Aamir Liaqat is a Gustakh-e-Rasool chargeable for Blasphemy

Aamir Liaqat is a Gustakh-e-Rasool and he should run like Junaid Jamshed

I consider Aamir Liaqat Show as anti-Pakistani as well as anti-Muslim.

This man must be nailed for blasphemy, he is a gustaakh-e-rasool and by association GEO TV is gustaakh-e-Rasool and the other three Mualana's as well. 

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a mercy to mankind. Geo TV, Liaqat and those irresponsible men are a Zulmat to fellow Pakistanis. Its an act of treason to bring afra-tafri to the nation. This is clear Gustakhi of Rahmatul Aalameen, peace be upon him. In ka bhi hashar Junaid Jamshed wala jaisay hona chahiye. 

After making an example of these men, Blasphemy law needs to be repealed. It goes against the character of the Prophet. 

The show may produce income, but lanat ho aisi kamayee per jo Pakistani ko le doobega. I do hope the Geo executives realize how dangerous these shows are? How long will you fool the Pakistani people by pitting one against the other. No one gets fed or clothed with this non-sense. Shame on this man Liaqat and the team who are hell bent on destroying Pakistan from within. 

The world condemns Fox news for being anti-minority, but even they follow certain limits, how is Geo any better? Keep doing this, you will sink yourselves. Public get sick of these men. 

Reference to Open Letter to Geo by Kashif Chaudhry
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/29-Dec-2014/an-open-letter-to-geo-tv

Countering Geo TV’s hateful show

World Muslim Congress

These loonies are spreading hatred for fellow Pakistanis. Aaj Ahmadi, kal Shia, purson bina-daadi aur bina burqay walay sunni, and turson jo bhi un ki tarah namaz nahin padta.

Islam is not based on hating the other, but based on being a rahmat to others and being an Amin of the society. 

News quote, "Pakistani's largest TV network GeoTV has once again incited hatred against Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in its morning show "Subh e Pakistan" which aired on 22nd Dec 2014 and was hosted by Aamir Liaquat who hosted a similar program in 2008 which resulted in the murder of 3 Ahmadis in Pakistan."

Unless an alternative is offered to the public, they will continue to believe what is dished out to them to the detriment of Islam and Pakistan.    

We need to produce counter videos – depicting the Rahmat of the Prophet and beneficence of the creator God for the whole humanity. 

 Video: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=760044760738379&set=vb.130730020336526&type=2&theater

We need volunteer actors to look like these men including Liaqat with similar set up as if produced by Geo.  Let the public decide what message is right – divisive or one based on Prophet’s Rahmat. In the titles we will disclose the purpose – it is to highlight the values of Islam  

1. Rahmat

2. Justice

3. Forgiveness

4. Equality – Humility

5. Individual Responsibility

6. Caring for fellow beings

7. Respecting the otherness of others.

Hope Geo, Hum or the other guys will produce counter programs to let the public decide what is good for them. 

Mike Mohamed Ghouse
World Muslim Congress

Countering Geo TV’s hateful show

World Muslim Congress

These loonies are spreading hatred for fellow Pakistanis. Aaj Ahmadi, kal Shia, purson bina-daadi aur bina burqay walay sunni, and turson jo bhi un ki tarah namaz nahin padta.

Islam is not based on hating the other, but based on being a rahmat to others and being an Amin of the society. 

News quote, "Pakistani's largest TV network GeoTV has once again incited hatred against Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in its morning show "Subh e Pakistan" which aired on 22nd Dec 2014 and was hosted by Aamir Liaquat who hosted a similar program in 2008 which resulted in the murder of 3 Ahmadis in Pakistan."

Unless an alternative is offered to the public, they will continue to believe what is dished out to them to the detriment of Islam and Pakistan.    

We need to produce counter videos – depicting the Rahmat of the Prophet and beneficence of the creator God for the whole humanity. 

 Video: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=760044760738379&set=vb.130730020336526&type=2&theater

We need volunteer actors to look like these men including Liaqat with similar set up as if produced by Geo.  Let the public decide what message is right – divisive or one based on Prophet’s Rahmat. In the titles we will disclose the purpose – it is to highlight the values of Islam  

1. Rahmat

2. Justice

3. Forgiveness

4. Equality – Humility

5. Individual Responsibility

6. Caring for fellow beings

7. Respecting the otherness of others.

Hope Geo, Hum or the other guys will produce counter programs to let the public decide what is good for them. 

Mike Ghouse

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com  

Muharram, Yom-e-Ashura and Indias communal relationships

Mike Ghouse at Saddahaq

India’s pluralistic ethos are to be admired, even though Muslims, particularly Shia Muslims are a tiny minority, Yom-e- Ashura is a public holiday in India and it is a public event. The world can learn from us, that we the people of India value every belief system and tradition, and honor every which way one worships the creator.

We do have our own problems with the community relationships, but we are committed to working them through, and my focus of this essay is to rebuild positive communal relationships to function cohesively.

As a process, I will be writing regularly at SaddaHaq on Pluralism, a cherished value of India’s heritage and building a cohesive India.

Muharram signifies the battle between good and evil fought 1334 years ago that we face collectively now
Imam Hussein (ra) stood up against the wicked king Yazid, and refused to endorse him as the spiritual leader, also known as “Caliph” of the growing Muslim community.

Imam Hussein was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD by Yazid’s men along with most of his family and companions. The annual memorial for him, his family, children and his associates is called Yom-e-Ashura that is commemoration on the tenth day of the month of Muharram and is a day of mourning for Muslims.
Imam Hussein (ra) is the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and son of Hazrat Ali and Fatima (ra). Hazrat Ali is Prophet’s cousin and Hazrat Fatima is Prophet’s daughter.

On this day, Indians will witness processions, along with floats made of paper, and hand symbols made of brass called “Punjay”. Muslims will be passionately reciting the names of Hussein, Hassan and Hazrat Ali. They will also be inflicting injuries upon themselves to understand the sacrifice of Hussein.
Here are some of the statements from our National leaders:

Mahatma Gandhi, “My admiration for the noble sacrifice of Imam Hussein (a.s) as a martyr abounds, because he accepted death and the torture of thrust for himself, for his sons, and for his whole family, but did not submit to unjust authorities.” “I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, “There is a universal appeal in his martyrdom. Hazrat Imam Hussein (a.s) sacrificed his all, but he refused to submit to a tyrannical government. He never gave any weight to the fact that his material force was far less in comparison with that of an enemy; the power of faith to his greatest force, which regards all material force as nothing. This sacrifice is a beacon light of guidance for every community and every nation “and, "Imam Hussain's sacrifice is for all groups and communities, an example of the path of righteousness."
|
Rabindra Nath Tagore, “"In order to keep alive justice and truth, instead of an army or weapons, success can be achieved by sacrificing lives, exactly what Imam Hussain did.

"Dr. Rajendra Prasad, "The sacrifice of Imam Hussain is not limited to one country, or nation, but it is the hereditary state of the brotherhood of all mankind.

"Sarojini Naidu, "I congratulate Muslims that from among them, Hussain, a great human being was born who is revered and honored totally by all communities."

I am sure our New Leader Narendra Modi will share his own understanding of the Muharram.
Mr. Narendra Modi is one of the most powerful prime Ministers of India, and I have come to admire his inclusive language, indeed, the more inclusive his language and actions are, the more people will follow and respect him, with the right language, he can change India for good. On the membership kick off drive for his party, he made a profound statement, “A poor and illiterate person living in a slum should think, ‘Yes, there is a flower for me in this bouquet’ - pointing to the large flower bouquet. Indeed, every Indian should feel included no matter who it is.

Collectively as Indians, we are Adivasis, Atheists, Bahá’ís, Bos, Buddhists,Christians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastriansand every possible grouping and no one should feel alienated. I pray the Prime Minister to develop that language followed by action.

I hope Indians from every group will drop their divisive attitudes and focus on thinking of one India, indivisible India and for all. His dream of sab ka saath and sab ka vikas can be achieved in his first term.

sab ka saath and sab ka vikas

    I hope the following statement resonates with the Prime Minister and perhaps, he can address the nation regularly with these words, “You are an Indian and that is all it matters to me, as your Prime Minster, I am here to make sure, you have equal access to justice, employment, schooling, loans, housing, transportation, health care, food, places of worship and retirement.”

Once upon a time, we had a beautiful parampara of celebrating and commemorating each other’s festivities and mourning’s. It certainly is a way to know each other, and together we celebrated Diwali, Ramnvami, Janmashtami, Ramadan, Muharram, Christmas and Paryushan. My neighbor’s joy was my Joy and my friends’ sorrow was mine as well.

We can blame the partition all we can, but we all have to live, live without apprehensions and fear of the other, so we can all achieve Vikas together and for all of us. It is a part of the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum – meaning the entire world is one family.

I wish the Moderate Hindus call on the extremists Hindus to focus on the beautiful values of Hinduism.
Moderate Muslims on the other hand call on the extremist Muslims to focus on the same beautiful values described in Quran but differently that we all were made into different tribes, communities and groups from the same couple.

It was God’s choice for us to be different and the best citizens among us, or the best Indians among us would be those who will take the time to learn about each other, the knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to appreciation and acceptance of the differences and respect for the otherness of others. That is our pluralistic ethos and heritage.

There is a myth out there that only Shia Muslims commemorate the Martyrdom. That is not entirely true, most Muslims do, the differential is in the rituals

The Shia Muslims of course express their grief in a variety of ways, including holding daily gatherings called Majlis and narrating the events that led to Martyrdom - Shahadat.

I am a tough guy, but when you hear what happened to Abbas and the baby Asghar, and you’ll cry, it is a moving story of humanity, and I have cried every time.

They also carry floats and hand symbols made of brass as a part of the commemoration.

On the night of Ashura, the pain threshold rises for the believers, and the participants passionately bear the self inflicted hurt and pain with chains and ropes, which is insignificant compared to what Imam Hussein had endured

It is feeling the pain and developing empathy and respect for the Imam, one of the Islamic heroes for leaving a legacy of righteousness.

    The Sunni Muslims on the other hand observe a day of fasting on Ashura, and pray for the martyrs, some participate in the Shia proceedings.

    The Ahmadiyya Muslims offer special Darood (ode to prophet and his progeny) and Duwa (supplications) throughout the month of Muharram.

This Martyrdom, “Shahadat” as we call it is commemorated by almost all Muslim denominations including Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiyya, Sufi and others.

Please note that the Salafi/Wahhabi and Deobandi traditions do not subscribe to celebrating Prophet’s birthday, or commemorating the Shahadat of Imam Hussein. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as it is a part of the culture and not religion. Shia Muslims believe that Islamic faith was fully wrapped up at Ghadir Khumm believing that Prophet assigned Hazrat Ali to be his successor to carry the faith forward.

However the Sunnis believe that the faith was indeed completed, but no passing the mantle of faith was mentioned by the Prophet. We have to learn to respect the otherness of others and live with our differences, rather than force conformities. No one can compel the others to believe what one believes.

Last year, I wrote about the Centrality of Imam Hussein at Huffington post

THE COMMUNAL STRUGGLE

The Battle is not between Hindus and Muslims, it is between Good and the bad, good is represented by minding your own faith as Quran advocates or as Bhagvad Gita suggests it’s your own Karma that will determine your outcomes; there is no compulsion in faith, whereas, the evil is represented by hurting others for differences in belief.

The good is represented by a belief that God is greater than all of us, and we worship him in a variety of ways from bowing, and kneeling to prostrating, whereas the bad in us is represented by evil arrogance that my way is right and yours is wrong.

The good in us believes that God makes all decisions, even a blade of Grass does not move without God’s permission, says the Bhagvad Gita. while Muslims are told that God alone knows what is in one’s heart and we cannot judge the other, it is only God who can judge what is in our hearts.

Both traditions believe in a life after, but differently, one believes that if our bad deeds outweigh the good, we will be reincarnated with lesser value in the next life, while the other believes that we will be punished for our bad deeds in the life hereafter.

The bottom line is behave! Choose to be born again as a good human or earn the rewards from God in your eternal life.

The problems we see in the Middle East were exacerbated by Bush invasion of Iraq, otherwise Middle East was a stable region, giving jobs to the people from all over the world including Indians.

Before Russia invaded Afghanistan, it was stable country with good relations with her neighbors, we the Americans propped up Talibans as check mates, we left when Soviets were chased away, but Talibans had nothing to do and they resorted to wrong doing, and we have a mess today.

Middle East was stable prior to Bush invasion except the conflict between Israel and Palestine, now we have genocides going on in Syria, the evil ISIS is growing, and the Shia Sunni conflict is raging. We cannot blame others, we have to figure out a way out to live in peace again.

The battle is between evil and good and someone has to take a stand to stop this hatred for each other.
God says the best ones among us are those who care for fellow beings, and who take time to learn about each other.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, (Quran 49:13) then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Please don’t forget, God does not talk about Muslims exclusively, he talks about entire humanity from the very first verse of Quran to the very last chapter

Neither Bhagvad Gita is assigned to Hindus exclusively the message is for all humanity in both the holy books. Take time to learn and rebuild the nation through removing conflicts between any groups of people.
Dr. Anwar adds, “The real significance of Karbala is that one has to stand up for something in this life for which one is willing to sacrifice all material possessions.”|

Let this Muharram pave the way for peace and justice for one and all. Let Imam Hussein’s sacrifice stir us up to stand for justice for all humanity.

I pray that the Shahadat of Imam Hussain become the catalyst for us to remove our differences and come together for peace, security and prosperity of Muslims and every human being. Amen!

Published at: https://www.saddahaq.com/humaninterest/Muharram/muharram-yomeashura-and-indias-communal-relationships#

...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post.  All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.netand his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Nawaz Shariff should respectfully resign for the sake of orderly democratic Pakistan

Nawaz Shariff should respectfully resign for the sake of orderly democratic Pakistan.

By Mike Ghouse
The Ghouse Diary.com

Shariff was elected by the people and the same people are asking him to step down - and that is indeed a genuine democratic thing to do. He should remember that peaceful demonstrations earn respectable name for Pakistan in the world, and if he honors the peaceful people, he will have a place in history.

Pakistan turmoil, courtesy Rueters

On the other hand if Nawaz Shariff goes berserk, he will cause Pakistan to go violent and endanger his own existence. What does he think of himself, a Netanyahu or Al-Baghdadi that he can silence the people by brutal force?

If he were any smart, he would go on the national TV and appreciate the people and welcome them for peacefully exercising their democratic right to protest, and do what the people ask; to recount the ballot or resign. Is that a problem?   More than likely, the demonstrations would have been called off and he would have remained respectable and would have won another landslide victory, but the he did not have the brains to do that. 

Every peace loving person should be outraged at this dude for deploying 10,000 Special Forces to disperse the peaceful non-violent crowds seeking political solutions. On the top of it, he ordered firing at nearly 200 injured women, which reminds me of Jalianwala Bagh incident where British forces did the same thing and women jumped into the wells and died. I am proud of these women who stood and took the bullets. But, this is outrageous and unacceptable, he ain’t no Baghdadi. 

When the bad guys were killing fellow Pakistanis be it Shia, Christians, Ahmadies and others, Shariff let it happen, and now when his days are numbered, he deploys 10,000 forces to squelch the peaceful demonstrators. It does not work that way.

What kind of non-sense is he talking about when he says he wants to protect democracy? If he steps down respectfully, he will have a chance to continue in some form of governance, if not, he knows her kuttay ke din hotay hain, he has seen every dog had his day, and he will be one too if he goes against the will of the people.

Its time for Obama to ask Shariff to step down, it is in our (American) interest and the interests of the people of Pakistan to have stability in the region, we cannot have more than one Afghanistan.  I hope Obama will not wait until it becomes messy to ask Shariff to step down; as he did the right thing with Mubarak in asking him to step down by siding with the people of Egypt. Obama made the same mistake with that Idiot Maliki in Iraq, had Maliki formed an inclusive government, we would not have seen this mess. Of course, all these problems stem from Bush's criminal adventure in Iraq. Obama is a good guy, but he needs to be a bully to deal with the bullies.

It’s time for Obama to be on the side of the Pakistani people and not with the guys who are desperate to remain in power. Be smart and be with the people and not with the transients.  All Obama has to do is ask Nawaz Shariff to announce recounting, or announce a date for re-election. It will restore calmness. The people of Pakistan deserve that.

Nazia Khan, Aqeel Qureshi and a few others are out there witnessing the mayhem first hand, and I hope to incorporate their quotes in the piece, I am writing on our goofy foreign policy about nurturing democracies.

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Yes to Discussions – No to disparagement.

The purpose of discussion is to learn, to exchange and to know, so we have fewer conflicts. 

 Quran emphasizes that the best one amongst you is the one who knows and learns about the other and puts myths aside and deals with facts for the purpose of living with the least amount of conflicts. Indeed, we have conflicts because we don’t know each other, and sadly if we did know, it is usually something to berate others.  We need to know the full version to deal with a full version with integrity and honesty.  Many verses from Quran point to these ideal guidelines in building cohesive societies.

The ground rule for understanding the other is to respect the otherness of others, as practiced by the Prophet and taught in Sura Kafirun. (http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html )

It’s not your fault or my fault that we have come to believe whatever we have learned to be the truth, and whatever we did not learn, appears not to be true to each one of us.

ACCIDENTAL SWAPS

What if we swap two babies on birth – Baby Ahmadi and Baby Sunni; The Sunni father will raise the Ahmadi baby and vice versa, both of them send their kids to the best religious schools possible – like Al-Azhar and Rabwa.

Twenty years down the road, when both have become masters in their tradition, we will invite them to the World Muslim Congress for discussion.

Who do you think each one will defend?

And after the discussion, they are told that Ahmadi was really a born Sunni and vice versa – do their beliefs disappear?  If they don’t, can you wrong either of the boys or girls for what they have learned?

Imagine the multiplicity of the issues if we pick on little things… between a variety of denominations and sub-denominations… like Ahle-Sunna, Jamaati, deobandi, barelvi, nadwatul...
   

A few among us will call you names for seeking help from Ghouse-al-Azam, Bulle Shah, Ajmeer walay Khaja,  Nizamuddin Aulia, Hazrat Ali  and even Prophet Muhammad!

I am a denomination-less Muslim, meaning I consider all of us are a part of one large universal, all embracing Ummah, as such I have malice towards none (Abraham Lincoln), and I thank God for that.

It is sickening to see Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller attack the Prophet with all the ugliness they are loaded with, let us not become Spencers and Gellers to other Muslims and people of other faiths.

If we address Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, let us address him respectfully.
If we address HH Aga Khan, let us address him respectfully.

If we address Syed Burhanuddin, let us address him respectfully.

If we address Warith Deen Muhammad, let us address him respectfully, and

If we address the spiritual leader of any religious group, let’s address him or her respectfully. (Except criminals like Ashin Wirathu -  the Buddhist Spiritual Master of Burma) 

Can we do that?

Yes to Discussions – No to disparagement.

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse

 A Note: Iqbal Kazmi responded beautifully, respectfully highlighting the differences between Shia, Sunni and Ahmadiyya at Dallas Pakistani’s group and I admire that.

. . . . .

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Imran Khan, can he be an exemplary prime minister?

Thanks to Daily Times, Pakistan for publishing this.
Its at: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C05%5C08%5Cstory_8-5-2013_pg3_5

By Mike Ghouse

The fitna was started by Maulana Maududi; had it not been for him, Ziaul Haq and Bhutto, the Pakistanis would not have been belligerent towards fellow Pakistanis 


Imran Khan is by far the least-worst candidate among the field of candidates for Pakistan. Indeed, he can be an exemplary candidate if he fixes some of the flaws of sectarianism blatantly expressed by him. Khan’s statement that he has not asked the Ahmadiyya Muslims to vote for him is disturbing. Shouldn’t the future head of Pakistan’s government care about “all” Pakistanis? Does he not want to represent them? He sounded precisely like the Romney guy, thank God for saving America from him (Disclosure: I am a Republican, and he lost because not all Republicans voted for him). I see those reflections in Khan; he is playing like Romney in the last few weeks of the campaign, appeasing the right wing.

The second statement was made in Urdu, reaffirming that the Ahmadiyya are not Muslims because they do not subscribe to the Khatimun Nabiyeen, the finality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last prophet, as if he exclusively represents the Sunni Muslims and the hell with the others. Is this acceptable? As a leader of the nation he represents everyone, whether they believe in the Prophet (PBUH) or not. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself set the example of respecting Jews, Christians and others who did not believe in him, and not only that, he signed the treaty with them to co-exist and co-govern their own affairs per their own laws.

If Khan is like one of those other bad guys, that would be different; but he is a decent man and probably the only hope for Pakistan. He has earned that by being honest and a non-appeaser. Now worried about winning, he has started appeasing the mullahs, and speaking the language of the Jhangvi idiots who want to declare Pakistan as a Sunni nation; the next would be Ahle-sunnat, and then those among Ahle-Sunnat whose pants length is precise to the millimeter. There is no end to appeasing or calming down the fanatics, and they would extract a pound of flesh from him.

The question is why Khan should worry about the insignificant Ahmadiyya, Shia or Hindu minority. Is that the right thing to do? Did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) not speak out for the oppressed? Here are some civil examples, and I hope at least the Pakistani Americans would understand and support it. 

1. Civil rights acts were passed to right the wrong done to the African Americans, a tiny minority. It was passed by the white majority; it was for the common good and justice, that all men are equal. Shouldn’t Islamic Republic of Pakistan adopt this? Isn’t that an Islamic value? 

2. Lincoln’s abolishment of slavery for Africans was passed by the white majority, indeed the only voters in senate then were white.

3. Barack Obama took the risk to stand up with the LGBT community where as everyone thought it was the death nail for him politically; even Muslims gave him over 80 percent of their vote, despite his support for the same sex marriage.

4. Humanity in general and Muslims in particular are guided to stand up for justice. Only the civility of majority can change things. 
Minorities do not have a voice in Pakistan and they live on with apprehensions. The Hindu parents worry when their daughter will be abducted and forced to convert or when the Ahmadiyya girl student will be kicked out of school or their graves are desecrated, Shias ordered out of the bus and shot point blank and Christians will be framed with blasphemy charges. Societies are judged by how they treat their minorities, women and children. Good Pakistanis are letting bad things happen in their names.

5. It is the Muslim thing to stand up against oppression.

6. ‘Baad may karliengaye’ (we will do it later), after election, is a lie. It will never happen. The foundation of Khan’s campaign should be based on integrity. As 96 percent of Pakistanis prefer freedom of faith as per the new Pew survey about Muslim attitudes towards the Sharia. Who is he representing then?

In all the cases above, there was an assumption that the majority does not favour it. Just like the statements from a few Pakistanis that Ahmadiyya should not call themselves Muslims. It is a Pakistani thing and not a Muslim thing.

Perhaps the issue started with the dictator brainwashing the vocal Pakistani public, because before that people minded their own business. The fitna was started by Maulana Maududi; had it not been for him, Ziaul Haq and Bhutto, the Pakistanis would not have been belligerent towards fellow Pakistanis. Had that evil draconian anti-Islamic Hudood laws was not shoved on to Pakistanis, they would be standing up for the rights of all Pakistanis. Dictator’s Hudood laws have become Allah’s laws now, what an Irony. The germs have infected Bangladesh and Indonesia, and now affecting a few Indian Muslims as well.

Muslims around the world have little prejudice towards the Ahmadiyya. I meet large groups of Muslim scholars, imams and ministers from Muslim nations twice a year for coaching in pluralism. They do not have the bias that a few Pakistanis vocalise. I firmly believe if there is referendum, where individuals will not be identified, the Pakistani public will overwhelmingly want to get rid of the Hudood laws and the harassment of the Ahmadiyya Muslims.

A few, just a few will say why on earth is Ghouse supporting the Ahmadiyya? My answer is simple: it is not support for the Ahmadiyya, but rather an effort to preserve the character of Muslims and Islam, which is to stand up for Justice. I have nothing to gain but hear ugly words from a few. I am better off spending my time making money, aren’t I? Doesn’t that make me run from the responsibility of doing my personal share of work towards a better world? The Prophet (PBUH) said that the least you can do is to speak up, didn’t he?

The issue is really not about Khatimun Nabiyeen, but do we as Muslims believe that Islam allows us to mistreat those who are not Sunnis? Khan should have said the Ahmadiyya (not Qadianis, which is like the N word to them) are Pakistanis, and they have every right to vote, instead of reiterating that they are not Muslims, and that as a possible head of the government I represent them and to represent them, I would ask for their vote. 

Democracy is not an easy system, it asks a lot from everyone. It is testing one’s ability to hear different opinions without feeling hatred for the others. Most Muslims have democracy in their hearts and souls; many more are yet to get it. Thank God, I was a minority in India, and a minority in the US. The majoritarian arrogance is not by the majority, but by a few among them, who assume a blanket authorisation by the silence of the real majority. It is time for the majority to speak up and get Imran Khan to represent every Pakistani without discrimination. If not he is just another politician claiming to follow the Prophet (PBUH), but he is not.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links