Terrorism and Radicalization Rooted in Pakistan

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

سبوحٌ قدوسٌ سبوحٌ قدوسٌ

The Pakistani Sunni Muslim community has increasingly become radicalized and this is evidenced by the fact that religiously motivated murders, where the victim is accused of blasphemy, are disproportionately carried out by Pakistanis. Particularly the murder or attempted murder of Prophethood-claimants and those accused of claiming Prophethood is a trend which can be said to have began with the extrajudicial murder of one Yusuf Ali. A self-styled Sufi mystic, he delivered certain vague statements which his opponents, those belonging to the Deobandi organization Alami Majlis Tahaffuz e Khatme Nubuwwat (International Council for the Protection of the Finality of Prophethood) interpreted as a claim to Prophethood. In 2000 he was found guilty of blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and sentenced to death by hanging. While in jail he was murdered by a fanatic named Tariq.

Photograph of Yusuf Ali

In 2010, a Pakistani man, Muhammad Asghar, holder of British nationality, was sentenced to death under Section 295-C on the basis of some letters in which he allegedly claimed to be a Prophet. A paranoid schizophrenic in his seventies, Asghar was imprisoned at Adiala Jail where in 2014 he was shot and injured by a prison guard, intending to murder him, who had been goaded into carrying out the act by convicted murderer Mumtaz Qadiri. The latter was notorious for the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Tasir because of his support for the Christian lady Asiya who was found guilty of blasphemy under Section 295-C. Happily, Muhammad Asghar survived the assassination attempt and the British government later secured his release and return to Scotland.

Photograph of Muhammad Asghar

Speaking of Scotland, an Ahmadi Muslim shopkeeper in Glasgow named Asad Shah around this time began claiming to be a Prophet. He was brutally stabbed and murdered in his shop in 2016 by a fanatic of Pakistani background, Tanwir Ahmad.

Photograph of Asad Shah

Most recently, another Ahmadi Muslim claiming to be a Prophet, Tahir Nasim, an American citizen and immigrant from Pakistan, was under trial for blasphemy (295-C) and was shot and murdered by a young Pathan fanatic while attending a court hearing in 2020.

Photograph of Tahir Nasim

Presently, there is another man, of Ahmadi Muslim background, Nasir Sultani, who is accused of claiming Prophethood for himself, imprisoned at Adiala Jail having been sentenced to death by the Anti-Terrorism Court of Islamabad in January 2021. It is feared that he too may become the next victim of a religiously motivated extrajudicial murder.

Photograph of Nasir Sultani

As a Sunni Muslim I firmly believe that Prophethood in the formal sense has ended after the Seal of Prophets Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. However, it is totally wrong notion that if someone claims to be a Prophet merely the claim of Prophethood is blasphemy and disrespect of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. If that is the case then what greater disrespect is there than rejecting the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم altogether? Consider that most of the world rejects him, including the Christians (presently the largest confessional group on the planet). If a person is disrespecting the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم on the basis of merely claiming to be a Prophet himself while still believing in Prophet Muhammad than logically one who rejects the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم altogether like a Christian is guilty of greater disrespect to him.

Each of the five aforementioned gentlemen who were either murdered or faced prosecution for their alleged claims to Prophethood were professing Muslims and ostensibly believers in the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. The forces of extremism and religious violence unleashed by the Pakistani Mulla will ultimately prove to be self-destructive and chaotic. The recent lynching of a Sri Lankan man in Sialkot, Pakistan by a fanatical mob and likewise the taking of hostages in a synagogue in Texas by a Pakistani terrorist are just the latest examples of this diabolical trend.