Source: Washington Post

By Max Bearak

Last month, after being offended by a tweet, Tanweer Ahmed traveled 200 miles in an Uber car from Bradford, in England, to Glasgow, in Scotland. The seemingly innocuous, even heartfelt tweet was written by Asad Shah, and wished his adopted countrymen a happy Easter.

Ahmed waited for 40-year-old Shah to leave the convenience store in Glasgow where he worked, then stabbed him 30 times, stamped on his head, and sat on his chest while Shah lay unconscious, authorities allege. Shah died of his wounds later that night.

The hatred that Ahmed, 32, apparently felt for Shah wasn’t because of his kind words about Christians, but because Shah was a member of the small and long-persecuted sect of Muslims called the Ahmadiyya.

[After wishing Christians a Happy Easter, a beloved Glasgow shopkeeper is allegedly slain by another Muslim]

This week, leaflets have been found in universities, mosques and shopping centers across London advocating that each Ahmadiyya be given three days to “get back into the Islamic fold. If he does not, he will be awarded capital punishment.”

The leaflets refer to Ahmadiyyas as “Qadianis,” which is considered pejorative by the Ahmadiyya, who are also known as Ahmadis or Ahmedis. The term is a reference to the town of Qadian, in India’s state of Punjab, where Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born. Ahmad, who lived in pre-Partition India at the turn of the 20th century, claimed that he was the foretold Mahdi, or Messiah, but most Muslims believe Muhammad to be the final prophet. For these beliefs, Ahmad’s followers have been shunned, particularly in Pakistan, where their numbers are highest. The Pakistani state forbids them by law from claiming to be Muslim. Hundreds have been murdered or killed in terrorist attacks there in the past few years alone.

Leaflets like these have been distributed before, according to leaders of Britain’s Ahmadiyya community, but after Shah’s slaying, they have added to a growing sense of unease in a country many have found to be an asylum. This new iteration, obtained by IBTimes UK, says Ahmadiyyas are “worse than apostates” because they present themselves as Muslims. The leaflets were made by an organization called Khatm-e-Nubuwwat, which means “Finality of Prophethood” in Arabic.

Reference

Suggested Reading

Are Ahmadi Muslims: A Collection of Articles?

Ahmadiyya Muslims’ Response to the Statement by the Muslim Council of Britain