PAKISTAN/UNITED KINGDOM: An Ahmadi brutally killed in Scotland, with head stamped on

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned from the UK media that a Pakistani born Ahmadi was stabbed to death in Glasgow, Scotland by a Pakistani Muslim. Asad Shah was brutally stabbed 30 times with a kitchen knife and had his head stamped on, after posting Easter greetings on Facebook. Shah had previously posted media on interfaith meetings, tolerance and against extremism.

Militant Muslim leaders and organizations in Pakistan have recently threatened Ahmadi Muslims to abandon their religious activities, or face attack in any part of the world.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the Daily Mail UK, Daily Independent UK, Daily Record UK and BBC News,
on 24 March 2016, an Ahmadi shopkeeper, 40-year-old Asad Shah was found stabbed and fatally wounded near his store in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, Scotland. He was later pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Hours before his murder, Mr. Shah had posted Easter greetings on his

Facebook page: “Very happy Easter especially to my beloved Christian nation! Bismillah let’s follow the real footsteps of beloved Holy Jesus Christ (PBUH) and get the real success in both worlds.”

Please see the links :http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/asad-shah-murder-glasgow-police-seize-uber-taxi-transporting-killer-muslim-a6957881.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3511897/Muslim-newsagent-killed-fellow-Muslim-travelled-200-miles-knife-posted-Happy-Easter-message-Christians.html#ixzz44NEtJXuS

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-35898543

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/popular-glasgow-shopkeeper-stabbed-death-7625471#IgmtHSyVs8mIBl3q.97

A 32-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the murder. According to police investigators, the murderer had already left for Glasgow before Mr. Asad posted Easter greetings on Facebook; Mr. Asad’s YouTube video where he preached on religious issues and spoke against extremism are cited to be the real reason behind his murder.

Khatme Nabuwatt, an organization that has taken upon itself to guard the ideology of finality of prophet hood, has congratulated all Muslims on Asad’s murder. Its Facebook page contains a gloating message on the cold blooded murder, saying “Congratulations to all Muslims.” The closed Facebook group is strongly against the Ahmadi sect of Islam. The social media page has more than 13,000 members and incites sectarian hatred.

Mr. Asad’s murder is believed to be the first major anti-Ahmadi incident in the UK, and has sparked fears Islamic sectarianism is spreading. Asad’s family are also receiving threats and have been advised by the police not to disclose their location.

A few days before Asad Shah’s murder, the Imam of the Grand Central Mosque in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest mosque, belonging to the majority Sunni sect of Islam, was caught posting a message on the internet praising the Muslim extremist who murdered Pakistani governor Salman Taseer for opposing blasphemy laws. A prominent figure, the mufti was followed and respected by many Muslims of the area. Such religious zealotry has cost many innocents their lives, yet the Islamic state of Pakistan refuses to acknowledge its role in curbing sectarian violence.

The Ahmadis being a peace loving community who dispel extremism seems to fuel the hatred against them. Pakistan’s orthodox clergy, branding its own version of Islam, has recently started an agitation against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, the self-professed murderer of the ex-governor of Punjab. As part of its agitation, the group is now staging a sit-in in front of the parliament in Islamabad. Among the 10-point charter of demands presented to the media, is a demand that “all Ahmadis should be expelled from the country and that all Ahmadis working in government departments should be terminated from service”. The protestors have refused to end their protest until their demands are met. If the Ahmadis are not expelled from Pakistan, ‘they will not be saved anywhere in the world’.

Floral tributes have been placed at the scene and hundreds of people, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, took part in a silent vigil there on Friday night in memory of the shopkeeper.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Years of institutionalized discrimination against the Ahmadiya community and its persistent vilification have led to extreme apathy, where even the mass murder of Ahmadis in Lahore on 28 May 2010 failed to elicit any kind of public outrage. The murder of an Ahmadi is in fact praised and encouraged by the so called guardians of Islam, and the murderer is extolled and revered. In a country where murderers are celebrated and Ahmadi Noble prize winner Dr. Abdus Salam is vilified, it is only natural that society’s fault lines deepen each day.

Hate crimes against the Ahmadi community spiraled out of control since the 1970s, when they were declared non-Muslims. As a result, the community’s headquarters moved from Pakistan to Britain in the 1980s, and is currently based in Morden, south London. The murder of Asad Shah in a western state underpins the sad reality that sectarian violence is no longer confined to conservative states; it has now spread its tentacles to countries allowing asylum and a safe refuge to the beleaguered community. The murder was indeed a message to the Ahmadi community that they are not safe wherever in the world they may be.

Pakistani authorities have so far shown no political interest in curbing the activities of these groups. The hate speech in Pakistani media against the Ahmadis for instance, largely goes unnoticed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). The trend of violence is deliberately allowed to spiral out of control, making it difficult for the beleaguered Ahmadis to live in Pakistan. The violence has now become imminent in foreign western countries as well, due to the negligence of the Pakistani authorities who continue to allow religious zealots to spew hatred.
The utter disregard of rule of law and complete impunity to law enforcement agencies is a recipe for disaster for Pakistan’s minority, who despite having the constitutional guarantee of state protection are left to fend for themselves. Since its inception, Pakistan has been battling a religious existential fight with itself. A country attained in the name of religion is yet to establish the definition of a Muslim. A Sunni Muslim Punjabi male is what best confirms to the state ideology and orthodox theology. No longer a silent spectator in systematic and continuous religious persecution, the state has now become an active abettor. The judiciary also appears complacent and meek in the face religious fundamentalism and orthodox clergy who are bent on enforcing and implementing the firebrand version of Wahabbism (a religious movement to restore Islam to its original form).

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write the letters to the UK and Pakistani authorities calling them to initiate a high powered enquiry into the murder of a Pakistani born UK citizen who was killed by a Muslim fundamentalist. Please urge the UK authorities to arrest the murderer and prosecute the abettors and facilitators, including mosque leaders who preach the sectarian hate. The authorities should also provide protection to Shah’s family members.

Please also urge the Pakistani authorities to take strong action against religious groups and persons who are inciting people to sectarian strife and violence, and turning Pakistan into a theocratic state. The government of Pakistan must also implement reforms in the country’s criminal justice system, so that such elements cannot escape from prosecution.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Freedom of Religion and Belief, calling for his intervention into this matter.

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