Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Condemns Attack on Ahmadiyya Mosque in Sialkot, Pakistan
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad says Ahmadi Muslims will continue to respond to all forms of provocation and injustice with prayers and peace
The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has strongly condemned an attack targeting a Mosque and a historical house in Sialkot, Pakistan belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, perpetrated by local officials and a local mob comprising hundreds of people.
Speaking about the attack during his weekly Friday Sermon from the Baitul Futuh Mosque in London, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said that those who attacked the Mosque claimed to be acting in defence of Islam, yet their actions were entirely opposed to the teachings of Islam and a means of violating the sanctity of a House of Allah. He said that the attack had been planned carefully and there was a risk of further attacks targeting the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:
“Now an announcement has been made expressing an intent to demolish more Mosques of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The person who made this announcement has committed the Holy Quran to memory (Hafiz) and is linked to a political party in Pakistan. However, he is a Hafiz merely in name as he is completely bereft of the true spirit of the teachings of the Holy Quran.”
His Holiness also praised those people in Pakistan who had condemned the Sialkot Mosque attack. In this regard, His Holiness particularly commended a female member of the Pakistani National Senate who had openly condemned the attack. His Holiness also noted that Pakistan’s recent history had shown that those who had the courage to speak out to defend Ahmadi Muslims inevitably endured intimidation and were often forced to recant their support for Ahmadi Muslims or see their careers suffer.
Referring to the peaceful response of Ahmadi Muslims to the latest attack, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:
“Certainly, our sentiments have been deeply grieved because an historical site from the time of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) has been harmed, sealed and taken into police control. However, our response has always been and will always be in accordance with the Holy Quran, which states, ‘I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah.’”
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad continued:
“Though we certainly have an emotional attachment to that site, the bond that we have with the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) is not limited to physical buildings. Rather, it is an unbreakable and eternal bond based upon following the teachings of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and by firmly attaching ourselves to the system of spiritual Caliphate.”