About six weeks ago, a 32 year old doctor in the Sindh province in Pakistan was shot by police. Shah Nawaz was killed by police who suggested that he was resisting arrest after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. The blasphemy charge was that he had shared ‘blasphemous’ content on social media.

Nawaz’s family reject this charge and say that he was giving himself up and that he was killed by a member of the local police force on the basis that he had allegedly promoted ‘blasphemous’ content.

This killing came on the heels of another murder on September the 12th 2024, where a 52 year old man  was killed in custody in Balochistan and who was being held on the basis of spurious ‘blasphemy’ charges.

Judiciary Involvement in Blasphemy

We must not forget that these killings and the charges of ‘blasphemy’ come on the back of a range of cases that have mainly involved the beleaguered Christian community in Pakistan, with the most high profile case being that of Asia Bibi.

Following on from Asia Bibi’s case, in May 2020, Aneeqa Ateeq a 26 year old Muslim woman was arrested in May 2020 and charged with circulating ‘blasphemous material’ on her Whatsapp messages. A court in Rawalpindi subsequently found Ateeq guilty and gave her a 20 year jail sentence and ordered her to be ‘hanged by her neck till she is dead”.

In 2021, a Pakistani Christian, Shagufta Kiran, was arrested for posting ‘blasphemous’ content on her Whatsapp messaging app in September 2020. The 40 year old mother of four was recently found guilty and has been sentenced to death.

The list of Christians and Muslims who have been accused of blasphemy continues to rise in Pakistan on the back of the introduction of ‘blasphemy’ as a political tool by the Islamist extremist group, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP). Such has been the spread of their narrative that the lives of minorities and those who even question faith, are at risk. The impacts of ‘blasphemy’ are therefore felt by Christian and Ahmadi communities who have borne the brunt of the actions of the state in denying them the most basic of rights.

Faith Matters will continue to highlight these human rights abuses and to highlight the lives of those affected by the ‘blasphemy police’ and extremists in Pakistan who seek to target minorities. Furthermore, the U.K. Government has not done enough in highlighting and challenging the human rights abuses around ‘blasphemy’ that are becoming pervasive in the country. The meekness of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on this matter, is unacceptable.

READ MORE: Two Christians Sought by Police in Pakistan on Blasphemy Charges

For those liberals who have followed the life of Imran Khan and his desire to build political change in Pakistan, the latest comments come as a blow and show how twisted politics has become in the country when pandering to religious zealotry has to take place, to even have a chance to come to power.

Enter this speech by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Ensaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. Standing in front of a crowd of men, he makes clear his support for Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. This section in effect support the charge of blasphemy that can be made against people who use derogatory remarks whether spoken or written or when made directly or indirectly. For example, these could be perceived to be against Islam. The key here is that perception is slotted into the law and this section was used to make the case against Christian Asia Bibi, who still languishes inside jail in Pakistan.

The change in the direction of the PTI Chairman shows that he is pandering to the religious right and to zealots to secure his support. It is truly an abysmal state of affairs when the best hope for Pakistan, has decided to take this turn. No doubt, Ahmadis globally, will lament once again, as these blasphemy laws underpin the attacks against them and their human rights.

Zia is alive and kicking! PTI Chairman Imran Khan says he fully supports Section 295-C (blasphemy law) and will defend it. Say hello to the new Mard-e-Momin, Mard-e-Haq! pic.twitter.com/gP86kusYOq

— Bilal Farooqi (@bilalfqi) July 7, 2018

You can imagine our shock when we realised this evening that an Islamist extremist who lauded the brutal murder of Glasgow shopkeeper, Asad Shah, was on Twitter. Worse still, he had a ‘verified’ blue tick next to him, giving him some legitimacy in the eyes of member of the public.

The individual, Khalid Hussain Rizvi has been highlighted by us in Faith Matters many times. If you want to know what Rizvi is about, just take a look at this video which we compiled on just a few of his sayings to large congregations in Pakistan. In a bizarre twist, we even commented on Rizvi in 2016, and his comments were made to fawning congregations where he describes a telephone conversation with Tanveer Ahmed, the brutal murderer of Asad Shah. Rizvi has called Ahmed a ‘hero’ on many occasions and a ‘lion’ for the brutal stabbing to death of Asad Shah, a much loved shopkeeper in Glasgow.

In September 2017, Rizvi’s political party, Tehreek-e-Labaik, polled 7,000 votes in local municipal elections in a by-election in Lahore. The only campaigning point was the lionising of bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered Punjab Governor, Salman Taseer. The murder was based on Taseer’s defence of imprisoned Christian female, Asia Bibi. Tehreek-e-Labaik have also latched onto Tanveer Ahmed as another person whom they have lionised, thereby pushing the view that ‘blasphemers’ and those who protect minorities, are fair game for murder. Twitter are therefore providing a ‘verified’ Twitter platform to the spiritual leader of Tehreek-e-Labaik, Khalid Hussain Rizvi.

Rizvi, is in effect, an Islamist sympathiser who agrees with the violent extremism, particularly if it is against those protecting and advocating for minorities and Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.

Given the facts, there is no justification that Twitter can provide for keeping Rizvi’s Twitter account open. 

I’ve been a Muslim for a few years now and from day one I knew that Islam did not promote terrorism. Before I became Muslim, I was already well-informed about Islam as a whole through self-learning and I was also explicitly taught by everyone I knew and encountered in my journey that terrorism was unequivocally un-Islamic. There was no question about it: Islam is about peace, faith, love and humanity. 

However, several years later, I’ve become shocked and quite frankly tired – incredibly tired in fact – at just how widespread extremist ideology is within certain segments of the British Muslim community. Certain bodies, speakers and publications are pushing harmful, divisive, reactionary and toxic narratives. Time and time again they have been found to express extremist beliefs and proved links to extremist individuals and groups. Yet time and time again, no one says anything. 

I have been on a long path of discovery and I know I am not alone in saying that this extremism ranges from the intolerant to the violent. It’s not simply about those in on the front page when a terror attack hits. It’s a wide, long path that is not being exposed and redirected. From sectarianism – vilifying Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims – to rampant anti-Semitism, homophobia and sexism, I find myself questioning more and more, how can the government deal with this? And more so, why is nothing being said? More importantly, beyond the government, there’s the role of civil society. Yet there’s sadly a lack of inward reflection and dialogue by certain segments of the Muslim community. 

I’m in fact shocked at how much of these beliefs and behaviours are being ignored both within and outside the Muslim community. Ignorant, intolerant, extremist views are not only existent among certain segments of the community but in fact often normalised, with some Muslims even in denial of the disturbing and irrational nature of these doctrines. These leaders and individuals promote a self-proclaimed message of peace and harmony on the face of it – or at the very least denounce acts of terror – but on their terms, as at the same time they accept and promulgate vile, morally abhorrent or at best completely outdated beliefs. 

This is a serious issue. Young men do not suddenly wake up one day and decide to take up arms and join ISIS out of the blue. It’s a slippery slope. Just as the path to genocide is a slippery slope of “otherising”, discrimination and exclusion, so is the blackened slope of extremism. It’s marred with self-victimisation, ignorance of Islam and social, political, geographical and cultural complexities – as well as of course other key factors such as racism and socio-economic exclusion. In the end though, healthy mature adults accept the dark path of jihadism for themselves. No matter what circumstance we are under, as long as we are healthy, mature and of full age, the way we think, believe and ultimately react is down to us.   

And this is where it becomes quite clear. We cannot sit back and simply just blame other people. Having spoken to Muslims from a variety of Muslim countries across the globe, I can quite honesty unequivocally state that some are shocked at the extremism rampant in this community, choosing not to attend mosques. How very sad yet telling this is…

We are confronting debates that are not even apparent overseas. Yes, as a human rights campaigner, I am all too aware of the issues within Muslim countries themselves, including the demonisation of political and social dissent as it becomes labelled automatically as “terrorism” and the lack of freedom of belief and association. This however does not negate the issues so widespread here in a free democratic society. Whilst we not should look to these nations as an example of freedom and democracy, on a social level we can examine how faith is practiced. At times, I am indeed shocked by certain levels of intolerance yet on other occasions I have witnessed a much more nuanced, intellectual and rational version of Islam – regardless of the level of “religious practice” or not.  

Here in the UK, I’ve seen babies – yes babies – in headscarves. I’ve witnessed horrible cases of anti-Semitism and I’m tired of a complete black and white naivety when it comes to conflict in the Middle East. Freedom of choice and belief is paramount, as is diversity of opinion – and also the crucial “middle path” as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) declared himself so many years ago.   

Freedom of belief covers all range of faiths and teachings. Yet I am not simply talking about the need to accept differences of opinion and religious practice – which are in fact part of a rich yet often unheard of intellectual and theological diversity in Islam. No, instead I am talking about understanding, accepting, allowing and promoting basic freedoms, rights and levels of tolerance. I am speaking up against the vilifying of Jews (referred to as “pigs”), the exclusion of Ahmadi Muslims (called “Qadanis”) and the behaviour of certain Muslim men and women who excuse rape and victim blame by expressing at how women who are uncovered or “dressed “provocatively” are a “problem”. No. I am instead talking about those who openly denounce democracy in both implicit and explicit terms.  

I have myself been unfortunate to have visited a mosque where a fellow “brother” openly denounced democracy as un-Islamic. Yes. This is 2018. Yet, you’d think we’d gone back to the time of the Spanish inquisition or crusades. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an embodiment of the Qur’an, where Allah Almighty tells us Himself: la ikra fii deen – there is no compulsion in religion (2:256). So, tell me: where have such people lead themselves to?

Cultural patriarchal attitudes, religious sectarianism and Wahhabi-style teachings imported from overseas across the globe to Britain are avow. I can count on more than one hand the number of preachers, mosques and bodies who have a murky history and who I alone have to avoid/reject or sever links with. This isn’t hearsay. These issues relate to things that they have explicitly said, platforms they have shared and beliefs that they promote.

For example, whilst many Muslim men and women alike – including myself – continue to speak out about cultural misogyny, declaring cultural practises such as forced marriage as un-Islamic, we’re not really tackling the elephant in the room. We’re not grabbing the bull by its horns. Religious ultra-orthodoxy is an issue. All religions have different groups, doctrines and beliefs. We should not try to stifle diversity yet the fact is that there are people out there that who – according to their interpretation of Islam – believe that homosexuals should be executed and that homosexuality should be criminalised here in the UK. Likewise, there are people (respected preachers) who openly state that FGM/C is a “recommended practice” (even if not “compulsory”).

Likewise, certain Muslims cannot distinguish between anti-Semitism and the defence of human rights in Israel/Palestine. And yet they enjoin in the religious freedom we all cherish as they live their faith freely here in the UK. At the same time, there are many who also reject the same rights for Ahmadi Muslims, as for example those British Muslims who called for a recent Ahmadi advertisement to be withdrawn. Large segments of the Muslim community refuse to engage left, right and centre with this peaceful community. How sad that when attending a Muslim-led interfaith engagement, you’re joined solely by “Sunni majority” Muslims for example amongst members of other faith communities. Likewise, when attending an Ahmadi event as a friendly ally keen to engage with members of other faith traditions such as Christianity and Hinduism, there are no other Muslim representatives in the room. Would they attend? Quite simply no. Yet I ask, can we not see the blatant hypocrisy in standing for interfaith unity when there is such a blanket refusal to promote intrafaith cohesion?

One question I ask myself time and time again is: when you’re (again quite rightly) speaking out against human rights violations in places such as Myanmar and Palestine/Israel where other faith communities are involved (albeit the conflict/issues being political): where is your criticism of Saudi Arabia? Are you speaking out about the bombing and starvation of innocent Yemeni men, women and children before you enjoin in travels to KSA? Are you campaigning against forced veiling in Iran when you protest (again rightly so) about discrimination against Muslim hijabi women in non-Muslim countries? Furthermore, are you fighting against human trafficking when you visit the Gulf States – often practically built on modern slavery? 

I reiterate, Islam is a blessing of mercy. It is not a violent curse. God calls upon us to use our minds, to rationalise, to be merciful, to think, to reason – not to bellow, to curse others or to alienate brothers and sisters in faith and humanity. And before you cry “Islamophobia!”, let me stress: I am Muslim. I stand against anti-Muslim hate. I stand against Islamophobia and I stand against the far-right. I also however stand against anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism of all kinds and quite crucially the abuse of human rights across the globe. Yet at the same time, I have also been met with slurs such as “oreo” (although I’m “white”), “whore” and “munafiq” (hypocrite) when speaking out against Islamic extremism and intolerant practices. Well, no. I am none of these. What I am in fact is honest – honest to my heart, my soul, my mind and to God. 

So, to conclude, I stand up and say: when will so many of those who do not question open their eyes, their ears and realise that they speak for themselves? There can be no double standards. Human rights are for all. Islam is a humanistic universal faith. Islam does not stand for hatred, violence, bloodshed and exclusion. It stands for justice, self-sacrifice, tolerance, love and unity. We cannot keep simply blaming the media, government, colonialism and not look within our own community. We too must play our part. Ultimately, either you stand for everyone or you stand for no one.

We have learnt that the Ahmadi community in the United Kingdom have had their right to free expression curtailed once again.

The online site, Christian Today, mentioned the following in their article about the obstructions that were put in front of the Ahmadi community in their recent campaign. Their site stated:

“An email template seen by Christian Today and sent to Ahmadi opponents claimed ‘the billboard incites hatred, it is deeply offensive and hurtful to millions of British citizens’. The email urges other Muslims to write to the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency), the Metropolitan Police and the Charity Commission asking them to take the billboards down”.

Following on from this, Farooq Aftab, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, contacted Faith Matters and said, “We had booked a number of digital billboards with Primesight for our ‘Messiah Has Come’ Campaign.  Initially you will recall that we started with Glasgow earlier in the year but due to complaints by Muslims they took off.  After the ASA said there was no offence committed they were restarted.”

He went onto say:

“In the past few weeks we booked a number of billboards which Primesight, (the billboard advertising agency), recommended to us. Inadvertently one was near Birmingham mosque which we were not aware of.  Due to complaints, particularly from some Muslims in the area, the billboards were taken down and also in locations such as Barnet, Lambeth, Leeds and Birmingham.

“When we contacted the company we were told that they were taken down because of ‘security’. In one instance we were told that when the Merton billboards were being put up, the person putting them up was threatened, so he stopped.  When asked why the police had not been informed of this, there was no response”.

Aftab also spoke to the Chief Executive Officer of Primesight and was told that they had taken down the billboards after complaints and he was challenged by Aftab that the basic beliefs of the Ahmadi community were not being respected and they had to right to advertise a peaceful message since they were not harming anyone. He even suggested that other Muslims could put up billboards saying that the ‘Messiah has not come’.

Aftab also showed Faith Matters Whatsapp messages that had been circulating which included the following text:

“Salam everyone. We have managed to speak to the advertising agency regarding the Ahmadiyya sign boards in Birmingham and they have promised to remove ASAP. But at the same time they have asked members of the Muslim community to visit their website and log their complain. Can I request all of you to visit this website and forward it to your contacts to act immediately.  www.primesight.co.uk”

Aftab finally stated the following:

“The True Islam Campaigns purpose is to educate people on the true and peaceful teachings of Islam as practised by the Holy Prophet, Muhammad. The Billboard Campaign, ‘The Messiah Has Come’ aims to educate the public on the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Ahmadi Muslims believe in the finality of prophethood in accordance with the Holy Quran and the sayings and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and to suggest otherwise is incorrect. Every individual and group has the right to manifest and profess their faith and to curb this would not only be a breach of basic human rights but contrary to the values of freedom of speech and expression which we cherish in this country. 

“Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are Muslims and the community in the UK is one of the oldest and well integrated in society, contributing at all levels and has not had one incident of radicalisation or extremism. It is clearly doing something right. Further, it is not for states, authorities or organisations to interfere in religious matters. There needs to be a clear separation of State and Church so to speak, otherwise we will go down a very slippery slope with groups or people trying to monopolise religion. No one can determine someone’s faith. This is a matter between God and the individual and the hallmark of a pluralistic and democratic society.” 

Mahershala Ali has won the Oscar for best-supporting actor – an accolade many had expected – for his performance in Moonlight, the critically acclaimed story of a black gay man’s coming of age.

Ali had already picked up awards from the Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, and the NAACP Image award. During his acceptance speech at the Screen Actors Guild, reflecting on his own experiences, he said: “I think what I have learned from working on Moonlight, you see what happens when you persecute people, and they fold into themselves.”

Muslims have won Oscars in various categories over the years but none in acting roles. Previous winners include Pakistani documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and director Asghar Farhadi – whose earlier film A Separation won the foreign film Oscar in 2012. His latest film, The Salesman, was screened in London’s Trafalgar Square hours before the ceremony. Farhadi did not attend the ceremony in protest at Donald Trump’s efforts to bar people entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. His latest film would go on to win Best Foreign Language Film.

In Moonlight, Ali plays Juan, a drug dealer whose tender moments with the young protagonist Chiron provides him with a surrogate father figure who imparts life lessons bundled in moments of deep affection and unwavering acceptance.

Juan lives with his partner Teresa. It is within this orderly household that the problems of the external world – be it in school – or at home are forgotten. External contradictions fall by the wayside.

Within the swollen silences of dinner, the narrative is punctuated in the language of close affection. No judgements are made of Chiron. When it seems like the world has turned against him, Chiron is taught a powerful lesson about acceptance and to reject the hateful labels others apply.

Perhaps the most iconic and beautiful example of this loving bond between Juan and Chiron concerns the former teaching the latter to swim.

As Hilton Als writes, Moonlight “undoes our expectations as viewers, and as human beings, too”. For Ira Hilton III, the surrogate relationship between Juan and Chiron “speaks volumes for how Jenkins wants us to view relationships between black men.” Shane Thomas praises the universality of Moonlight, and for its assiduous and precise direction.

Stories concerning the religious identity of Mahershala Ali, however, have created their own momentum.

Born Mahershalalhashbaz (the longest prophetic name in the Bible) Gilmore in 1974 to a mother who was an ordained Christian minister, he converted to Islam in 1999, joining the Ahmadiyya sect in 2001.

His spiritual interest also included attending a Baha’i meeting and flirting with Buddhism. Yet, his defining moment of religious and spiritual clarity came from the act of prayer inside a mosque. Ali described this moment as: “I could not understand a word of the prayer, but ironically, they were tears of understanding. For the first time in my life, I knew where I was, spiritually speaking.”

Ali’s embrace of the Ahmadiyya sect should not be erased. It’s too important given the persecution Ahmadis face in Pakistan and countries like Indonesia.

A Faith Matters report titled, ‘Sectarianism, Extremism and Hate Crime, the Impacts on the Ahmadiyya Community,’ explored the complexities and root causes of this form violence and prejudice.

It’s a product of a wider extremist narrative which exploits the sensitivities around the blasphemy debate in Islam. It seeks to define Islam through its own narrow interpretations. This interpretative lens allows fundamentalists to dictate the narrative and define others as ‘outside’ of Islam, which helps normalise banal, everyday forms of prejudice, including the decision to boycott Ahmadi-run businesses. The murder of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah made this sectarian issue headline news.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, deleted her congratulatory tweet after users pointed out that Ali’s Ahmadi beliefs. This deletion generated its own controversy.

Pakistan's Ambassador to UN, Maleeha Lodhi first tweets then deletes the tweet just bcoz #MahershalaAli is an Ahmadi. pic.twitter.com/EwpxrQGiJN

— Ayesha Khan (@KhanAyesha23) February 27, 2017

Nor should we erase the historic role of Ahmadi missionaries in black communities in early twentieth America. An important figure in Mahershala Ali’s religious journey was the Chicago native Abdul Karim. The Ahmadiyya movement has maintained a missionary presence among black communities in Chicago since 1935. Within the city limits of Chicago stands the Al-Sadiq Mosque, which remains one of the oldest mosques in the United States.

Some of the earliest independent black mosques took inspiration from Ahmadi teachings. The first mosque in Cleveland was later established by the former Ahmadi Wali Akram. Some black converts established their own mosques to accommodate the growing black consciousness and scholarship around Islam. Before the rise of the Nation of Islam (NOI), Ahmadi missionaries offered “the first multi-racial model for American Islam”. This influence, according to the academic Edward C. Curtis, reached Elijah Muhammad, a religious leader in the NOI, who had “regularly quoted, verbatim, from Ahmadi literature, including Ahmadi translations of the Qur’an”. Ahmadi missionaries had converted around 10,000 people by the 1940s.

A key figure in the early days of the Ahmadi missionary work in the United States was Muhammad Sadiq, who arrived in Philadelphia on February 15, 1920. A year later, with the help of other Muslims, Sadiq had launched the monthly periodical The Muslim Sunrise to challenge negative stereotypes about Islam in the press.

Sadiq used the periodical to argue that Islam could resolve the racism Christianity had failed to answer. He contended that Islam and the Arabic language would unite all people of African descent. This post-colonial message came at a time of great social discontent and racist violence.

In a post-9/11 context, Ali himself has spoken openly about the prejudice he’s faced. This included having his bank accounts frozen and learning that he was on an FBI watch list. His wife stopped wearing the hijab following acts of hatred and prejudice. Ali told the Radio Times: “But I will say if you convert to Islam after a couple of decades of being a black man in the US, the discrimination you receive as a Muslim doesn’t feel like a shock.”

Ali’s big cinematic break was in David Fincher’s 2008 fantasy drama ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’.