Huff Post: An Ahmadi Muslim shopkeeper, Mr. Asad Shah, was recently stabbed to death in Glasgow, UK. Mr. Tanveer Ahmad, a Sunni Muslim of Pakistani origin, claimed he committed the act because Asad had “disrespected Islam.” In his eyes, Asad was a blasphemer. The Sunni extremist group, Almi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nubuwat (AMTKN), found to have links with Al Qaeda, sent out a message congratulating all Muslims on Asad’s murder. Just a few days later, ‘Kill Ahmadis’ pamphlets were found at the group’s Mosque in Stockwell. Other Sunni groups in Pakistan also praised Mr. Tanveer as a hero of Islam and congratulated the Sunnis on his “courageous act.”
Following the murder, the Muslim Council of Britain released a statement clarifying that they would not identify Mr. Asad Shah as a Muslim. King’s College academicMr. Shiraz Maher also voiced the same sentiment, asking if there was a problem if he did not consider Mr. Asad Shah a ‘real Muslim?’ Also following the murder, a sign calling on fellow Sunnis to boycott the Ahmadi Muslims and sever all ties with them was put up at the largest Sunni Mosque in Slough, UK. “Qadianis (pejorative for Ahmadi Muslims) … are not Muslims,” the sign said.
Where Mr. Asad Shah’s murder has brought different communities together in solidarity, it has also brought a deep-rooted, disturbing, sectarian phenomenon to the fore.
Ahmadi Muslims, who constitute the largest organized Muslim community in the world, have long been persecuted in Sunni-majority countries. In 1974, Pakistan declared the Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority in its constitution. In 1984, new lawsrestricting their religious freedom were passed. Since then, scores of Ahmadi Muslims – including three of my uncles – have been jailed for reciting the Quran, praying like a Muslim, saying the Muslim call to prayer, identifying as a Muslim etc. Interestingly, when Mr. Toaha Qureshi of the notorious Stockwell Mosque was questioned regarding this well-known apartheid of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, he conveniently placed the blame on the victims themselves. “No they do not (live in fear). That is their desire, to come here and get political asylum. Nothing else,” he claimed.