Originally published in the Allen American
Instead of benefiting from the last days of the holy month of Ramadan, a mob ransacked, looted, and set fire to 8 Ahmadi homes in Gujranwala, Pakistan on July 27. A grandmother and her granddaughters, a 7 year-old and 8 month-old girl, died of suffocation, a 7 month pregnant female suffered a miscarriage, and 8 others are being treated for injuries and burns. What’s worse, the police, even with reinforcements, did nothing to stop the mob. The fire brigade was obstructed and forced to turn around and ambulances were pelted with stones by the mob. These innocent people were killed because they were members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The second amendment to the Pakistani constitution prohibits Ahmadis from associating in any way with Islam and Ordinance XX goes on to criminalize all such actions. Thus, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community faces state-facilitated and institutionalized persecution. His Holiness, the Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has always forbidden Ahmadis from taking to the streets or responding with aggression. He has, instead, urged community members to respond with patience and prayer.
