Yorkshire MP speaks of ‘bondage of tyranny and the fear of persecution’ faced by Ahmadi Muslims

A Yorkshire MP has spoken about the attacks levelled at him and his family due to being members of a particular sect of Islam.

By Geraldine Scott
Monday, 23rd November 2020, 10:00 pm



Wakefield Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan led a debate in the Commons on Monday night on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims, focussing on experiences in Pakistan in particular.

Mr Ahmad Khan, who is the first Ahmadi Muslim to be elected as an MP, said those who follow the movement were “spared no respite from persecution either in life or death” as graves were desecrated by Pakistani state law enforcement officials in Gujranwala District in July.

And he said an amendment to the Pakistani constitution, Ordinance XX, allowed “a three-year imprisonment and an unlimited fine, and even the death penalty, for Ahmadis to simply call themselves Muslim or call their Mosques a Mosque”.

Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan. Photo: ParliamentLiveTV
Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan. Photo: ParliamentLiveTV


He said: “My own family understand this only too well. I could place on the record the numerous attacks against my family and myself. For example, my first cousin’s Syrian husband, Dr Mousallam Al-Droubi, left Damascus and was worshipping at an Ahmadi Mosque in Lahore in May 2010 when gunmen massacred 87 supplicants and left him, and over 120 other worshippers, with grave injuries, all on account of their belief. Their crime? To worship as Muslims.”


He said although Pakistan was not the only place Ahmadis faced persecution, that the country was “the world’s leading exporter of hate across the globe, which it fabricates on an industrial scale”, and said anti-Ahmadi hate had even been broadcast on British television.

He added: “There is a direct correlation between this sort of hate speech and violence perpetrated against members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Freedom of speech certainly is a vital pillar of our way of life, but incitement to murder and violence is not, and never has been, freedom of speech. Hatred preached in Pakistan does indeed result in violence on UK streets and around the world.”

He urged the Government to ensure aid money did not fund Government-run education in Pakistan, where he said children were taught that Ahmadis were “infidels”.

And that the Government used its influence to “release all Pakistani citizens from the bondage of tyranny and the fear of persecution”.

He also said any future trade deals with Pakistan should be tied to “the protection and freedoms of minorities to live, work and worship as they choose”.

Article appeared here

We are using cookies to give you the best experience. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in privacy settings.
AcceptPrivacy Settings

GDPR

This Cookie Policy explains how Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK (AMA UK)  Limited (“company”, “we”, “us”, and “ours”) use cookies and similar technologies to recognize you when you visit our websites, including without limitation www.ahmadiyyauk.org and its mobile or localized versions and related domains / sub-domains (“Websites”) and/or our mobile application (“App”). It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.

What are cookies?

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website or mobile application. Cookies are then sent back to the originating site on each subsequent visit, or to another site that recognizes that cookies. You can find out more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookies are widely used in order to make sites work or to work more efficiently.

We use cookies to enhance the online experience of our visitors (for example, by remembering your visits and/or page preferences) and to better understand how our site is used. Cookies may tell us, for example, whether you have visited our site before or whether you are a new visitor.

Cookies can remain on your computer or mobile device for different periods of time. Some cookies are ‘session cookies’, meaning that they exist only while your browser is open. These are deleted automatically once you close your browser. Other cookies are ‘permanent cookies,’ meaning that they survive after your browser is closed. They can be used by the site to recognize your computer or mobile device when you open your browser and browse the Internet again.

Why do we use cookies?

We use cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Websites and/or App to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” or “strictly necessary” cookies. Other cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our Websites and/or App. Third parties serve cookies through our Websites and/or App for analytics and other purposes such as Google Analytics. In particular, we use forms related cookies which when you submit data through a form such as those found on contact pages or comment forms cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.

How can you control cookies?

You have the right to choose whether or not to accept cookies and we have explained how you can exercise this right below. However, please note that if you do not accept our cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our site.

You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.

How often will we update this Cookie Policy?

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please, therefore, re-visit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.