Of Medical Students, Passports and Religous Tolerance

The suspension of 23 Ahmadi students from Pakistan Medical College in Faisalabad last month served as a stark reminder of the continuous state-sponsored oppression of the Ahmadi community. But during the course of my research about the suspension of the students, I came across something that was perhaps more alarming than the role played by Government: the thoughts of the people. Here are two for your reading pleasure: “Sorry, calling ahmadis muslims is against the law of the land of the pure…� and “Very good, I appreciate this act from PMC.�

If these comments represent the opinion of our citizens, something is going terribly wrong somewhere. Perhaps everywhere. Here’s my story and my wrong.

My passport expired last August. So I made my way to the passport office in Saddar to get my new exciting machine-readable passport. I paid an agent to stand in the queue, photocopied documents, filled out some forms, got myself fingerprinted, had my photo taken and waited to confirm my personal details. After confirming my details, I was told to sign the form. Routine you would think. But just above the dotted line, my eyes caught a glimpse of the following words: “I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Quadiani to be an impostor nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori or Quadiani group to be non-Muslims. Alas, in order to acquire a passport, I was required to swear that Quadiani’s are non-Muslims. I found myself in a quandary.

Let’s face it. The statement in the form I was asked to complete at the passport office is nothing short of despicable. The question is not whether Islamic jurisprudence dictates that Quadiani’s qualify as Muslims or not. They may be or may not be. But why on earth am I even being asked the question? Who am I to declare that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Quadiani is an impostor nabi? I’m no religious authority, thankfully too. In fact the truth of the matter is that at the time of signing the form I didn’t even know who or what Quadiani’s believe in. But this may be taken a step further. What gives the passport office or even the Government of Pakistan the authority to make such a declaration?

In 1984, smack bang in the middle of the Afghan War, President General Zia-ul-Haq considered it expedient to “prohibit the Quadiani group, Lahori group and Ahmadis from indulging in anti-Islamic activities� and thus promulgated a law astutely called the Anti-Islamic Activities of Quadiani Group, Lahore Group and Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance, 1984 (“the 1984 Ordinance�). Digress if I may, at least we now have a reasonable explanation as to why the Afghan War is causing so much death and destruction today. For instead of trying to check the mushroom growth of militancy during that period our President was busy in using our government machinery to indulge in some minority oppression.

In essence, the 1984 Ordinance provides for two events. First, if anyone who belongs to the Quadiani or Lahori group refers to his place of worship as a “Masjid� or refers to his call of prayer as “Azan�, he may be punished for three years and be liable to a fine. Second, if anyone who belongs to the Quadiani or Lahori group directly or indirectly refers to himself as a “Muslim� or his faith as “Islam�, he may also be punished for three years and be liable to a fine. Notwithstanding the absolute absurdity of these laws, things would be regrettable yet endurable if they were just getting dusty and obsolete in the statute books. But here’s the really scary part. By 1992, 1790 criminal cases had been registered against the Quadianis, 84 for offering daily prayers, 691 for use of Kalma Tayyaba, 36 for reciting Azan, 251 for preaching religion, 676 for posing as a Muslim and 52 for using Arabic expressions such as “Asalam walykum.�

In the 61st session of United Nations General Assembly, our President said Pakistan is a “modern, progressive, Islamic and democratic republic.� Fancy cars and plush mansions are one thing. But the progress of a nation isn’t judged by the living standards of the affluent, but by the thinking of its people and their representatives. As long as the dagger of the 1984 Ordinance continues to hang over the heads of Quadianis, we should be ashamed. Not only that. We should be afraid. Yesterday it was the Quadianis. Tomorrow it could be the Shia community, the Bohra community or any other.

Rewind to the passport office last August. I got my new passport and flew off to Malaysia a couple of weeks later. Oscar Wilde was right when he said: “God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability.�