Huff post: This weekend myself and sixty other young British Muslims helped the victims of the recent floods in Cumbria. We travelled from all over the UK, each volunteer adorned with a jumper that read ‘Muslims for Humanity’ and hi-vis vests draped with our ‘Love for all, hatred for none’ motto across the back. It meant more to us than you could possibly realise; for calling ourselves Muslims is something that could cost us our lives in some parts of the world. In fact, for several of us, it almost had. Let me explain.
I am a proud British Muslim living in the North East of England. As such, I try hard to help fellow Brits during difficult times, like the kind hearted people of Cumbria who’s lives were turned upside down by the recent ‘Storm Desmond’. The UK, however, has not always been the place that I called home; nor was my nationality always British. I grew up in Pakistan, the land of my forefathers, which my family has loved and served since its foundation in 1947.
I have fond memories of Pakistan. Still fresh to me are the rich fragrances of its aromatic food, the heat of a beautiful spring morning and the unquantifiable potential of its people. In many ways it has all the ingredients to become a heaven on earth.
However, there is a problem; my family and I are Ahmadi Muslims. And for Ahmadis living in Pakistan, the spirit of intolerance directed towards us is suffocating. The aggressive opposition to us stems from our belief that the coming of the Messiah foretold in the scriptures of the world’s monotheistic faiths has already taken place, coupled with other beliefs such as our peaceful interpretation of jihad.
Discussing tolerance, Albert Einstein stated: “Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.”