Interfaith group – FACES – which is a Pakistan based interfaith group brought a group of Islamic clerics to meetings with key politicians, ministers, hate crime practitioners and interfaith organisations in the U.K.

The Founder and former Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, met with the group and explained how sectarian hatred from Pakistan was being promoted through satellite channels and beamed into the homes of Urdu speaking British citizens; through such channels anti-Ahmadi rhetoric and anti-Shia hatred was being promoted, he said.

Furthermore, Mughal commented on how such hatred was influencing and re-enforcing such intolerance against minorities in Islam and that the murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow and the incendiary rhetoric of Islamist extremists such as Khadim Hussain Rizvi, posed a threat to the security of British nationals.

Having spent 45 minutes on this topic, we were then appalled to see those very Islamic clerics, promoting anti-Muslim bigotry against a U.K. Minister – Lord Tariq Ahmad. To add insult to injury, they made a short video which they posted up, suggesting that Ahmadis are ‘non-believers’ and that they were not aware of the background of this U.K. Minister.

Irrespective of what religion a U.K. Minister follows, we cannot stand idly by and have a member of our Government abused because of their Islamic identity which does not fit the ‘pigeon-holed’ belief patterns of such preachers. In fact, we would argue that such preachers are not fit for purpose and do not have the backbone to challenge bigotry.

We have asked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whether this trip was funded by the British taxpayer. The answer we have received was a categoric ‘no’. In future, we would ask civil servants to vet any group and individuals travelling from overseas who seek to meet with ministers in the United Kingdom. It makes a mockery of human rights and ‘tolerance’ when such clerics seek to abuse our ministers because they are, in their torrid minds, the ‘wrong type of Muslim’.

Here is the video of the clerics. They include Sunni and Shia clerics.

یہ مولوی مذہبی رواداری پر پاکستان کا روشن چہرہ دکھانے گئے باہر گئے اور ان کی ایک قادیانی لارڈ طارق احمد کیساتھ تصویر وائرل ہوگئی اور پھر روشن چہرے کی روشنی اس وضاحتی بیان سےاندھیرے میں بدل گئی کہ قادیانیوں کیلئے نرم گوشہ رکھنے والا اسلام سے خارج ہے
pic.twitter.com/yKExrYetBx

— Rumi (@R00mi1) March 12, 2020

What would you say, if you found out that a preacher who promoted anti-Ahmadi hate in Pakistan, just walked into our country? Worse still, what if you found out that he was advocating violence against the buildings of a minority group in his country, simply because of their identity?

What would you then say if you found out that he had been a key-note speaker at an event in Luton this year? Furthermore, what if you found out that there was no challenge to him entering the United Kingdom? How safe would you feel?

In fact, just for good measure, the preacher in question posed and took some pictures for posterity as he exited the country and onwards to Pakistan.

Well, meet Khadim Hussain Khurshid, who was invited from Pakistan to speak at a mosque in Luton on the 5th of August 2018. So pleased was he to be invited that he listed the invitation on his ‘official’ Facebook page.

You see, a day or two before the horrendous May 2018 attack on the Ahmadi mosque in Sialkot, Khurshid had been whipping up the congregation with anti-Ahmadi rhetoric.

So let us see what he said in his video that we have included below. Translated, the text demonstrates religious extremism and violence from the mouth of this preacher:

Khadim Hussain Khurshid: “If that museum is named after that shameless man (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad  – the spiritual head of the Ahmadi movement), so be warned DPO (Divisional Police Officers), we will be heading to your office.

“Whoever loves that Mirza keeps your hands down. Those who have any shame must go out and warn the administration that if they don’t lock down that (Ahmaddiya) building until next Friday, we will see them. And Khadim Hussain will be first one to bring it down.

“If you don’t like what I am saying, ask your mothers what was wrong with your birth. This is a matter of the honour of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and thousands like me could be sacrificed for that.”

So, let us be clear, would you let someone who was promoting open sectarian hatred into our country?

Khurshid was clearly promoting violence against Ahmadi buildings in May 2018. Within days, the Ahmadi mosque in Sialkot was literally torn down, brick by brick. His words and highly divisive and inflammatory remarks may have been amplified by others who were also involved in stirring up local congregations. However, the question is this: has our Government got oversight of the activities of such individuals in Pakistan? If so, how do they manage to get into the UK? If not, why not? These are basic questions we should all be asking.

ڈونگا باغ سیالکوٹ کے مولوی خادم حسین نے الٹی میٹم دیا تھا کہ اگر انتظامیہ نے احمدیوں کی عمارت بند نہ کی تو وہ خود کلہاڑا لیکر اسے توڑنے چلے جائیں گے اور اگر آگ لگی تو پھر نہ کہنا#sialkot#ahmadis pic.twitter.com/L78DbccwDQ

— Rumi (@R00mi1) May 24, 2018

Hafiz Hamid Raza, the Sialkot Imam who can be heard callously enjoying the destruction of the Ahmadi mosque, (which can be heard in the background), visited the United Kingdom and spoke at the Khatame Nabuwat conference in Derby in 2014. We have listed the video below and which confirms his entry into the United Kingdom.

Hafiz Raza was central to the incitement that led to the destruction of the Ahmadi mosque on the 23rd of May in a town that has not had such sectarian tensions below. Residents of Sialkot have generally been immune to sectarian tensions and this development is therefore even more shocking. The destruction of the mosque took place a few days ago as people literally tore the place of worship apart brick by brick. 

Anti-Ahmadi hatred pervades widely into Pakistani society and has gone unchecked for decades, though it is also found in the United Kingdom. Anti-Ahmadi statements, graffiti on mosques and intimidation outside Ahmadi mosques have taken place in this country and continue to take occur without any real focus on the intolerance and institutionalised hatred that impacts on this well integrated and peaceful Muslim community. It is as if, institutional anti-Muslim hatred, does not exist for some Muslims when it affects Ahmadi Muslims in the UK.

Entry into the UK

Hafiz Raza’s central role in the destruction of the Ahmadi mosque should bring into question, his future access and entry to the United Kingdom. According to Home Office guidelines and rules, his actions should essentially bar from him future entry to the United Kingdom, as his presence would more than likely be considered to be ‘not conducive to the public good’.  Yet, it also brings into question the kinds of speakers that attend Khatame Nabuwat conferences.

We will be reviewing the situation as it develops.

Pictures of the Destruction in Sialkot