I agree that there is hatred of Ahmadiyyas amongst certain UK Muslim organisations with links to Pakistan. If this leads to inciting violence against Ahmadiyyas it should certainly be prosecuted in the same way that any other actions inciting violence would be dealt with in this country.
This is a political issue where certain words and phrases are used as political weapons. After Pakistan gained independence Ahmadiyyas initially rose to high government and military positions in Pakistan due to high literacy rates, and were strong advocates of secularism, which earned them some powerful enemies among extremist Muslim political organisations vying for power in Pakistan. A similar situation happened in Sri Lanka after independence from the British Empire, with Tamils holding high positions in the government due to high literacy rates, and Buddhist Nationalism was the political weapon of choice used to unite people into riots and violence against Tamil Sri Lankan citizens.
This article in Double Bind magazine, which features female writers from a Muslim background, some of whom have left Islam and become atheists, explains some of the political issues faced by Ahmadiyyas, and how some Muslim organisations are trying to manipulate the discourse but do not represent the views of many ordinary, non-extremist Muslims.
The truth is that hatred against Ahmadis is endemic and institutionalised among the MCB’s affiliates. KN apologists like the MCB have developed a discourse repeatedly featuring the term ‘normative Islam’. This argument holds that a bigoted attitude towards Ahmadis is mainstream and that an attack on bigotry is therefore an attack on mainstream Muslim views. It is a culturally relativist and ultimately condescending view which argues that Muslims should be judged by different standards to the rest of us.
But arguments for ‘normative Islam’ omit the history of Khatme Nabuwwat and the anti-Ahmadiyya movement. Anti-Ahmadiyya sentiment is a modern, political construction. Before 1974 Ahmadis were considered Muslims by mainstream Sunnis; they worked with them, broke bread with them, and married them. Those who argue that ‘normative’ Islam inherently holds bigoted attitudes towards Ahmadis assume that Islam is timeless, homogenous and immutable; that it has no scope for reform, progress or variation. This is incorrect, as evidenced by changing Islamic scholarship and the many sects that have formed over time.
http://doublebindmagazine.com/tackling-anti-ahmadiyya-bigotry-isnt-a-job-for-the-mcb
