Published on May 29 2010 by Maqbool Khan - London

Dear Siobhain

 

Urgent Appeal for Action – Ahmadi Muslims Massacred at Mosques in Pakistan

 

Firstly may I offer my congratulations to you for being re-elected as our Member of Parliament.  I am grateful for all your local efforts, particularly with the St Helier Hospital campaign.  Thank you also for your kind invitation to your Ahmadi Muslim constituents to the Houses of Parliament.

 

Siobhain, I often see you collecting your newspaper in the morning here in Collier’s Wood.  Today’s news, however, is the most shocking our community has seen in our 120 year history.

 

Yesterday we were victims of a ruthless attack in Pakistan.  Two groups of terrorists attacked us simultaneously during Friday prayer services at two of our Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, East Pakistan.  As they approached the mosque where my cousin and other youths were standing guard, they shot the unarmed boys guarding the entrance.  Somehow my cousin was saved and he hid himself.

The gunmen then began spraying the crowd of worshippers indiscriminately with machine guns and threw grenades.  After a long siege and shootout with police they also detonated explosive vests in the crowded mosque.

 

Over 80 of our members have been killed and scores more are being treated in hospital for serious injuries.  The dead are being buried today and tomorrow.

 

These were cowardly attacks on innocent men, women children attending Friday prayers.  As you know from the recent bus campaign you helped to launch at Baitul Futuh mosque in Morden, our community is well known in Britain, Pakistan and worldwide for being entirely peaceful and loyal to our country.  Despite decades of persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and elsewhere, our members are exemplary law-abiding subjects in their respective nations.

 

Friday’s attack hits at the heart of the UN Declaration of human rights.  The carefully planned act of terrorism exploited the Government’s stance against this minority group that was declared as non Muslim by the authorities there.  Since 1984’s infamous Ordinance XX made it a crime for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslims or act in an Islamic manner, the population has had free licence to discriminate against, terrorise, imprison and even kill innocent Ahmadis in Pakistan.  Our only ‘crime’ being that we follow the peaceful teachings of our religion and adhere to our beliefs which we understand to be the true and peaceful message of Islam.

 

One of Friday’s attackers was arrested and they appear to be elements linked to the Pakistani Taliban, associated with local political factions.  The Government in Pakistan has always looked on as a passive bystander whenever power-crazed clerics whip up such hatred in the naive population.

 

Our hands are somewhat tied living here in UK, where many of our members have sought shelter from such a depraved regime.  However, through my local MP I know I can rely on your full support to make a statement in the House and to follow up efforts to maintain pressure on the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan through your political party.

 

I am grateful for any assistance your office can offer us at this time of crisis.  This is already the worst attack in our history and let us hope this situation is brought to an end.

 

Yours sincerely,

Your neighbour

 

Muqbool Khan