1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots

Last updated
1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots
Part of Persecution of Ahmadis
Date29 May 1974-October 1974
Location
Pakistan
Caused byAttack on Students of Nishtar Medical University at Chenab Nagar railway station
GoalsDeclaring Ahmaddiya Muslims as Non-Muslim minority in the Constitution of Pakistan
Methods
Resulted in Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
Ordinance XX
  • Declaration of Ahmadiyya Muslims as Non-Muslims in Pakistan
Lead figures

Mirza Nasir Ahmad
Mirza Tahir Ahmad
Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid
Maulana Abul ‘Ata Jallundhari
Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar
Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid

Casualties
Death(s)27 Ahmadi Muslims

In the period spanning from late May to early September 1974, an altercation between students of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and youths of the Ahmadiyya Muslims Community at the Rabwah railway station. This incidents were marked by a series of events such as protests, violence, property damage, and governmental actions against the Ahmadiyya community across Pakistan. [1] These events reportedly resulted in casualties among Ahmadi individuals and damage to Ahmadi mosques. Furthermore, in response to these events, the government took actions, including constitutional amendments, related to the status of Ahmadis.

Background

Prior to the riots and government actions members of the community held positions in various sectors, including the military, judiciary, and government in Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had been a vocal proponent of the movement to form the country of Pakistan and actively engaged with the Muslim league, having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed to the Congress-backed Jamaat-e-Islami and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam. [2] At the same time they formed a small minority (making up approximately 2%) of Pakistan's population, and revivalist Muslims and Muslim religious leaders in Pakistan were adamant that the sect be repressed and its members stripped of their status as Moslems. [3]

The major religious controversy differences between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims is the Ahmadiyya's interpretations of Khatam an-Nabiyyin (seal of the prophethood). Orthodox Muslims consider Ahmadiyya's interpretations blasphemous. Sunni and Shia Muslims are awaiting the coming of the Mahdi and the Second Coming of Jesus and reject the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad whom Ahmadis believe to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was a vocal proponent of the Pakistan Movement and was actively engaged with the Muslim league, having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed by Jamaat-e-Islami and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam. [2]

Timeline of events

During 1974, a group of anti-Ahmadis were aboard a train to Peshawar had stopped at the Rabwah railway station. The IJT students began to raise slogans against Ahmadiyya and cursed the community’s spiritual figurehead, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Some had exposed themselves to Ahmadi women, [4] which had caused the Ahmadi men to retaliate and attack some of the students. [5] The train then left the station taking the charged students to Peshawar. [6]

However, when the incident was related to some Ahmadiyya leaders in Rabwah, they ordered Ahmadiyya youth to reach the station with hockey sticks and chains when the train stopped again at Rabwah on its way back from Peshawar. After finding out that the students would be returning to Multan from Peshawar on the 29th of May, dozens of young Ahmadi men gathered at the Rabwah railway station. As the train came to a halt, the men fell upon the bogeys carrying the IJT members. A fight ensued and 30 IJT men were severely beaten for insulting the religious sentiments of the Ahmadiyya. This incident triggered year-long country-wide attacks on Ahmadis leading to the loss of many lives and property. [6]

On September 17, the Parliament of Pakistan unanimously passed an amendment to the constitution defining Ahmadis as 'non-Muslim'. [6]

May 29 - Mr. Basheer Ahmad Tahir killed in Kundiaro district Nawabshah.

May 30 - 222 shops and 5 houses belonging to Ahmadis were ransacked in Chiniot. Ahmadiyya Mosques were damaged in Gojra, Shorkot and Rawalpindi.

May 31 - 26 Shops belonging to Ahmadis in Faisalabad, 7 shops in Bhera, 3 in Bahawalnagar, 7 in Rahim Yar Khan and 6 in Gujranwala were ransacked and burnt.

Jun 01 - Seven Ahmadis Mohammad Afzal Khokhar, Mohammad Ashraf Khokhar, Saeed Ahmad Khan, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, Mahmood Ahmad Khan, Sajjad Pervaiz and Ahmad Ali were killed in Gujranwala.

Jun 01 - Chaudhry Shaukat Hayat killed in Hafizabad.

Jun 02 - Six Ahmadis Basheer Ahmad, Muneer Ahmad, Mohammad Ramzan, Mohammad Iqbal, Inayatullah and Ghulam Qadir killed in Gujranwala.

Jun 02 - Ahmadiyya Mosque occupied by opponents in Lala Musa.

Jun 03 - Two Ahmadis killed in Gujranwala.

Jun 03 - 12 shops belonging to Ahmadis ransacked in Jhang.

Jun 04 - Mohammad Ilyas Arif killed in Wah Cantt.

Jun 04 - Ahmadiyya Library burnt to ashes in Mardan.

Jun 05 - Supply of milk was stopped for the residents of Rabwah.

Jun 05 - 12 Ahmadis were severally tortured in Islamabad. One Ahmadi's mouth was filled with cow dung.

Jun 05 - 3 Ahmadi Houses were robbed, and demolished in Tarnab, Charsadda

Jun 06 - Factories and Houses belonging to two Ahmadis were burnt in Sargodha.

Jun 07 - Opponents offered Friday Prayers in Ahmadiyya Mosque, Kohat after forcibly occupying it. House belonging to an Ahmadi ransacked in Haripur, Hazara.

Jun 08 - Naqab Shah Mehmund killed in Peshawar.

Jun 09 - Syed Moulood Ahmad killed in Quetta.

Jun 09 - Two Ahmadis Ghulam Sarwar and Israar Ahmad killed in Topi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Israar Ahmad's dead body was sprayed with bullets and mutilated.

Jun 10 - 7 shops belonging to Ahmadis were ransacked and burnt in Mardan.

Jun 11 - Mohammad Fakhruddin Bhatti killed in Abbotabad. His corpse was also set on fire.

Jun 11 - Two Ahmadis (father and son) Mohammad Zaman Khan and Mubarak Ahmad killed in Balakot. Jun 12 - All Ahmadis were arrested in Dera Ismail Khan.

Jun 13 - Wheat crop and agricultural machinery of an Ahmadi's farm was looted in Shah Nagar.

Jun 14 - Shop of an Ahmadi was burnt to ashes in Mailsi.

Jun 15 - House belonging to President of Jamaat Ahmadiyya, Sadhoki Gujranwala, was set on fire.

Jun 17 - Crops belonging to Ahmadis were destroyed in Chak 39DB Sargodha.

Jun 18 - 12 Ahmadis were arrested in Pakpattan.

Jun 19 - Social Boycott of Ahmadis in Muridke.

Jun 20 - Ahmadiyya Mosque set on fire in Tulwandi, Khajoorwali.

Jun 21 - All Ahmadiyya population of Rahim Yar Khan confined to their homes.

Jun 22 - An Ahmadi's dead body was disinterred in Khushab.

Jun 24 - All Ahmadi shops in Sargodha were picketed.

Jun 29 - An Ahmadi father and son were tortured by Police in Chak 303GB, Toba Tek Singh.

Jul 01 - Faces of Ahmadis were blackened and they were forcibly moved through the streets of Bhera.

Jul 02 - Sethi Maqbool Ahmad killed in Jehlum.

Jul 05 - Ahmadiyya Mosque occupied by opponents in PakPattan.

Jul 07 - An Ahmadi's dead body was disinterred in Khushab.

Jul 12 - Ahmadi families in Bhera started starving due to severe boycott.

Jul 14 - Doors of Ahmadiyya houses in Meeruk district Sahiwal were barricaded.

Jul 14 - All Ahmadi men were arrested in district Sargodha.

Jul 16 - Ahmadiyya delegation who went to meet detainees of Sargodha were fired upon at Sargodha Railway Station.

Jul 18 - Flour Mills refused to grind the wheat for Ahmadis.

Jul 19 - Ahmadiyya Mosque attacked and occupied in Takht Hazara district Sargodha.

Jul 21 - Ahmadiyya Mosque attacked and occupied in Moghulpura, Lahore.

Jul 22 - Ahmadiyya Mosque attacked and occupied in Lala Musa.

Jul 23 - Supply of milk was denied to Ahmadis in Bahawalnagar.

Jul 24 - Shops of Ahmadis were forced to shut down in Sheikhupura.

Jul 26 - Ahmadiyya Mosque ransacked and destroyed in Uch Shareef, Bahawalpur. All record and valuable things were burnt to ashes.

Jul 27 - Shops belonging to two Ahmadis were burnt to ashes in Okara.

Jul 28 - Punjab Chief Minister refused to meet with Ahmadiyya delegation.

Jul 28 - Ahmadiyya Mosque demolished in Bhoyanwala, Gujrat.

Jul 29 - Ahmadiyya Mosque sealed in Samburial, Sialkot.

Jul 29 - Ahmadis forbidden to take water from public well in Dolian Juttan.

Jul 30 - All Ahmadi residents of Burewala were expelled.

Jul 30 - Water supply and sanitation facilities were refused to Ahmadi residents of Haroonabad, Bahawalnagar

Jul 31 - Shops of Ahmadis were forced to shut down in Duska.

Aug 01 - Severe social boycott of Ahmadis in Hafizabad. Purchased goods were forcibly taken back.

Aug 02 - An Ahmadi was tied to tree and severally beaten in Mundi Bahauddin.

Aug 04 - A barber's face was painted black for providing hair cut to Ahmadis.

Aug 06 - Three shops belonging to Ahmadis were set on fire.

Aug 09 - Ahmadis were barred to enter their Mosque in Gujranwala.

Aug 09 - In Gujranwala 14 Ahmadis were dismissed from their jobs only because of their faith.

Aug 13 - Ahmadiyya Mosque demolished in Da’ata district Hazara.

Aug 18 - Burial of an Ahmadi woman was not allowed in Campbellpur. Other old graves were also dug out.

Aug 18 - Mr. Mohammad Akbar, an Ahmadi, was tied up in a jungle for three days in Barali, Azad Kashmir.

Aug 24 - Stone pelting and destruction of Ahmadiyya Mosque in Kot Momin, Sargodha.

Aug 24 - Ahmadi students were beaten up in Multan. Aug 27 - An Ahmadi youngster, kidnapped from Gurmoola Virkan, Gujranwala, was released after 17 days of confinement. He lost his conscious due to severe torture.

Sep 02 - Professor Abbas bin Abdul Qadir was killed in Hyderabad.

Sep 03 - Stone pelting on Ahmadiyya houses in Chak 32 South, Sargodha.

The following members appeared before the Parliament of Pakistan. Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the Khalifatul Masih of the time Mirza Tahir Ahmad, 4th Khalifatul Masih Maulana Abul ‘Ata Jallundhari, a renowned scholar. Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar, Former Amir, Jama‘at Ahmadiyya, District Faisalabad Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid, Historian of the community. Under pressure from Islamists, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and other members declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims.

Oct 05 - Despite the presence of Punjab Chief Minister in the city, opponents played havoc with lives and property of Ahmadis in Sargodha. Ahmadiyya Mosque was demolished. Some 38 houses and shops belonging to Ahmadis were set on fire after looting valuables. Five Ahmadis sustained severe injuries.

Oct 07 - Mr. Basharat Ahmad killed in Tahal district Gujrat.

All meetings & conventions of auxiliary Ahmadiyya organisations were cancelled for not getting permission from Government.

Related Research Articles

Rabwah, officially known as Chenab Nagar, is a city in Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from September 20, 1948 when the community relocated from Qadian, India to the newly created state of Pakistan, where the community leased the area of present-day Rabwah from the government to establish its home. This continued until 1984 and the establishment of Ordinance XX. In 1984, the headquarters were moved to the United Kingdom with Mirza Tahir Ahmed, first to London and then in 2019 to the Islamabad compound in Tilford, Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement</span> Separatist group within the Ahmadiyya movement

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, is a separatist group within the Ahmadiyya movement that formed in 1914 as a result of ideological and administrative differences following the demise of Hakim Nur-ud-Din, the first Caliph after Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya movement are referred to by the majority group as ghayr mubāyi'īn and are also known colloquially as Lahori Ahmadis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qadian</span> City in Punjab, India

Qadian is a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement within Islam. It remained the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya movement until the Partition of India in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nusrat Jehan Academy</span> Private school in Rabwah, Punjab, Pakistan

Nusrat Jahan Schools are a group of non-profit, private, educational institutions in Rabwah (ربوہ), a town in district Chiniot (چنیوٹ), in the province of Punjab. They are owned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and are operated by the Nazarat Taleem Sadr Anjuman AhmadiyyaPakistan. These schools were established under and named after the Nusrat Jahan Scheme; a scheme launched by the community for the educational betterment of its members. These institutions offer programmes of primary, secondary, higher secondary and undergraduate and postgraduate education. Majority of the students enrolled in these schools are Ahmadi Muslims, mostly the residents of Rabwah though these institutions are not exclusively for Ahmadi Muslims and also enroll non-Ahmadi students from Rabwah and its surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Nasir Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1909–1982)

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the third successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 8 November 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1889–1965)

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad was the second caliph, leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jahan Begum. He was elected as the second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 14 March 1914 at the age of 25, the day after the death of his predecessor Hakim Nur-ud-Din.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fazl Mosque, London</span> First purpose-build mosque in London

The Fazl Mosque also known as The London Mosque, is the first purpose-built mosque in London, England. It was opened on 23 October 1926 in Southfields, Wandsworth. At a cost of £6,223, the construction of the mosque and the purchase of the land on which it stands, was financed by the donations of Ahmadi Muslim women in Qadian, Punjab, British India, with support from the British Muslim convert Khalid Sheldrake. Between 1984 and 2019 the Fazl Mosque was the residence of the caliphs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and therefore its de facto international headquarters. The administrative headquarters now lies at the site of the Islamabad, Tilford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Masroor Ahmad</span> Spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Fifth Caliph of the Messiah. He was elected on 22 April 2003, three days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Ahmadis</span> Religious intolerance in Pakistan and elsewhere

The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subjected to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged within the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all of the five pillars and all of the articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aqsa Mosque, Rabwah</span> Mosque in Rabwah, Punjab, Pakistan

The Aqsa Mosque in Rabwah is the main and largest mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan. Its foundation stone was laid down in 1966. The mosque was inaugurated on 31 March 1972 by the head of the worldwide community, Mirza Nasir Ahmad. The building can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Lahore riots</span>

The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement, a faith marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore, as well as the rest of Punjab, which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared three months of martial law. The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200 and 2000 people. Thousands more were left displaced. According to the official inquiry conducted by the Punjab Government, the actual number killed in these riots was around 20. The first page of the inquiry says that before the declaration of martial law, the police killed two people on the night of 4th March and ten the 5th. 66 people were admitted to Lahore hospitals with gunshot wounds. The military attempting to quell the disturbances in Lahore admitted to killing 11 and wounding 49. There were additional casualties in other towns. Seeing that police were unable to contain the increasingly widespread unrest, Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan, imposing martial law on 6 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalsa Salana</span> Annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Jalsa Salana is a formal, annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was initiated in 1891 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community, in Qadian, India. Usually, the gathering spans three days, beginning with the flag hoisting ceremony following the Friday Sermon. Although the convention held in the UK is deemed to be the major and 'international Jalsa' attended by Ahmadis from across the world, Ahmadis in other countries hold their own national Jalsas, sometimes attended by the Khalifatul Masih.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre</span>

The May 2010 Lahore attacks, also referred to as the Lahore massacre, occurred on 28 May 2010, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, during Friday prayers. 94 people were killed and more than 120 others were injured in nearly simultaneous attacks against two mosques of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim community. After the initial attack, a hostage situation lasted for hours. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, as well as their Punjab wing, claimed responsibility for the attacks and were also blamed by the Pakistani Police.

Bahishti Maqbara, located originally in Qadian, India, and then in Rabwah, Pakistan, is a religious cemetery established by the Ahmadiyya Community as a directive from the community's founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, made known in his booklet Al-Wasiyyat. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established it in his will after he saw an angel showing him the place of his burial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Pakistan</span> Islam in Pakistan

Ahmadiyya in Pakistan are members of the Ahmadiyya Community. The number of Ahmadiyya in the country has been variously estimated to between 0.22% and 2.2% of Pakistan's population. Hence, Pakistan is the home to the largest population of Ahmadis in the world. The city of Rabwah in the province of Punjab used to be the global headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Community before they were moved to England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh</span> Overview of the history and role of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Bangladesh

Ahmadiyya is a minority religion in Bangladesh. Although the first Bengalis to join the religion did covert during the lifetime of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the religion was first established as a community in the region of Bengal in 1913 by Syed Muhammad Abdul Wahed, during the Caliphate of Hakeem Noor-ud-Din. As the worldwide community is itself is an highly organised group under the Caliph, the national community works under the name Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Bangladesh or Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Bangladesh. There are an estimated 100,000 Ahmadis in the country as of 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamia Ahmadiyya</span> Islamic theology school

Jāmi’ah al-Ahmadīyyah is an International Islamic seminary and educational institute with campuses in Pakistan, United Kingdom, India, Ghana, Canada, Germany, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, and Kenya. In addition, there are affiliated Mu'alameen centers in Pakistan and Madagascar. Founded in 1906 as a Section in Madrassa Talim ul Islam by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it is the main centre of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for Islamic learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fateh Muhammad Sial</span>

Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial (1887–1960) was a companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the first Ahmadi missionary sent from India, under the leadership of Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya movement. In 1913, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad asked for volunteers to serve as Ahmadi missionaries in England. Sial volunteered and travelled to England on June 22, 1913 and arrived the following month. There he served twice as a missionary. He earned an MA in Arabic from the Aligarh Muslim University.

Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat is the programmatic name of a Pakistani Barelvi organization and Islamic religious movement in Pakistan aiming to protect the belief in the finality of prophethood of Muhammad based on Quran and Sunnah concept of Khatam an-Nabiyyin. It was founded by Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi in 1950 with Zafar Ali Khan, Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni, Khwaja Qamar ul Din Sialvi, Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah, Ahmad Saeed Kazmi, Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi, Pir of Manki Sharif Amin ul-Hasanat, Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, Sardar Ahmad Qadri and Muhammad Hussain Naeemi. Later on the prominent Barelvi leaders Shah Ahmad Noorani, Shaikh ul Quran Allama Ghulam Ali Okarvi, Pir Muhammad Alauddin Siddiqui, Muhammad Shafee Okarvi, Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri, Iftikharul Hasan Shah and Khalid Hasan Shah also joined them to oppose the Ahmadiyya Movement.

References

  1. ↑ Paracha, Nadeem F. (2021-06-20). "SMOKERS' CORNER: PANDERING TO EXTREMISTS". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  2. 1 2 "Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan: An Analysis Under International Law and International Relations" (PDF). Harvard Human Rights Journal. 16. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2005.
  3. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (19 October 1974). "Bhutto Strengthening His Grip on a Troubled Pakistan". New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Gualtieri, Antonio R. (1989). Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan. Guernica Editions. p. 47. ISBN   978-0-920717-41-7.
  5. ↑ editorial (2008-03-01). "Events of 1974 – Anti-Ahmadi Hostilities". The Review of Religions. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  6. 1 2 3 Paracha, Nadeem F. (2013-11-21). "The 1974 ouster of the 'heretics': What really happened?". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-06-02.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.