities from around the globe without any doubt, was and still is to teach humanity the ways of attaining unity (tawheed), peace, harmony, both with itself and with the Creator. Hizmet global social   movement  (A.K.A. Gulen movement) as another example that   has had exactly the same purpose like Ahmadiyya– the revival of true Islam and supreme teachings of our last, final and Holiest Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Under the Divine direction, over 1,400 years ago, Muhammad  (pbuh), the prophet of Islam began the process of delivering this message to humanity. He made every effort to ensure that this message was conveyed as widely as possible and he took the extraordinary steps of personally writing to the greatest kings and leaders of his time assuring them that if they were to accept the teachings of Islam they would be blessed with unity, peace, prosperity and tranquility.

Today, in this age and time, and in fulfillment of the true purpose of Islamic teachings through Quran and the path of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ,  God almighty has raised Bedi-uzzaman Nursi, Fetullah Gulen and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, all of them true and most sincere servants of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), to rejuvenate the true faith and instill the love of God in the heart of humanity so that it may again learn the ways of peace and avoid destruction.

Worthy of utmost respect and honor, in this context, is also   Hazrat   Mirza Ghulam Ahmed who was indeed one of the greatest revivalists of true Islam based on Qur’an and the original teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  Mirza Ghulam Ahmed according to Ahmadiyya Community’s own beliefs was subordinate at best to the supreme Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. These beliefs are in no contradiction what so ever, in my opinion, about Ahmediyya community being true Muslim.

Unfortunately, some allegorical and metaphorical terms in the literature that have caused terrible confusions and misunderstandings in the minds of many in the Muslim world including some Muslim scholars of the late 19^th, early 20^th and presently even the 21^st centuries about the concept of the finality of the prophet-hood. A mole-hill was turned into a mountain leading to all this chaos that started out in Pakistan in early 50’s.Ahmadiyya Muslims are utmost lovers of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) just as Hizmet Muslims. How can the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community be considered heretical, when this community was founded on an interpretation of true Islam that is actively practical, peaceful, and fully integrated in the Quranic and Prophet Muhammad ‘s teachings.  Ahmadi Muslims not unlike Hizmet Muslims champion a complete neutrality of State and the mosque, they both like all true Muslims condemn any compulsion in religion (2:257), promote universal religious freedom (22:41), believe in spiritual equality and practical equity between the sexes (4:125), preach universal salvation (2:63), and teach that war can only be in self-defense (22:40) and as an absolute last resort (4:98).It is the  Muslim public sphere  that needs  the reformation  and  not Islam .

Having been well informed about the Ahmadiyya community’s purpose and mission over the last 50 years, its close similarities with Hizmet, I am of the belief that the enlightened Muslim intellectuals, scholars and writers of the present time belonging to Hizmet and Ahmediyya and from around the rest of the world can and should through tolerance, peaceful manner, intellectual exchanges and through rational dialogue bring about peace, harmony and happy reconciliation among all true Muslims and beyond.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had its beginnings since 1889 in India. At the time of partition of India its Head-offices had moved to Rabwah Pakistan.  And despite of and because of its intense persecutions over the decades in Pakistan, it has expanded world-wide constructively and became a global faith-based community accumulating tremendous resources in spiritual, social, intellectual and material capital transforming into a global and social movement establishing civic engagements and impressive institutions in over 180 countries.

It has a world-wide spiritual and administrative leader (Masroor Ahmed representing one of the largest and the best Muslim organization in the world, he advocates global peace, justice, a separation of mosque and state, and universal human rights) with global recognition and acceptance, with a great deal of respect and world-wide reputation, best of intellectuals, writers and scholars, global news media including TV channels, magazines and newspapers, 500 schools, global disaster relief and charitable organization, many hospitals and  thousand of mosques in numerous countries around the world. It has all the experience and skills, and technical support to constructively engage /interact with the rest of the world to possibly reach a global peace, unification to bring the entire world to the true but neglected path of all the prophets in human history. The Hizmet movement incubated in 1960s and became nationwide movement in 1980s when it was recognized by Turkish masses and started to globalize in 1990s through educational initiatives in many countries (over 140 counties by now).

The Hizmet Movement (also known as Gulen Movement) started off late 1960s in Izmir, Turkey and was also inspired by Bedi-uz-zaman’s thought and Nurco movement in 1950’s and early 1960’s. We can better analyze   this movement if we look at it in the recent decades. Hizmet, a Turkish word, meaning simply ‘service’ refers to altruistic service to the ‘common good’ of humanity in this context. Like Ahmadiyya, Hizmet movement too has one of the largest and the best faith-based organization around the globe, it advocates tolerance, global peace, justice, a separation of mosque and state, and universal human rights) with rapidly increasing global recognition, respect and reputation, best of intellectuals, writers and scholars, global news media including TV channels, magazines and newspapers, over a 1000 schools, global disaster relief and charitable organization, hospitals and mosques in numerous countries around the world. It too has all the know-how, experience and skills, and technical support to positively engage with the west and the rest of the world including the Muslim world to possibly reach a global Muslim unification and bring the entire world Muslims to the true but neglected path of our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at this point in time.

Here is my call to all those who believe they are true Muslims, my reminder to Ahmadiyya Muslim motto of ”love for all, hatred for none”. And let’s set aside all our sectarian and other differences, and divisions taking an unequivocal stand to repeal un-Islamic, unjust laws including blasphemy/apostasy laws anywhere in the world. Starting with the constructive and tolerant conversations, intellectual exchanges and peaceful dialogue at least very soon. Not to appease others but first and foremost to the pleasing path of our own beloved Prophet (pbuh). Let’s truly uphold Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)’s teachings and the covenant of protection for all of our humanity and its beliefs including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and our Muslim brethren from different sects far and near.

All true Muslims are to follow the teachings of Quran and hadith (Quran being the first and ultimate source of guidance and hadith read in its light) to transform individually and collectively, in thought and practice, and to become a model to the rest of humanity.

The solution to the Muslim world’s & Western world’s current dilemmas, I am of the opinion, that first and foremost the Muslim world needs urgently to reconcile internal sectarian differences and chaos that lie in following the Quranic teachings of justice and fairness. Both of these movements urge the world leaders (Islamic and other denominations) to pursue policies that are based on equality, justice, and religious freedom, and stop pursuing policies that are designed with shortsighted temporary self-gains in mind and rely on unjust and unfair exploitation of weaker nations and their natural resources.

May Allah, by His Grace and Mercy, open the hearts of the people to the acceptance of this message.  (Ameen).