Faith and common sense: Messiah believers a sect apart

In Pakistan,... an Ahmadi who says he is a Muslim is breaking the law. Worse, "the prosecution for murdering an Ahmadi is not as vigorously pursued as it would be for other people." [John Voll, professor of Islamic history at Georgetown University in Washington]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: The Columbus Dispatch
By Meredith Heagney May 28, 2101

On a stormy Friday, a group of worshippers filed into the 2-year-old mosque to pray.

Behind a tall partition, one old woman and two young ones bent their heads in unison. In front, out of their view, about a dozen men stood shoulder to shoulder doing the same.

The small group prayed in the traditional Muslim fashion - bending at the waist, then kneeling, then putting their faces to the ground. The man offering the sermon spoke in both Arabic and English. The women covered their heads and dressed modestly.

Pakistan: Soft target for militants in Lahore

Friday's attack is in the Taliban style: co-ordinated, simultaneous attacks such as the brazen assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009. The mosques in Model Town and Garhi Shahu are 15km (9.5 miles) apart and attackers stormed both mosques around 2pm.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: | BBC News | UK
By M Ilyas Khan | Islamabad | May 28, 2010

The pattern of attack in Lahore is by now all too familiar for the residents of Pakistan's cultural capital.

There has been something of a lull in the grand co-ordinated assaults. The last major attack was in March when a double suicide bombing killed dozens.

But militants have now for the first time targeted the Ahmadi religious minority. Shia Muslims have been targeted over the past year.

As a minority Islamic sect, the Ahmadis are also a soft target.

Terrorism in Pakistan: At least twelve people killed in Lahore attack

Initial report suggests that five to seven militants were involved in the attack. One of the militants was injured during the inital police firing.  

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
May 31, 2010

LAHORE: Atleast twelve people have been killed and 10 injured as suspected militants launched a brazen attack on Jinnah Hospital in Lahore late Monday night.

Initial report suggests that five to seven militants were involved in the attack. One of the militants was injured during the initial police firing.

Canada: Harper government strongly condemns attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore

John Weston:
Monsieur President, our government learned last Friday of vicious attacks on the Ahmadi Muslims in Lahore, Pakistan. 

Our government was deeply disturbed by this and we would like to offer our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in these terrible attacks.
These acts were clearly motivated by hatred. Victims were targeted based solely on their faith, which is completely unacceptable. 

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs please inform the House what our government is doing to address the issues facing the Ahmadi Muslims in Lahore and attacks on minorities around the world?

Minister Cannon
Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank my colleague.
Our government condemns last Friday's barbaric attacks on worshippers at two mosques in Lahore.
We are urging Pakistani authorities to ensure equal rights for members of minority communities.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with Pakistan and our allies to bring peace and stability to this country and additionally my colleague from Edmonton—Sherwood Park will be putting forward a motion to this House officially condemning these acts.

Our government actively works with countries around the world to promote freedom, democracy and the rule of law and particularly, religious freedom.

UN experts urge Pakistan to act after religious minority members killed

“Members of this religious community have faced continuous threats, discrimination and violent attacks in Pakistan.” [Joint statement by Experts / UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: UN News Service
By Ahmadiyya Times Staff |

Three United Nations human rights experts today called on the Pakistani Government to take every step to ensure the safety of religious minorities after the killing of at least 70 members of the Ahmadiyyah community, noting that numerous early warning signs had not been properly heeded.

“Members of this religious community have faced continuous threats, discrimination and violent attacks in Pakistan,” the experts said in a joint statement on the attack, which was also condemned by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ahmadiyya under siege: Murder of another innocent Ahmadi in Pakistan

After hearing recently in a Friday sermon that Ahmadis were ‘Wajibul Qatl’ the assailant was allegedly openly preaching that he would murder Ahmadis. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
By Press release | May 31, 2010

Murder [in Narowal] inspired by Lahore attacks

It is with great regret and sadness that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat confirms that following the Lahore attacks on Friday, another Ahmadi, Mr Nehmatullah of District Narawal, Pakistan was today martyred due to his faith. It appears that this pre-meditated murder was directly inspired by the Lahore attacks.

Full details have not yet been received. However what is known is that the deceased was attacked whilst sleeping during the night with his wife next to him. He was attacked with a knife and died soon after.

Pakistan: The Second Amendment : The foundations of intolerance and religious tyranny in Pakistan

In 1974, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was determined to hang on to power by hook or by crook. Though not a bigot himself, Bhutto was ill-advised by his law minister Abdul Hafeez Pirzada. As a result, the PPP stabbed in the back the one community that had helped them in winning the 1970 elections.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Opinio
Source & Credit: Daily Times | Pakistan
By Yasser Latif Hamdani |May 31, 2010

The Second Amendment laid the foundations of intolerance and religious tyranny in Pakistan, which has manifested itself in other ways. Since then our state has been in a downward spiral

The violence against the Ahmediyya community underscores the bigotry that has become the hallmark of our beloved homeland. A community — already sacrificed at the altar of political expediency — has now been made to pay the ultimate price.

Amongst the dead, which included retired army officers and other contributors to Pakistani society, was reportedly the youngest brother of Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan. For those who are unaware of who Chaudhry Zafarullah was, he was the author of the Lahore Resolution, Pakistan’s first foreign minister and Pakistan’s advocate before the Boundary Commission. In other words, this community has paid for such crimes as their valiant contribution to the Pakistan Movement, their significant role in the development of Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan’s only Nobel Prize was bagged by them. Yet what happened on Friday was waiting to happen, given the neglect and at times outright bigotry that our governments, both federal and provincial, have been guilty of on this count starting with the PPP government in 1974.

Pakistan: Violence against us enjoys ‘legal sanction’: Ahmadis

To a question about the findings of investigation of Friday tragedy, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed said that so far the Punjab government had not taken the community on board regarding the matter.  

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Lahore
Source & Credit: The News | Pakistan:
By The News Correspondent | May 31, 2010

AHMADIYYA Community Director Mirza Ghulam Ahmed has alleged that all violent acts against the community members enjoy ëlegal sanction.í

Addressing a press conference at the communityís worship place in Garhi Shahu on Sunday, he lamented that since 1974, those associated with the Jamaat had been facing prejudicial treatment, and were even losing their lives at the hands of terrorists.

He said that 95 innocent people lost their lives in the attacks on two centres of the community where they had gathered to offer prayers, and asked wasnít it the duty of the provincial government to protect them?

Oxford, UK: Sect mourns loved ones lost in attack

“These terrorists or fundamentalists have said this is the last warning for Ahmadis, leave this country or we will kill all of you, which is a fairly stark warning. The law there states Ahmadis cannot even use any Muslim greetings and are branded as non-Muslims, which is very difficult.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: Oxford Mail.co.uk
Sunday 30th May 2010

MEMBERS of an Islamic sect in Oxford are in mourning after discovering friends and family members were among those killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Pakistan.

The shootings and bombings at Darul Zikr and Garhi Shahu mosques in Lahore are understood to have been a direct attack on members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a persecuted minority sect denounced by some hardline muslims as heretics.

There are about 120 members of the Oxford Ahmadiyya Muslim Association.

Many of them are coming to terms with the fact loved ones had been shot and killed.

Pakistan: Ahmadi man stabbed to death in Narowal

“In the morning, a man identified as Abid Butt climbed the wall of the house of a local Ahmadi family and stabbed Naimatullah, 55, and his son Mansoor Ahmed.” [Police station chief Riaz Sangha].

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: y Daily Dawn | Pakistanl
Ahmadiyya Times| May 31, 2010

LAHORE: An Ahmadi man was stabbed to death by an enraged man in Pakistan on Monday, just days after gun, grenade and suicide attacks targeting the religious minority killed more than 80 people, police said.

The stabbing took place in the town of Narowal, some 100 kilometres northeast of Lahore, where suspected militants wearing suicide vests burst into prayer halls on Friday and killed 82 worshippers.

Pakistan: A tragic day for a faith under siege

I can’t help but feel the pain and frustration of being unable to help. I fear that this won’t be the last time my friends and family will be subjected to brutal attacks simply because religious extremists don’t accept them as Muslims.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Opinion
Source & Credit: The New York Times
By Samra Habib | May 30, 2010

TORONTO — “Let’s put our tears into our Sajda and pray that God may give the Taliban hearts,” the leader at my local Toronto Ahmadiyya mosque said during Friday prayer. He was urging the congregation to shed their tears during the critical Sajda step of prayer, while kneeling down and touching their foreheads to the ground.

And that was all we could do as we Ahmadis sat next to each other on the floor, shoulder-to-shoulder, seeking comfort just hours after getting the devastating news that Ahmadis in two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, had been attacked during the sacred Jummah prayer — not unlike the one we were conducting at the moment.

While we at the Toronto mosque had been fortunate enough to flee the country and escape regular violent attacks by militants. But many of our family members and friends were among the victims of Muslim extremists brought grenades and rifles into two mosques and killed 80 and wounded 95 Ahmadi Muslims.

Faith and Reason: Of fear and hate

The recent killings of Ahmedis in Lahore and the attacks on the Christian community over the last few years, the well-entrenched Sunni mistrust of Shia and vice versa and the Wahabi suspicion of all that is non-conformist are nothing short of deep-rooted prejudice and hatred.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Opinion
Source & Credit: The News International | Pakistan
By Talat Farooq | Leicester, UK | May 30, 2010

Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people.

Once again the blasphemous sketches of the Prophet have raised their ugly head not only in a Facebook competition but also in Sweden where posters, prepared by a political party ahead of the forthcoming general elections in September, portray an insulting depiction. The Skane Party is reportedly anti-Muslim and anti foreigners in general and has resorted to this cheap tactic to garner attention and cheap popularity.

Carnage in Lahore: Saviours of the day recount tales of horror

“I could see that the terrorist was injured and bleeding from the head. He shot at least a dozen people before he fell to the ground. I used the opportunity to seize the man, still wearing his suicide vest. Two other men helped me remove his jacket and disarm him.” [Nabeel]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |  Pak Desk
Source & Credit: The Express Tribune
By Abdul Manan | May 29, 2010

In a feat of unprecedented bravery, two young Ahmedi men overwhelmed and helped capture two armed terrorists from Baitul Noor in Model Town.

Nabeel, just 25-years-old, told The Express Tribune that he entered the building at 1:30 pm before the Friday sermon had started. He recalled that the number of worshipers started to swell around 1:45 pm just before the first few gunshots were heard.

“Immediately after I heard gunfire, I saw the back of the head of one of the terrorists who was attempting to shoot Anwer, the security guard. I understood that he would try to enter the facility next and rushed to close the gate at the entrance. To buy us some time, I asked everyone inside the building to rush towards the basement. Most of the people who were killed were older men because they were not too quick on their feet,” said Nabeel.

Lahore attacks work of Mansehra trained, Raiwind assisted Taliban

...[U]p to a dozen militants entered Lahore between one week and 10 days ago from Waziristan, in the tribal area, and they were staying at [Raiwind] a centre for Muslim preachers on the edge of the city.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: The Globe and Mail | World
By Saeed Shah | Islamabad | May 29, 2010
Selected excerpts from a long article

There are an estimated four to five million Ahmadis in Pakistan, where they are declared non-Muslims under the law for beliefs that many mainstream Muslims regard as heretical. Although Ahmadis, who think that Mohammad was not the last prophet, are regularly the victims of intimidation and violence, bloodshed on this scale marks another grim milestone for Pakistan.

Pakistan: Culture of intolerance

None of this is surprising in a country whose statute books are riddled with discriminatory laws, where jingoism is drummed into the heads of schoolchildren and where radio and television talk show participants can casually state that “we are all Muslims here in Pakistan”, which is patently not the case.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff
Source & Credit: Dawn | Pakistan
By Editorial | 30 May, 2010

Friday's gruesome attacks on Ahmadi worshippers in Lahore were a tragic reminder of the growing intolerance that is threatening to destroy our social fabric. Bigotry in this country has been decades in the making and is expressed in a variety of ways. Violence by individuals or groups against those who hold divergent views may be the most despicable manifestation of such prejudice but it is by no means the only one. Religious minorities in Pakistan have not only been shunted to the margins of society but also face outright persecution on a regular basis.

Up-date on the massacre of Ahmadi worshippers in Lahore

The dead include Judge (Ret) Munir Ahmad Sheikh, the Amir of the Lahore Ahmadiyya community, Major General ® Nasir Ahmad, president of the Model Town chapter, Mr Mahmud Shad, a missionary, Mr Ejaz Nasrulla, a nephew of Late Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, former President of the International Court of Justice at Den Haag, Mr Muhammad Aslam Bharwana, a senior railway official and a number of community officials.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamath, Sri Lanka.
Posted on May 30th, 2010 | Lahore, Rabwah

The death toll from the terror attacks on the two mosques of Ahmadiyya community in Lahore is 94, and not 79 as given by the police to the press. The number of injured, however, is much higher than was assessed initially; their number exceeds125. Among the casualties, 27 dead and 34 injured were in the Model Town mosque, while the rest resulted in the carnage at the mosque in Garhi Shahu.

Pakistani Taliban train men for Lahore attacks, Raiwind assisted: police

Naeem Akram, Deputy Inspector General Police said the attackers came from Bannu, North Waziristan, and stayed at Raiwind, near Lahore before they launched the attacks. Raiwind is the center of a religious group called "Tablighi Jamaat" and the police officer said the attackers stayed at the center.
 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: Xinhua News | China
By Editor, Mu Xuequan | May 29, 2010

ISLAMABAD (Xinhua) -- Militants, who attacked worship places of a minority sect and killed over 90 people in Pakistan's Lahore city, received training in North Waziristan tribal area, a senior police officer said Saturday.

Naeem Akram, Deputy Inspector General Police, told a news conference that Pakistani Taliban planned attacks on worship places of Ahmadis sect and the two arrested suspects have provided important information to the investigators.

Slaughter of Ahmadiyya: A murderous mindset

...[M]ore than an inquiry into the anti-terror capacity of the Lahore police, Friday’s attacks demand soul-searching at all levels of the state and society. The fact is, young men, not automatons, carried out Friday’s attacks.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Opinion
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Huma Yusuf | 30 May, 2010

AS soon as I heard that gunmen had attacked two Ahmadi houses of worship in Lahore, I posted a despairing comment on my Facebook page, condemning the violence and wondering out loud why we, as a nation, had let it come to this.

Only later was I struck by the irony of my action: I had logged on to a website recently banned for carrying blasphemous content to decry the murder of members of a community that has for too long been persecuted on charges of blasphemy. But the point of my comment was not to be ironic — it was simply the closest I could get to screaming out loud.

Police: Lahore attackers were Pakistani Taliban

The sect originated in 1889 in Qadian, a village in British-ruled India. It spread into Muslim-majority Pakistan after British India was partitioned and now claims 160 million adherants in 180 countries.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk | May 29, 2020
Source & Credit: Yahoo News | Associated Press
By Babar Dogar & K.M. Chaudhry | Associated Press Writers

LAHORE, Pakistan – Militants who attacked a minority sect, killing 93 people in the country's east, belonged to the Pakistani Taliban and were trained in a lawless border region where the U.S. wants Islamabad to mount an army operation, police said Saturday.

The revelation could help the U.S. persuade Pakistan that rooting out the various extremist groups in North Waziristan is in Islamabad's own interest. Up to now, Pakistan has resisted, in part because it says its army is stretched thin in operations elsewhere.

Ahmadiyya Slaughter: Terror in Lahore | DAWN

Finally, why is it that nothing ever seems to come of the arrests made, of the gunmen themselves but also their accomplices? Convictions secured in anti-terrorism courts are often overturned on appeal by the superior judiciary.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Editorial
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | DAWN.COM
Editorial | May 30, 2010 | Pakistan

Yet another attack in Lahore has killed scores of people and left over 100 injured. Poor security has plagued the city for a couple of years now. The same grim questions arise. Why were the attackers able to enter the premises so easily, especially at sites known to be targets? If the ^[*] Ahmadi community was commemorating the death anniversary of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad earlier this week, so surely more security was warranted for houses of prayer. More generally, reports from Lahore suggest that banners denouncing religions other than Islam had appeared in parts of the city recently. This should have in any case put the authorities on a heightened state of alert.

A message to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan by an Ahmadi Muslim

"You have reached a point where God will close His doors of mercy upon you. You have changed the course of humanity. You have stopped loving His creation. You do not stand with mankind with peace and love. You have forgotten how to love." [Munir A. Noor, New Jersey]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source: Munir A. Noor | May 30, 2010
By Huma Munir | Lodi, New Jersey

The atrocity committed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan against Ahmadiyya Muslims Community in Lahore, Pakistan on the day of 28th May 2010, has only increased the cause of peace in our hearts. We will never forget the day we lost our brothers who were prostrating in front of God while militants open-fired and killed 98 members of our community. To Lord we belong and to Him we shall return. Following are the words of my father, Munir Ahmad Noor, who lost two relatives in this incident. I translated for him as best as I could:

Attack on two Ahmadi Mosques - AL JAZEERA TV

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: Al-Jazeera
By Ahmadiyya Times | May 29, 2010

Lahore carnage: Police claim busting TTP Punjab network, Raiwind connection

The four of them went to Raiwind Tableeghi Centre and stayed there. Later, they went to Ibrahim mosque on Walton Road on May 26 and then, as per plan, went to the Bhatti Chowk on May 27 around 10am to meet their facilitators.

A father kisses his son good by before burial

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: The News International
By Arshad Dogar | Pakistan | May 30, 2010

LAHORE: Police on Saturday claimed to have busted the network of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Punjab by identifying six assailants who carried out two simultaneous attacks on Ahmedis’ worship places in Lahore on Friday.

Two out of six terrorists were killed during the Garhi Shahu attack. They were identified as Mansoor and Darvesh. However, the police are yet to unearth their whereabouts. Their body parts had been sent to a forensic laboratory for the DNA tests.

Slaughter of Ahmadiyya: Lahore mourns as death toll rises

The victims were killed when militants wearing suicide vests burst into prayer halls at Ahmadis’ worship place in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu and Model Town areas, firing guns, throwing grenades and taking hostages in Lahore’s deadliest sectarian attack.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
May 30, 2010

LAHORE: Victims of Friday’s deadly attacks on two Pakistani mosques were Saturday buried separately after sect members cancelled a mass funeral for more than 80 people [updated: 100+], fearing further attacks.

“We are not satisfied with the security arrangements. We have cancelled the mass funeral programme,” Salim-u-din, a spokesman for Lahore’s Ahmadi community told AFP by telephone.

Pakistan Ahmadis bury Lahore mosque attacks victims

Members of the community have often been mobbed, or gunned down in targeted attacks, says the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: BBC News
May 30, 2010 | Chanab Nagr [Rabwah]

Mourners in Pakistan have buried the 93 victims of co-ordinated attacks by gunmen on two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore.

The attackers fired guns and threw grenades at worshippers during Friday prayers. Three militants later blew themselves up and two were captured.

An Ahmadi leader called for greater government protection after the attacks by suspected Taliban militants.

Lahore has been the scene of a string of brazen attacks.

Slaughter of Ahmadi Muslims: The day after

The toll taken by the killers, who broke into the places of worship armed with suicide jackets and sophisticated weapons of every description, could have been higher still had it not been for the bravery of two young Ahmadis.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: The Express Tribune
Editorial | May 30, 2010 | Pakistan

The Ahmadi community in Lahore is reeling in the aftermath of the attacks on two places of worship that left at least 80 dead and many others injured. Funerals have been taking place across the city; family members sit by bedsides in hospitals and the grief. It extends beyond the Ahmadis to many others who have been left shocked by what happened. The intolerance and hatred we have lived with for so many years has not affected everyone. Humanity still remains intact.

Ahmadiyyas blame Pakistan's policies for Lahore massacre

Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement that Canada is urging 'the Pakistani authorities to ensure equal rights for members of minority communities, and we hope that the perpetrators of this horrendous attack are brought to justice.

Family members mourn Ahmadiyya massacre

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | US Desk
Source & Credit: Yahoo News | IANS
Saturday, May 29 2010

Toronto, May 29 (IANS) Canada Friday joined its Ahmadiyya Muslim community in condemning the massacre by Pakistani Taliban of 70 members of the minority sect in two Lahore mosques. There are about 50,000 Ahmadiyyas in Canada.

At a condolence meeting here, Lal Khan Malik, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Canada, said, 'Once again, seeds of hatred sown by fanatical clergy and supported by the Pakistani government have resulted in death of innocents Ahmadiyyas.

Ghana: Potsin Ahmadiyya School marks AU Day with a durbar

Mr Keelson advised Africans in foreign lands not to allow the pleasant things over there to make them to forget their roots.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: GNA Business Ghana
Selection Ahmadiyya Times | May 26, 2010

The Headmaster of Potsin T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School, Mr Nazir Keelson, has appealed to Africans living in the diaspora to return with their knowledge and expertise to help build the continent.

Mr Keelson expressed regret that some Africans who were awarded scholarships by their respective governments to go and study abroad so they could return home to help develop their countries, refused to go back after the completion of their studies.

Killings of Ahmadiyya: UK Lawyers condemn Lahore attacks

“[T]he civilised society condemns these acts and people who kill innocent children, burn mosques and universities and advance their aims with armed violence and these criminals must be crushed with iron hand through joint efforts of all concerned”.  

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Pakistan Times Wire Service
By May 28, 2010

LONDON: The UK-based  Association of Pakistani Lawyers (APL) has  condemned terrorists attacks on the religious centres of Ahmadiyya community in Lahore and termed it as conspiracy to spread hatred and sectarian violence.

In a statement, APL said that religious minorities have full protection of the 1973 constitution which ensures complete security to their lives and property and freedom to practice their faith.

Chino, California: Muslim leader spreads message of peace

Imam Shamshad Nasir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Chino, hosts a weekly radio segment on "Understanding Islam" on the KCAA-AM (1050) studio in San Bernardino's Carousel Mall. Imam Shamshad Nasir believes it's critical for Muslims to reach out to their communities to educate the public about their religion. (Al Cuizon Staff Photographer)

Imam Shamshad during his weekly radio show

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Contra Costa Times
By Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer | May 28, 2010

SAN BERNARDINO - In the face of Islamic extremism, Imam Shamshad Nasir is a tireless champion for the religion and the cause of peace.

The spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Chino drives out to the Carousel Mall each Tuesday to host "Understanding Islam with Imam Shamshad," a 15-minute radio segment broadcast live at around 9:20 a.m. from KCAA 1050 AM's studio inside the shopping center.

"There is no room in Islam for terrorism at all," Nasir said. "There is no room in Islam to kill innocent people. There is no room in Islam to kill other people. We raise our voices against these things."

Faith and Logic: Does Islam forbid women from work?

Many Muslim-dominated countries today are notorious for their abuse of women rights but whereas this can be blamed on the culture and traditional makeup of these societies and to the conservative attitudes rooted within, Islam is clear of all charges. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |  Opinion
Source & Credit:  Jersey City Islam Examine
By Kashif Chaudhry | Englewood, NJ | May 27, 2010

A very good colleague of mine from Pakistan, daughter of a notable working lady, once said to me: “I am becoming a doctor and will work alongside men and even examine them, but deep inside I know that I am committing a Sin. I am being a bad Muslim by working as a doctor”

Islam forbids a woman working outdoors might be the impression that commonly dominates the minds of people in the West. The same belief is held by many Muslims living in different parts of the world. Despite this, Muslim women, especially those living in the West, do work. These include those that work in a ‘mixed sex’ environment, believing that though it is forbidden to do so in Islam, they are too weak in faith to act on this tenet and others who work without a hint of guilt. The latter class of ‘Moderate Muslims’, including the Ahmadiyya Muslims believe that Islam lays no restriction on women working outdoors, provided a set standard of modesty is practiced. They believe that not only does Islam not prohibit women from working but that it was the first faith to encourage them to do so.

Lahore mayhem: Death toll mounts to 93, burial underway

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, while talking to Express, said that his ministry sent two alerts to the Punjab government about attacks in Lahore. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: The Express Tribune
May 29, 2010 | Ahmadiyya Times

LAHORE: The death toll of Lahore attacks rose to 93 while the last rituals of victims are underway in Chenab Nagar on Saturday.

At least 88 people were killed and over 200 injured as terrorists attacked Friday congregations of the Ahmadis in twin assaults in Lahore.

An FIR has been registered against six terrorists for attacking the worship place of the Ahmedi community in Garhi Shahu, Lahore. Police sources said that the FIR has been lodged under the anti-terrorism act, explosive act, and includes other serious charges.

Eyewitness: Dozens killed as worship places of Ahmedis attacked in Lahore

Among the dead were former sessions judge Ameer Ahmad Sheikh, also the Ameer of the Ahmedis Lahore Chapter, Ejazul Haq, a reporter of a private TV channel, and Major General (retd) Nasir Ahmad.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: A Pakistan News
May 29, 2010 | Ahmadiyya Times

LAHORE PAKISTAN: Eighty-two [updated: 93] people were killed and over 120 others injured when armed men launched simultaneous attacks on worship places of Ahmedis in Garhi Shahu and Model Town areas here on Friday.

The assailants made the worshippers hostages after making their way to both the worship places, hurling hand grenades and spraying volleys of bullets.

In Model Town, the people fought with the terrorists and overpowered them after the two terrorists had killed many worshippers. However, in Garhi Shahu, many people were rescued after the police launched an operation.

Slaughter of Ahmadi Muslims: Brazen terror attacks in Lahore

In Garhi Shahu, the terrorists besieged the worship place, taking hundreds of people hostage. A four-hour clash ensued as police exchanged gunfire with fighters stationed inside and on the rooftop.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: The Nation
By Ashraf Javed | May 29, 2010

LAHORE – At least 10 terrorists equipped with sophisticated weapons stormed two leading worship places of Ahmadis in Model Town and Garhi Shahu areas here in the provincial metropolis after Friday prayers killing 80 [updated: 93] people and injuring about 200 others.

Security sources said that it was the first major attack on Ahmadis in Lahore with such large-scale casualties.

Attack of Ahmadiyya: Pakistan mosque attacks in Lahore kill scores

While the Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim and follow all Islamic rituals, they were declared non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1973, and in 1984 they were legally barred from proselytising or identifying themselves as Muslims. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: BBC News
Latest by Ahmadiyya Times

Gunmen have launched simultaneous raids on two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, killing more than 80 people, Pakistani police say.

The attackers fired guns and threw grenades at worshippers during Friday prayers. Three militants later blew themselves up with suicide vests.

Pakistani forces have secured both buildings, but are still searching for militants who fled the scene.

Murder and mayhem: This is a sign of things to come | Rafiq Hayat

What we witnessed today appears to be unprecedented and shocking - but it is the shape of things to come. As long as governments sit wringing their hands in impotent angst against the machinations of religious extremists, attacks on these soft targets will continue. 

Photo: Mani Rana/Reuters

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | UK Desk
Source & Credit: The Independent
By Rafiq Hayat | UK | May 28, 2010

The brazen attacks on mosques belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community might be dismissed by some as an example of sectarian conflict in Islam – but it is here that lay the roots of what later became the war on terror.

For the targeting of the most benign and peace-loving Islamic community that lives by a code of Love for All, Hatred for None, is the culmination of decades of persecution.

The plight of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan

The Ahmadiyyas accept the five basic principles of Islam: prayer five times a day, the Ramadan fast, the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) and alms-giving. They do not accept the principle of jihad or holy war against non-believers.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: BNAIndia.Com
By Amir Mir / DNA | May 28, 2010
Edited for correction and clarity

ISLAMABAD: Friday’s terror attacks targeting two mosques run by the minority Ahmadiyya community show that Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan has become an intolerant nation where religious and sectarian minorities live in fear, remain vulnerable, and are provided no protection by the state.

Eyewitness: Pakistan mosque attack

I saw one of the attackers as he was entering the sermon hall, then I ran away. He very much reminded me of the people who attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team, he was wearing similar clothes

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit:  BBC News
May 28, 2010

Gunmen have attacked two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing dozens, officials say. Saleem Ulhaq Khan was inside one of the mosques, in the Model Town area. He describes what happened.

They started firing and bombing indiscriminately. Everyone started rushing around in panic. There's a security gate - that got closed. People were running trying to find a place to hide.

Religion and Logic: Confession of Faith in Christianity

"The Reformation in the 16th century led to the formulation of declarations aiming at a definition of all the main points of the doctrinal system. Most of these documents were compiled with the purpose of expressing the church’s doctrine:"

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Research
Source & Credit:  Google Knoll | Units of Knowledge
By Zia H. Shah, M.D. | Upstate, NY

Please, compare and contrast the simplicity yet the elegance of the Islamic creed with the convulations and complexity of Confession of Faith in Christianity.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica:

Confession of Faith is formal statement of doctrinal belief ordinarily intended for public avowal by an individual, a group, a congregation, a synod, or a church; confessions are similar to creeds, although usually more extensive. They are especially associated with the churches of the Protestant Reformation. A brief treatment of confessions of faith follows. For full treatment, see creed.

Pakistan: 80 dead as gunmen attack Ahmedi places of worship

"They came into the worship place from the back and started firing. They were armed with hand grenades and suicide vests and other weapons." [Rana Ayaz, a senior local police officer] 

Photo: Aaj.TV

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Aaj.TV | AFP
By AFP News | May 28, 2010

LAHORE : Gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed two Ahmedi place of worship, bringing carnage to Friday prayers and killing around 80 people, officials said.

Squads of militants burst into prayer halls firing guns, throwing grenades and taking hostages in the deadliest attack in Lahore, which has been increasingly hit by militants.

"Terrorists have attacked worship place. They are firing and using grenades. They have taken people inside the worship place hostage," district civil defence official Muzhar Ahmed told AFP from the scene in Garhi Shahu.

Murder and mayhem in Lahore - Mosques of Ahmadiyya Community under attack, numerous Ahmadi Muslims dead

Media, Non-Government Organizations and Human Right Agencies are urged to take note of such on-going acts of persecution and condemn all such actions of extremism.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | US Desk
Source & Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Canada
By CNW | Community relaese | May 28, 2010

MAPLE, ON, May 28 /CNW/ - The ongoing persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan took a gruesome turn with coordinated attacks on two Ahmadiyya Mosques in Lahore, Pakistan.

Fanatical terrorists, carrying automatic weapons and hand grenades have attacked two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, Pakistan while thousands of Ahmadi Muslims were offering congregational prayers.

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques in Lahore attacked by terrorists

"No one has the right to declare anyone non-Muslim…..only God knows who is a believer and who isn’t…..If Ahmadis claim themselves as Muslims, they surely are and there is not a damn thing you can do about it" [Shoaib, a PTH reader]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Opinion
Source & Credit: Pak Tea House Blog
By Yasser Latif Hamdani | May 28, 2010

In this last hour the two main Muslim Ahmadiyya Islamic Mosques have been targetted by terrorists in Lahore.   We all know the crimes for which the Ahmadis must pay:

1. They were actively involved in the creation of Pakistan.

2.  They were actively involved in the development of Pakistan.

The 1000th post of Ahmadiyya Times: Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat responds to terrorists attack in Lahore, Pakistan

"These people had merely come to the mosque to offer their Friday prayers and yet became victims of a heinous terrorist attack. May God grant patience to the bereaved and elevate the status of those who have been martyred.”  [His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
By Community Statement

HEAD OF AHMADIYYA MUSLIM JAMAAT RESPONDS TO TERRORISTS ATTACKS IN LAHORE

Earlier today two mosques belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Lahore were attacked by terrorists. The mosques were the Baitul Nur Mosque in Model Town and the Darul Zikr Mosque in Gharishaw.

Although it is not yet clear what the exact numbers are, it is being reported that dozens of Ahmadis have been killed, many more injured. Ahmadi witnesses are saying that the mosque is covered in blood.

Taliban kills scores of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan Mosque for practicing faith

These attacks against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are the latest in a history riddled with persecution.  Since Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws passed in 1974, over 100 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have been murdered for their faith.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | US Desk
Source & Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
By Press Release | May 28, 2010
Updated: Ahmadiyya Times

Pakistani Government sanctions religious extremism and persecution against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Taliban extremists killed over 50 [updated: 80] worshipers at two Mosques belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community during Friday prayer services.  Early reports indicate several hundred hostages.  The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has faced intense governmental and extremist persecution in Pakistan for nearly 40 years. 

Faith and Country: Children from Vaughan's Ahmadiyya community big part of Run for Vaughan event

Last year, the race had 800 participants and so far online registration is ahead of last year's pace, making race director Mr. Khan hopeful they might break the 1,000 marker this year. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | US Desk
Source & Credit:  YorkRegion.com
By Caroline Grech | May 27, 2010

It's a few days before the sixth annual Run for Vaughan and a handful of young girls sit in a Maple home looking forward to the weekend.

The girls, ranging in age from seven to 14, are members of Vaughan's Ahmadiyya community. They are also a big part of the reason the event is such a success each year.

They are but a few members of the community who give up their Sunday morning and afternoon to volunteer or participate in the event that is integral to raising money for a future hospital in Vaughan.

Attackers target Lahore’s Ahmadi worshippers [Update: 68 dead]

“The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the place of worship and sprayed bullets,” Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told Reuters from Model Town.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
May 28, 2010

LAHORE: Gunmen attacked worshippers from a religious minority in two worship places in Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 30 people, officials said.

The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw grenades at two Ahmadi worship places in Lahore’s Model Town and Garhi Shahu neighbourhoods.

Rizwan Naseer, director general of an ambulance service, told Reuters 30 bodies had been taken to hospitals in the city.

Ahmadis Attacked: Gunmen Kill 20 in Attacks on Sect Mosques in Pakistan's Lahore

Ahmadiyya Times UPDATE: 68 KILLED SO FAR: Two men wearing bombs approached vehicles in the convoy as it drove through an area where army officers live and work.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |  Pakistan
Source & Credit: San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, May 28, 2010

May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Militants armed with guns and grenades attacked two mosques of the Ahmadi sect of Islam in the Pakistani eastern city of Lahore today, killing 20 people.

Attackers took up positions in one of the minarets of a mosque in the city's Garhi Shahu area and threw grenades at armed policemen who tried to move in, Pakistani television channels reported from the scene. At least 30 people were injured in the twin strikes, Faisal Jalal, a spokesman for the Edhi rescue service, said by phone from Lahore.