Monday, June 28, 2010
Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Cross-post
Source & Credit: ViewPoint | Online
By Adnan Farooq | June 18, 2010
It is highly commendable that a section of the press, in particular Daily Times and its sister organization Aaj Kal, The News on Sunday and Dawn have clearly taken a position regarding persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan. Also, Dunya TV has shown some courage. Most importantly, Nawaz Sharif deserves credit for issuing a bold statement that annoyed his erstwhile religious allies. However, a dominant trend in media remains unchanged, even after the recent tragedy in Lahore.
Viewpoint has received a report compiled by an Ahmadi body that profiles the vernacular press’ attitude towards the Ahmadiyya community. The report cites anti-Ahmadiyya items published by Urdu newspapers in 2008. The report makes for startling reading.
The survey was restricted to only the major Urdu national dailies. During the year 2008, it remained a routine with the Urdu papers to print anti-Ahmadiyya statements and hate-mongering stories with bold headlines. However, no paper published the occasional Ahmadiyya explanation. In year 2007, 974 such news items appeared in the press, but in 2008 the number went up to 1033 items. Almost all of these were prejudiced, hate-promoting and false propaganda. The daily Nawa-i-Waqt (with editor Majeed Nizami) led this bandwagon by printing 465 items, while in 2007 it printed 235 news against ‘Ahmadiyyat’. The daily Jang stood second, and the Daily Express was a close third.
Provocative statements issued by various clerics’ are carried without any verification. A few of these headlines are translated below:
Qadianis are not loyal to the country, nation and Islam: ‘Sajid Mir’
The daily Jang, Lahore ; May 27, 2008
Qadianis are enemies of Islam and Pakistan: Shadabi Raza, Mufti M. Sadeeq
The Daily Express, Lahore ; June 2, 2008
Our drive will continue till the end of Qadianiat: Aalami Khatme-e-Nabuwwat Conference
The daily Pakistan , Lahore ; September 9, 2008
The centenary celebration of Qadianiat is a conspiracy to destroy the peace of the country: Ulema
The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore ; May 24, 2008
Qadianis are involved in the publication of blasphemous cartoons: Abu Bakr Madni
The Daily Express, Lahore ; April 17, 2008
Cases should be registered against Qadiani students of the PMC
The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore ; June 30, 2008
600 Qadianis of Pakistan recruited in Israeli Army
The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore ; October 16, 2008
Conduct of the daily Jang
September 7, 2009: The daily Jang issues a special edition annually on September 7 to celebrate the day when through an amendment to the 1973 constitution, Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974.
In 2008, an essay on this issue by Mufti Khalid Mahmud unabashedly recommended death for the so-called apostasy, ban on propagation of dissenting religious opinion, imprisonment for use of epithets forbidden by the state, forcible take over of places of worship of ‘heretics’ and the usurpation of their property etc.
Open incitement to murder
The following press report was carried by the daily Ausaf, Lahore July 25, 2009
No room for Qadianis in the Muslim Ummah: Chaudhry Iqbal Haveli Lakkha (correspondent): “There is no room for Qadianis in the Muslim Ummah; it is a religious duty of every Muslim to dispatch a Qadiani to hell,” this view was expressed by Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal President International Khatme-e-Nabuwwat in a corner meeting held to prepare for Ramadan-ul-Mubarak. He said: “Qadianism is a cancer and a mischief. Leave alone boycotting them, a Qadiani should not be allowed to reside in a Muslim area. However, if such a situation does arise, it is the duty of every Muslim to dispatch them to hell and thus win an honored place in the court of Allah and His prophet (P.B.U.H.). Mr. Bhutto’s achievement of declaring the Qadiani non-Muslims is an expiation for all his shortcomings.”
Chaudhry Iqbal instigated the Muslims to murder Ahmadis living in their neighborhood. If the government is serious about maintaining communal place, it should have prosecuted Iqbal for committing a crime under section PPC 115. It is noteworthy that irresponsible vernacular dailies like the Ausaf provide publicity space to such extremist views. This also amounts to abetment of the crime.
A portentous comparison
The story of the demolition of the boundary wall of the Ahmadiyya graveyard in Pir Mahal was reported by the English as well as the vernacular press. A brief comparative study is worthwhile.
The daily Dawn, Lahore of June 9, 2009 filed the following story from its correspondent in Toba Tek Singh:
Sectarian strife hits the dead
Toba Tek Singh, June 8: Pir Mahal has been simmering with sectarian clashes since Sunday night when some religious zealots demolished the wall of a graveyard of Jamaat Ahmadiyya sect. The police have not taken any action against the attackers.
Labor Party Pakistan District Secretary Tariq Mahmud told a press conference here on Monday the attackers also set on fire a tractor trolley and damaged a generator and a water tank at the site.
Mahmud says one acre was allotted to the sect for their graveyard in 1988 by the government and there were two graves at the site. According to him, some qabza groups wanted a 15-foot wide passage across the graveyard. When the graveyard management refused to meet their demand, they instigated ulema on sectarian grounds who led a crowd to attack the site.
Jamaat Ahle-i-Sunnah leader Maulana Akbar Rizvi claimed that allotment of the land in the heart of the city to the sect was a conspiracy to create law and order and “religious youth” just became out of control and demolished the wall. He demanded the cancellation of the allotment, saying there was a fake grave in the graveyard.
A police official confirmed the incident, saying any action on the part of police would fan the sectarian strife.
The daily Ausaf, Lahore of June 10, 2009 reported the same incident but in the following headlines and text:
Pir Mahal: Qadiani occupation of land in the garb of graveyard. Citizens in utmost protest demolished the boundary wall.
Qadianis built a boundary wall overnight around the 8 canal land opposite Jinnah Colony. They intend building a religious center under the cover of a graveyard.
Qadianis are not allowed to build a place of worship nor can they indulge in religious activities. The land should be retrieved and those responsible should be punished.
(Excerpts): Pir Mahal (correspondent): Qadianis occupied land worth millions in front of a Muslim neighborhood, in the garb of a graveyard. Hundred of lovers of Khatme Nabuwwat raided the place and demolished the boundary wall. ... A great Jalsa was held in protest in the Jame Masjid, Ghallah Mandi. ... (The speakers said) Construction of a religious center, in the garb of graveyard, is a conspiracy to destroy the peace in Pir Mahal. …The 1973 constitution is explicit that Qadianis are non-Muslim, and they can neither build a place of worship nor indulge in religious activities close to a Muslim neighborhood (sic). …
The daily Jang of June 10, 2009 reported the same incident under the following headline:
Protest in Pir Mahal against Qadianis’ occupation of state land
Interestingly, while the authorities support the mulla whenever he agitates against the burial of an Ahmadi in a public graveyard, they also take no action when the mulla obstructs the management of a separate graveyard for Ahmadis. Does the government want the Ahmadi dead to remain unburied?
Adnan Farooq did his Masters in Political Science and has worked with daily The Nation, Lahore and daily Jang, Lahore. He has also volunteered for Milieudefensie, Amsterdam. Friends of the earth, Europe, on environmental issues. He has been working with ON FILE, an Amsterdam-based publication run by journalists from all around the world. He studied Conflict Resolution at University of Amsterdam and is living in Paris.
Read original post here: Nawa-i-Waqt leads anti-Ahmadiyya media crusade
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