Rabwah Times

Pakistan to ban Ahmadi teachers from teaching Islamic studies

Pakistan’s Christian Secretary of School Education has assured Ministers that no Ahmadi teacher would be allowed to teach Islamic Studies or Arabic Language in schools. Secretary Joyce Rufin Julius made the comments on Wednesday while discussing Educational matters in Pakistani province Punjab’s provincial assembly. Secretary Julius who herself is a member of Pakistan’s Christian minority said no teachers from the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will be hired to teach Islamic studies and Arabic and the education department will soon issue …

Australian Muslims hold Quran exhibition

On Sunday 26 November 2016, the Berwick chapter of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community hosted a Holy Quran Exhibition at Hampton Park Library, in an effort to educate Australians about the beautiful teachings of Islam. This is the second successful exhibition it has hosted in the space of two weeks. The exhibition, held at one of City of Casey’s busiest libraries, featured sample copies of the Holy Quran translated into foreign languages. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has translated the Quran into 76 …

Algeria continues to arrest Ahmadis

Algerian Government has continued to crackdown on members of the minority Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Community which has less than 3,000 members in the country has expressed concern over the religiously motivated arrests. On Friday, November 25th Algerian security forces raided a house in the coastal town of Béni Saf and arrested six Ahmadis while they were performing Friday Prayers. The town of Beni Saf is located in the northern province of Aïn Témouchent, around 300 miles to …

ISIS claims responsibility for Sectarian murders in Karachi

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

Pakistan’s appointment of new Military Chief sparks religious controversy

Appointment of a new military chief in the largely Muslim country of Pakistan has sparked a religious controversy. The new chief, Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa who is replacing General Raheel Sharif, has been labeled an ‘Ahmadi’ by the country’s right-wing religious nationalists. The controversy began on November 22nd, when Pakistani Senator, Sajid Meer, published a video on facebook in which he suggested that one of the four Generals being considered for the position of Army Chief had Ahmadi family …

Openly gay Ambassador welcomed to Scandinavia’s largest Mosque

In what seems to be a first-of-its-kind visit, an openly Gay Ambassador joined Muslims at Scandinavia’s largest Mosque for an open dialogue. Artur Wilczynski, who is the Canadian Ambassador to Norway was welcomed to Bait-un-Nasr Mosque in Oslo, Norway by members of the local Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Built in 2011, it is the largest mosque among Scandinavian nations. Wilczynski, who was born in Poland is one of the first openly Gay Canadian diplomats. He was appointed as Canadian Ambassador to …

Executive for American Islamic council urges Pakistan to repeal laws against Ahmadi Muslims

An Executive Director for America’s ‘leading Muslim advocacy group’ has called on Pakistan to abolish discriminatory laws against the Ahmadiyya Muslims. In a rare show of intra-faith solidarity, Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of the Chicago chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), condemned the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan and called on the State to repeal its laws against the sect. Ahmadis have long been persecuted across much of the ‘Muslim world’ at the hands of Sunni clergy due …

Pakistani Muslims face charges for posing as non-Muslims to sell Liquor

Two Pakistani Muslims are facing charges for selling alcohol in the conservative Muslim country by pretending to be non-Muslims. In Pakistan, a permit is required by non-Muslims to buy and sell liquor. According to the charges filed by Pakistan’s Customs Department in Islamabad High court, Brothers Ishtiaq Ahmad and Aamir Malik illegally obtained a Liquor License by pretending to be Ahmadis, a minority Muslim sect declared non-Muslim under Pakistani law. The brothers bought a suspended liquor license in 2014 by …

The Ahmadiyya Diaspora: An Interview with author Michael Nijhawan

On October 18th, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslims, the worldwide head of millions of Ahmadis. Over 30,000 of these Ahmadis, call Canada their home, majority of these Ahmadis migrated from Pakistani Punjab due to religious persecution, similar to the Sikh migration from Indian Punjab. This pattern of immigration intrigued Michael Nijhawan, a professor at York University in Canada. Professor Nijhawan ended up writing a book titled “The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya …

Syrian Refugees in Canada: Suha’s Story

I had a very nice life in Syria. I was an elementary school teacher. I got along with all of my neighbours, whether or not they were the same religion as me. When the war began I lost my whole life—memories, friends and family. I never knew which home would be bombed next. I wasn’t able to help anyone, even my neighbours, because I could be killed if I tried to help them. Each day I would say goodbye to …

Syrian Refugees in Canada: Mutaz’s Story

I was held at gunpoint. They took me from my home, blindfolded me and interrogated me for four hours. They asked me to prove that I am Muslim. The only thing that stood in the way of death was literally my faith. All I could hear as I sat blindfolded was the sound of a gun cocking and a man repeating that he was going to kill me. I am an Ahmadi Muslim caught in a war between Sunnis and …

British Muslims urge UK to declare Ahmadis ‘non-Muslim’

British Muslim leaders have called on Britain to declare Ahmadis ‘non-Muslim’, the sentiments were expressed at an event held in Luton. The event which took place at Jamia Islamia Ghosia was attended by Imams, Councillors, and Muslim community leaders from across Britain . The speakers urged the British Government to stop considering Ahmadis as Muslims since they rejected the mainstream Islamic view of ‘KhatmeNabuwat’ or Finality of Prophethood. Ahmadiyya Muslims who consider their founder to be an Islamic Prophet were …