Declarations of Faith and The National Identity

with dure respect: the contemporary understanding of all religions is confusing. islam is also in the circle. every now and then we hear that islam is the religion of peace and peace is the ONLY thing that`s missing from islamic history!

i am a muslim for i was born one. what other credit do i have to claim about it. simple!

the fear of The Unseen is in my mind and heart while all that happens around me is exactly against what The Unseen has asked us to do. He sits up in heavens and smiles...and i dont know if He exists or not with all those legendary powers that He`s famous for.

today the press carried the picture of a two-and-a-half years` old baby-girl who was raped, yes raped. who should i congratulate here...ISLAMIC republic of pakistan or God Himself for he keeps his powers to use i-dont-know-when and humanity suffers!

mind boils and bubbles...

with dure respect: the contemporary understanding of all religions is confusing. islam is also in the circle. every now and then we hear that islam is the religion of peace and peace is the ONLY thing that`s missing from islamic history!

i am a muslim for i was born one. what other credit do i have to claim about it. simple!

the fear of The Unseen is in my mind and heart while all that happens around me is exactly against what The Unseen has asked us to do. He sits up in heavens and smiles...and i dont know if He exists or not with all those legendary powers that He`s famous for.

today the press carried the picture of a two-and-a-half years` old baby-girl who was raped, yes raped. who should i congratulate here...ISLAMIC republic of pakistan or God Himself for he keeps his powers to use i-dont-know-when and humanity suffers!

mind boils and bubbles...

I totally agree with Urstruly about Ahmadis` continued claim to be a Muslim, is the root cause of the so-called persecution of Ahmadis. It is not a matter of interpretation, it is a matter of fact. To be considered a Muslim you have to accept Mohammad as the last prophet, as long as you do that, you can go on calling yourself x,y,z sect of Muslims, but as long as you don`t change the fundamentals, no one has any objection to your sect, etc.

Same is true for Christianity or for Judaism for that matter the fundamentals have remained unchanged, interpretation or rituals may vary.

All this drivel about Pakistan`s creation, secularism, Bhutto, and Zia is irrelevant when applied to Ahmadis. They need to come to terms with the fact that Muslims shall not accept them as a sect and therefore they should get on with their lives as Hindus, Christians, and other miniorities do in Pakistan.

For all the Pakistani bashers, the liberal Pakistanis included, digging up odd cases to make a point is really far from reality. The reality is that most Pakistanis do not give a damn about the next person`s ethnicity, religion, or color, as most of us are too damn busy to earn a living for ourselves. It is only the Sharif and Sethis of the world that have time to indulge in such frivilous things.

Like someone said on another thread about sectarain violence, no sectarian divide exists at people to people level. It exists in the media, extremist/fundo/terrorist pockets of the socity and should not be taken as a rule but rather an exception.

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Ralph # 1

(The most charitable thing that can be said about this article is that this is a silly lament)

We need to not only keep this issue alive but criticize it again and again. Nothing less than our safety and our next generation`s safety depends on it.

Is there need to define one`s belief? There are as many variations of beliefs as there are human beings on the earth.

Wahabis and Deobandis do not hold a Certificate to define a Muslim. Justice Munir in the famous Qadiani case of the 50s failed to find a definition of a Muslim.

The code of law that a society makes for its day to day living should have no reference to one`s personal belief. It is matter between a person and his God, Allah, Bhagwan or concious.

It started with Suadi Arabia and Pakistan who first ostracized the Ahmedies.

Now there is a segment in Pakistan that calls Shias as Kaafirs.

Qazi hussain Ahmed has already hinted at the Agha Khanis not being Muslims.

Soon people like me who follow no ritual of Islam (or any other religion) will be called Kaafirs.

Finally, people who do not dress like the Arabs will be called Kaafirs. Many Mullas in Pakistan have already started wearing the Arab dress.

Hopefully, I will be dead by that time!

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http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=182

Religion and the Constitution: The Triumph of Practical Politics

`` The most sustained religious discussion in these huge volumes has to do with the line in Article VI of the Constitution that ``no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.`` Luther Martin, a fierce opponent of ratification, reported that the ``no religious test`` clause easily had passed at Philadelphia, but went on sarcastically:

``However, there were some members so unfashionable as to think that a belief of the existence of a Deity, and of a state of future rewards and punishments would be some security for the good conduct of our rulers, and that in a Christian country it would be at least decent to hold out some distinction between the professors of Christianity and downright infidelity or paganism.``

The most notable New England Baptist, Isaac Backus, opposed such a test, stating that ``no man or men can impose any religious test, without invading the essential prerogatives of our Lord Jesus Christ.`` William Williams, a Connecticut signer of the Declaration of Independence, wrote in the American Mercury that he wished the clause could have been omitted, and even would have liked to have voted for its reverse, ``to require an explicit acknowledgment of the being of a God, his perfections and his providence,`` and an italicized affirmation of God in the preamble to the Constitution. Williams says he knows that such a phrase would have produced hypocrites and have provided no security, but he wished it were there simply as a public testimony.

On the other hand, Oliver Ellsworth takes three pages to defend the Article VI clause as not being ``unfavourable to religion.`` It was designed ``to exclude persecution`` and to secure ``the important right of religious liberty.`` English law and practice show the evils that would threaten were the clause not here. ``A test in favour of any one denomination of Christians would be to the last degree absurd in the United States.`` Even a test-act that required officeholders to declare ``their belief in the being of a God, and in the divine authority of the scriptures,`` would not have satisfied, since it is easy to dissemble. ``If we mean to have those appointed to public offices who are sincere friends to religion; we the people who appoint them, must take care to choose such characters; and not rely upon such cob-web barriers as test-laws are.

``Henry Abbott and James Iredell returned to the issue in a report from the North Carolina Convention. Abbott stated that some feared that without religious tests, ``Pagans, Deists, and Mahometans might obtain offices among us,`` and that legislators might some day ``all be Pagans.`` Without religious texts, would oaths of office be taken ``by Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Proserpine or Pluto``? Iredell responded, referring to the ``dreadful mischiefs`` and ``utmost cruelties`` that had occurred ``under the colour of religious texts`` throughout history. America had already chosen a more modest, reasonable and tolerant course. Iredell asks, ``How is it possible to exclude any set of men, without taking away that principle of religious freedom which we ourselves so warmly contend for?`` But he concludes, ``It is never to be supposed that the people of America will trust their dearest rights to persons who have no religion at all, or a religion materially different from their own.`` Let religion be permitted to take its own course; ``the divine author of our religion never wished for its support by worldly authority.``

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DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
17 January 2002 Thursday 02 Ziqa`ad 1422

Excerpt from:

The general`s speech: a US perspective
By Tahir Mirza

...In this connection, an e-mail from a young Pakistani woman living in the Gulf may be of some relevance. Writing how thrilled she was to hear of the general`s emphasis on eliminating extremism, she said: ``But I fail to understand why, when the other day, I filled in an application form at the Pakistan embassy for my passport renewal, I had to declare on this that I do not consider Ahmadis to be Muslims. I signed for the sake of obtaining my passport, but I do think it a most demeaning and shameful thing for anyone truly moderate and Muslim to do.``

Why, indeed, are we expected to make this declaration on our forms if all citizens are considered equal and we are expected to be a tolerant Muslim society?...

A lasting legacy of Bhutto`s ``Concordat`` with the religious right are the laws in Pakistan that have turned Ahmadiyyas into second class citizens. An Ahmadiyya can be prosecuted for the ``criminal offence`` of calling himself a Muslim or for referring to his place of worship as a Masjid! In fact, he can be prosecuted for pretending to be a Muslim if he dares recite the kalima!! All that is deemed blasphemy, a capital offence under Pakistan`s penal code.

The Ahmadiyyas belong to an ``unpopular`` sect within Islam. Their plight is indicative of the change that must occur for Pakistan to triumph over the politics of terror. Pakistani establishment members show very little respect and immense contempt and hatred for Ahmadiya citizens, even if they are as patriotic and as talented as Dr. Abdus Salam, the only Pakistani to date to win a Nobel Prize.

It might not be easy even for the Pakistani dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, to stem the tide against Ahmadiyas in Pakistan itself. He has failed to repeal the infamous Blasphemy Law in spite of having declared once that he intends to do so. But a strong nudge from the General`s allies abroad might just give him the courage to do the needful.

In the mean time, one might call attention to an outrage that is being perpetrated on the Ahmadiyas this minute even on American soil by the Pakistani Embassy and Consulates. I hope patriots and thoughtful Pakistanis will take the lead to do something about the outrage. I hope they can persuade the Pakistani Embassy and the Consulates to withdraw the obnoxious passport application form and introduce a new form that does not attempt to humiliate the Ahmadiyas in the name of ``purity of religion.``

Here is the application Form for new passport (Form A) that Pakistanis must fill out not only in Pakistan but even at the Pakistani embassy and the consulates in USA.

Interested readers can check the complete application form at the following website:

http://www.embassyofpakistan.org/forms/Form-A.pdf

Diplomatic immunity perhaps prevents the American government from barring the Pakistani embassy and the consulates from using such a blatantly offensive application form. However, adverse publicity and public pressure from patriotic and thoughtful Pakistanis can yet force a change on the embassy and consulates.

Item 5 in the Application Form is religion.

The choices offered to the applicant are listed as ``Islam, Christian, Hindu, Parsi etc.``

In case the applicant writes ``Muslim`` as his choice, he is required to sign or to give a thumb impression to the following Declaration in item 15:

I.......... W/D/S/O..........aged..........years, adult Muslim resident of..........hereby solemnly
declare that:

(i)I am a Muslim and believe in absolute and unqulified finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) the last of the prophets.

(ii)I do not recognize any person who claims to be a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Muhammad (PBUH) or recognize such a claimant as prophet or a religious reformer as a Muslim.

(iii)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-Muslim.

It shows how low Pakistan`s government has been willing to stoop to spite the Ahmadiyyas.

Rabwah in Pakistani Punjab is an important center of the persecuted sect. 96% the residents of Rabwah are Ahmadiyas. But, not a single Ahmadiyya can contest the local polls because under Pakistan`s law the contestant must certify that he is not an Ahmadiya.

And of course the Ahmadiyas are barred by law from ``pretending`` to be Muslims. They can call themselves Muslims or describe their place of worship as a mosque only at the risk of being sent to prison for extended periods. Reciting the Kalima can lead to being hauled to a court of law on charges of blasphemy which is a capital offense in Pakistan.

Is it any wonder that the world has come to identify Pakistan as a haven of terrorists? It is not enough for General Musharraf to mouth pious objectives in TV speeches meant for western consumption. He will be doing a lot more for his country if he acts courageously to eliminate all Pakistani laws and government regulations that victimize citizens for their religious beliefs. Deletion of religion in National ID cards and Passports is also a must.

According to the Book of Genesis, God placed a mark on the world`s first murderer before sending him into exile. The mark of Cain proclaimed its bearer as a criminal and social outcast. For centuries, prisoners and those who broke social codes were forcibly tattooed.

Pakistan`s ruling elite has put the mark of Cain on the nation`s hapless Ahmadiyyas. In fact, it is verily the kiss of death for one`s career even to be suspected of being a closet Ahmadiyya. Not too long ago, the front-runner among candidates for the Chief Justice of Pakistan had to publicly deny rumors that he was a closet Ahmadiyya (floated around by his rivals & detractors) to keep alive his candidacy!

Difficult as it is to believe, in this day and age, there is a country where, under the law of the land, it is unlawful for members of a persecuted community to call themseves ``Muslims``. The five million members of the community in that country are not allowed into mosques and are prosecuted if they say Islamic prayers.

No, I am not talking of the ``Great Satan`` USA or even of much maligned Israel. I am talking of Pakistan where Muslims of the Ahmadiyya sect can be sentenced to death (under Section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code) if they dare use Islamic expressions like Asslam-o-Alaikum, Bismillah and Insallah.

Sections 295-A and 298-C allow the state to put away an Ahmadiyya in prison for as long as 10 years if he dares to call himself a Muslim. And it is quite according to the laws of the land for the authorities to demolish the Ahmadiyyas` place of worship if they dare call it a mosque. Five million Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan must live under the shadow of laws undreamt of even by blacks in South Africa during their darkest hours.

In Pakistan the law of the land very specifically bars non-Muslims from the highest positions in the land. In fact, it is not enough to be a Muslim, you must be so certified by the country`s ruling elite to qualify for the positions.

Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, for example, was not entitled to be a Presidential candidate. As an Ahmadiyya, he was a mere Kafir according to Pakistani law.

When USA recommended an alumnus of the World Bank for succeeding Nawaz Sarif after his first stint as the Prime Minister, the ablest among the alumni had to be bypassed for he, too, was an Ahmadiyya. And earlier, when Benazir Bhutto, as Pakistan`s Prime Minister, had attempted to post a Ahmadiyya as Pakistan`s top diplomat at the United Nations, she was roundedly accused of being an infidel by the press and the political establishment. The diplomat was soon found dead in a Tokyo hotel under mysterious circumstances. Benazir, herself, was dismissed by President Ishaq Khan soon after.

In Pakistan, even the mere rumor that one is an Ahmadiyya can ruin a person. Some years back, when the office of the Chief Justice for the Supreme Court of Pakistan fell vacant, the nominating process said a lot about the guiding philosophy of ``Islamic`` Pakistan:

When the office fell vacant, the senior most judge took over as the acting Chief Justice and everyone assumed that he would soon be confirmed to the post. But the judge had enemies who promptly spread the rumor that he was a closet Ahmadiyya. The acting Chief Justice denied vehemently that he had ever been an Ahmadiyya or ever will be one. But the damage was done. A junior judge was appointed the Chief Justice and the alleged Ahmadiyya was forced to resign from the Bench!!

Not even death will bring reprieve. Benazir Bhutto`s interior minister, General Naseerullah Babar, for example, came under nasty attack for merely attending the Namaz-e-Janaza of his Ahmadiyya friend, Mumtaz Ahmed Malik.

Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmed (the spiritual head of the Ahmadiyyas) used to visit India anytime he wanted to. But, understandably, he never dared to visit Pakistan.

When Najam Sethi (editor of The Friday Times) was hauled to court, accused of being a closet Ahmadiyya even after he declared himself to be a Sunni Muslim:

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DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
1st August, 1999

Excerpt from Ardeshir Cowasjee`s Column:

..... The latest government move is a petition filed before the Chief Election Commissioner by Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a member of the National Assembly. MNA Shah is one of those who offer themselves up on a platter to Nawaz Sharif as willing tools to do his every bidding. Shah was one of the hecklers in former Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah`s courtroom the day prior to the storming of that honourable institution by the government goons.

Shah`s petition ``involves the jurisdiction of the Chief Election Commissioner for the following reliefs:

``1) Firstly, the religious status of the Respondent No.1 be determined on the touchstone of the definition of `Muslim` and `non-Muslim` given in Article 260(3).

``2) Secondly, his name be struck off from the voter list to a Muslim seat of any Assembly if he is so listed and does not fulfil the requiremnents of a Muslim as given by the Constitution.

``3) Thirdly, his name be struck off from the electoral rolls to a non-Muslim seat as well since he has violated Article 63(1)(g) and Article 62(h). ``

Absurd, said many of us, including my senior counsel, Jadoogar of Jeddah, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada: the Chief Election Commissioner, an independent-minded man, will throw the petition out in limine. The CEC ruled otherwise and held a hearing on July 28. Present in Islamabad before him that day were not just members of the press and public but representatives of the diplomatic corps of First World countries who believe that religion is solely a matter between a man and his God, who were keen to observe how God is invoked in the courts of Pakistan and how the seeds of a religious inquisition are being sown. .....

..... Sharifuddin`s opinion is that the CEC has no jurisdiction to go into the question as to whether Sethi is a Muslim or not, particularly after Sethi`s public pronouncement that he is a Sunni Muslim. He told me how, when he was law minister a question arose about the elevation of a judge to the Supreme Court as an allegation had been made that he was an Ahmadi. The judge concerned wrote a letter to the law minister stating that he was a practising Muslim and the matter ended there. All concerned were satisfied and the judge was duly elevated to the Supreme Court.

Sethi is also being savaged by the hounds of the income tax department. His home has been attached and some 90 old settled cases have been reopened and queries raised and charges levied. I sympathize with him. .....

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The HINDU
Thursday, July 29, 1999

Najam Sethi`s status as Muslim challenged

ISLAMABAD, JULY 28. The Pakistani Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Justice Abdul Qadeer Chaudhury (retd.), adjourned till October 6 an application filed by Mr. Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a ruling party MP, challenging the status of The Friday Times editor, Mr. Najam Sethi, as a Muslim.

Mr. Sethi, who has been the target of vendetta and found himself incarcerated for a month in May for making a ``seditious speech`` in India, defended himself in person before the CEC.

The challenge to Mr. Sethi`s status as a Muslim comes at a time when he has been charged with all manner of income tax violations. Though all charges were dropped against the editor after he was illegally arrested, it is obvious that influential circles continue to harass him. The application wants that Mr. Sethi`s name be deleted from the list of Muslim voters in Pakistan.

During the hearing today, Mr. Sethi said he had filled in forms for his passport and national identity card declaring himself to be a Muslim. He wanted to know whether the status of 130 million Pakistanis as Muslims could be individually challenged before the CEC. The editor asked the CEC to dismiss the application.

Mr. Justice Chaudhury, however, stated that he would like to settle the issue of jurisdiction once and for all and then consider the merits of the present case.For this, Mr. Sethi will now appear through counsel on October 6.

In an editorial entitled ``Why this vendetta?``, the newspaper Dawn said today: ``The petition filed by a member of the ruling party raising issues of such a sensitive nature and accusing Mr. Sethi of being a non-Muslim will be seen as proof that the Government has not given up its hostile attitude towards him and is determined to punish him for his dissenting role as a journalist.``

The Harvard Human Rights Journal (Volume 16, Spring 2003)

``Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan: An Analysis Under International Law and International Relations`` by Amjad Mahmood Khan.

Urstruly (#2) …

Simple explanation … we call ourselves Muslims, since that is the name given to us by Allah Almighty in Quran.

As for you mullahs … you get hurt over the oddest issues. You get hurt, nay seriously offended and fuming mad, if someone decides to leave your religion. This obviously is your problem … and not others’.

Also … in my view, the shocking and sudden deaths of Bhutto and Zia (and that of Shah Faisal) are further signs of divine support …that enhance my faith in Allah and Islam.

The author has raised valid issues … that Islam cannot be copyrighted … that the term Muslim cannot be trademarked. Forcing a label on faiths of others amounts to an insult to God, to Islam, to humanity ... and leads people down the path of corruption and moral decay.