Shia

Pakistan Police charge toddler for holding an ‘illegal gathering’

Pakistan’s police on Sunday charged a toddler and five others for holding an “illegal gathering” and “promoting sectarianism.” According to the charge sheet, 4-year-old Fazal Abbas and two others hosted an illegal Majlis (gathering) on the night of August 30th at the Aiwan e Hussain Imam Bargah in the village of Purana Ghanian. The village is located in the Kamoke municipality of the Gujranwala district. The charge sheet also accused the three organizers and six attendees for promoting sectarianism by hosting and …

Pakistani Shia cleric warns of dangers posed by Baha’is & Ahmadis

A Pakistani Shia leader has warned that the public and the government should be made aware of the “dangers” posed by Baha’is and Ahmadis. Shia cleric Allama Iqbal Bahishti urged the Government to be watchful of the ‘heretic’ Baha’is & Ahmadis. Allam Iqbal Bahishti who is the provincial secretary-general of Pakistan’s largest Shiite political organization the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) made the comments while speaking to members of the press on November 11. Bahishti said: The Islamic world was split into two …

Algeria’s Minister of Religious Affairs says ‘Ahmadiyya plan has failed’

Algeria’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Mohamed Aissa, has said the Ahmadiyya plan has failed and the Islamic sect does not exist in Algeria anymore. He made the comments on Saturday while speaking at the University of Islamic Sciences in the city of Constantine in eastern Algeria. Speaking at the University, Minister Aissa said: “The Ahmadiyya plan in Algeria has failed. The security services , the justice system, local imams and the Algerian media together exposed their plan and the sect …

ISIS claims responsibility for Sectarian murders in Karachi

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the murder of a senior Pakistani police officer and a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Both men were killed in a near-identical drive-by shooting on Sunday night in the port city of Karachi. The attacks happened within a three hour time period; Traffic airport DSP Faiz Ali Shigri, a member of the Shia community, was killed near Laal Flats in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, while his driver was injured in the attack. The DSP was sitting …

Pakistan’s Shia Council threatens Ahmadis with mutilation

A leader of Pakistan’s Shia Ulema Council (SUC or Shia Council of Clerics) has threatened the country’s persecuted Ahmadiyya Muslims with mutilation. He made the statement while speaking to a reporter from Pakistan’s most widely circulated paper, the Jang. On November 11, Leader of Shia Ulema Council Multan division, Syed Muhammad Shah said: Belief in KhatmeNabuwat is a part of our faith, denying that is like denying Islam, We will sacrifice everything for its sake. He further said: ” The …

Shia rights activist Gul Zehra Rizvi opposes equal rights for Ahmadis

A prominent Pakistani Shia rights activist has come under fire after her views against a persecuted Muslim sect were made public. Gul e Zehra Rizvi who is the central president of Imamia Student Organization (ISO) has been active in organizing protests against the targeted killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Rizvi has been trying to raise awareness against ‘Shia Genocide’ and has called for action against the outlawed sectarian outfit ASWJ (Ahle Sunnat Wal Jammat) which along with other extremist organizations …

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti declares Iranians are ‘not Muslims’

A top Saudi cleric has declared that Iranians are “not Muslims” after Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei slammed Saudi Arabia for poorly managing the hajj pilgrimage. The remarks were made by Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al Sheikh a day after Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Saudi authorities of killing Muslims injured during last year’s crush of crowds at the hajj pilgrimage. On Tuesday, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al Sheikh told Makkah newspaper that: “We must understand these are not Muslims, they are children …

Shia Imam starts off Ramadan by visiting Ahmadiyya Mosque

In a bid to spread the spirit of Ramadan a Shia Imam spent the first day of the Islamic holy month at an Ahmadiyya Mosque. Imam Tawhidi spent the first night of Ramadan with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the community’s Mosque in Beverly, South Australia. Imtiaz Ahmed Naveed of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Imam Tawhidi, both spoke about the importance of cooperation and commonalities between the diverse communities of Australia. Imam Tawhidi also met with the head organizers of …

Three and a half Ahmadis and a Shia

My family moved to Lahore in early 1970s. We rented the lower portion of a house in what was still called Kirshan Nagar, despite being renamed Islampura, probably after the 1965 war. It was an old style house with an open central courtyard. There were two front rooms both having an opening onto the street. The owners lived in the upper portion but they purposefully kept one of those front rooms. They would hold a weekly religious gathering in that …

Thank you, Hamza Ali Abbasi, for supporting my right to be Ahmadi

Pakistani actor, Hamza Ali Abbasi, is always in the headlines for one reason or another. Recently, I wrote an article criticising his comments that apparently belittled Pakistan’s minorities. However, this time I am writing to congratulate him on supporting Pakistan’s minority Muslim communities – or at least those that self-identify as such.

Happy Birthday Mother – When will you accept me as your own?

It was August 14, 1984. I was only two-years-old. My father decorated the veranda of our small house with lights and green buntings. My parents were excited, as were my elder brother and I. Though I was too young to remember, pictures of that day bring on a strong sensation of déjà vu. Yet, and sadly, before the following Independence Day, we had to leave Pakistan. Persecution, which gained momentum under President Ziaul Haq, forced many Ahmadis to leave for …

Britain: Signs of the hostility that sets Shia against Sunni

A graffiti attack on a Shia mosque in Bradford is one of the first visible examples of sectarian tension in Britain’s Muslim communities. Users of the Hussania Islamic Centre arrived at the building one morning in June to find that someone had written in spray paint on the wall: “Shia Kafir”.