Irtiqa: by Salman Hameed –

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) Secretary Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi said it was time to pounce on Ahmadis. He called them apostates and said that they deserved “extreme steps”.

It is easy to target a minority. History, unfortunately, is full of such examples. We are seeing one of the extreme cases unfolding in Pakistan. Just recently, a bunch of religious “scholars” got together to celebrate the 39th anniversary of the second amendment to Pakistan’s constitution – the amendment that officially declared Ahmadis non-Muslims. There once was a time, when an imam or an a’lim was expected to talk about compassion, charity, and other actions that could potentially help fellow human beings. But not today – at least not the ones that were gathered in Lahore. The “scholars” that were celebrating the second amendment primarily offered provincialism, scorn,  and hate. It is a shame that their interpretation of religion has left them with this sad and tragic courses of actions. But they are also being egged on by a majority of Pakistanis (see the Pew survey results below).

It is fantastic that Express Tribune has provided the quotes from this “alim”. Here is a sampling:

Several clerics called for further persecution of the Ahmadi community at conferences held on Saturday night to mark the 39th anniversary of the passage of the Second Amendment, which declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims.

The speakers branded Ahmadis enemies of Pakistan, called for their social and economic boycott, and demanded that they be banned from taking up any government or military jobs.

For the actual quotes, lets start with head of the Moon-sighting committee:

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