Originally published in Indy Star
On May 26, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar, an American cardiologist from Columbus, Ohio, was killed in front of his wife and 2-year-old son in Pakistan. He was on a mission trip to provide free medical care to the people of Pakistan. His crime? He was the member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
I can use the word Muslim to describe this community as I am not in Pakistan. The law in that country declares it a crime punishable by imprisonment to refer to this community as Muslim. A few days earlier, 65-year-old Khalil Ahmed was arrested for a similar charge and murdered in a Pakistani police station hours after he was arrested.
Please raise your voice and say that it is not OK to discriminate on the basis of religion, race or gender in Pakistan or anywhere else.
Pakistan’s discriminatory legislation continues to fuel the fire of hatred and we must put pressure on the Pakistani government to repeal such legislation.
