Saturday, October 08, 2005

8 killed, 20 wounded in gunmen attack on Ahmadiyya Mosque in Mong near Mandi Bahauddin

http://www.liputan6.com/view/9,110414,1,0,1128738960.html

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8 killed, 20 wounded in gunmen attack on Ahmadiyya Mosque in Mong near Mandi Bahauddin


Unknown gunmen attacked Ahmadiyya Mosque in Village Mong near Mandi Bahauddin in early hours of Friday when large number of worshippers gathered to offer Fajar prayers. According to sources armed with automatic assault rifles (Kalashinkoves) three persons entered the village riding a motorcycle. Two of them entered Ahmadiyya Mosque and sprayed bullets in every direction killing six instantly and wounding 22 others including 12 children. Two injured succumbed to their injuries in Hospital. Condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical. According to Indus News Network the village Mong never had any religious tension or violence and people of all sects lived there peacefully.

Those who were martyred included two real brothers Raja Muhammad Ashraf, Raja Abid and their other family members Raja Muhammad Altaf, Raja Abdul Majeed, Raja Lahrasab and three others Aslam, Naveed and Yasir.

Further details are awaited.

News gathered from various news networks are produced below.

Last Updated: Friday, 7 October 2005, 13:12 GMT 14:12 UK
Eight killed in Pakistan attack



Police in Pakistan say at least eight people were killed and 19 injured when gunmen opened fire as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.

The attack on members of the minority Ahmadiyya sect took place near the town of Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab.

The Ahmadiyya profess allegiance to Islam, but were declared heretical by a constitutional amendment 30 years ago.

Police official Mohammed Arif said the gunmen rode up on motorbikes before entering the mosque and opening fire.

‘Religious terrorism’

“So far we only know that three men riding on a motorcycle suddenly came in the village Friday morning. Two of them went inside the mosque and started firing,” he told the Associated Press.



When I reached the mosque, I heard cries and saw blood everywhere


Masood Ahmed Raja, eyewitness
About 150 Ahmadiyya live in Mong, a suburb of Mandi Bahauddin, 150km (94 miles) south of Islamabad.

The head of the mosque, Sadiq Hussain Sherazi, was leading prayers when he heard gunfire and “immediately threw myself on the floor”.

“The attackers thought I was dead and that is what saved me. After a while I got up and saw bodies all around me. There was blood and chaos all around and the wall was full of bullet holes.”

Masood Ahmed Raja, a doctor belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect, said he was going to a mosque when he saw three masked men escaping on a motorcycle.

“I had no idea who these men were, but when I reached the mosque, I heard cries and saw blood everywhere,” he said.

“I don’t know who attacked our mosque, but it seems to be an act of religious terrorism.”

Persecution

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said: “We condemn this attack. Any act of violence in which innocent people are killed should be condemned.”


Shahbaz Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, also condemned the killings, but said the government had failed to protect minorities.

Human rights groups have constantly highlighted the persecution suffered by the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan.

In August, authorities closed down the offices of 16 publications run by followers of the sect in Punjab city for “propagation of offensive material.”

Bangladesh has also banned publications by the Ahmadiyya movement amid demands from Islamic hardliners that it be declared non-Muslim.

The Ahmadiyya were declared non-Muslims under the Pakistani constitution in 1974.

The sect was founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam [Ahmad], who was born in the town of Qadian in Punjab in 1835.

The Ahmadiyya believe he was the Imam Mahdi, or the Promised Messiah.

Sectarian violence in Pakistan mostly concerns the rift between the majority Sunnis and minority Shia and has claimed around 4,000 lives in the past decade.


URL : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4317998.stm



Gunmen slay Pakistani worshippers

Friday 07 October 2005, 9:53 Makka Time, 6:53 GMT

Three gunmen on motorcycles have attacked worshippers belonging to a small religious sect in eastern Pakistan, killing at least eight people and wounding 20 others, police say.

The Friday attack on a building used by the Ahmadiyya sect happened in the village of Mong, about 400km northeast of Multan, a main city in the eastern Punjab province, said Mohammed Arif, an area police officer.

The attack came after a dawn prayer on the second day of Ramadan.

“So far we only know that three men riding on a motorcycle suddenly came in the village on Friday morning. Two of them went inside the mosque and started firing,” he said.

“It was a scene of carnage. The floor of the one-room mosque was littered with blood,” said Mohammad Sajid, who lives nearby. He said 25 people were praying when the attack happened at around 4.45am (2345 GMT).

“We condemn this attack,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said.

Religious divisions

The Ahmadiyya sect was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th-century Indian religious leader who claimed to be a prophet seeking Islam’s renewal. The religious group differs from Muslims over the definition of Islam’s founder Mohammad being the final prophet.

Sunni Muslim Pakistan passed a law in 1970s forbidding Ahmadiyyas from calling themselves Muslims.

Religious violence in Pakistan has claimed 4000 lives in the past decade, mainly through bomb blasts and targeted killings.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

URL : http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B7309BFF-51B0-4A0B-AE8C-C748FBEDD970.htm



WORLD
Gunmen kill 8 at Pakistani prayers
From CNN’s Syed Mohsin Naqvi
Friday, October 7, 2005 Posted: 0643 GMT (1443 HKT)

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) — At least eight people were killed and 18 others injured when a group of men opened fire at a “Qadiani Sect” prayer gathering in Mandi Bahuddin, Pakistan, police said.

In addition, local police said some Qadianis were praying in a house in Mong Town when two motorcyclists opened fire on them on Friday.

The injured people were taken to a hospital, and police have cordoned off the area.

In the late seventies, Qadianis were declared non-Muslims in the Pakistani constitution, and have all the rights of non-Muslims in Pakistan.

The attack occurred on the second day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Mandi Bahuddin is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Islamabad.

URL : http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/07/pakistan.violence/



October 7 2005
Friday
Ramazan 2, 1426

Eight dead in Pakistan mosque attack ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (AFP) - Masked gunmen with Kalashnikov rifles stormed into a mosque belonging to a minority Muslim sect in Pakistan Friday, shooting dead eight people and wounding 14, interior minister Aftab Sherpao and police said. Members of the Ahmadi community offering morning prayers in Mong, a suburb of Mandi Bahauddin town, 100 kilometres south of Islamabad, were attacked by three men on a motorbike and two on foot, reports said. “The floor of the one-room mosque was littered with blood,” said Mohammad Sajid, who lives nearby. He said around 25 people were praying when the attack was made at around 4:45 am (2345 GMT).“Two masked men entered the mosque and sprayed bullets at people standing in two rows for morning prayers,” area police chief Ziaullah Niazi told AFP. “One witness said he could hear the sound of a motorbike with its engine running outside throughout the attack.” Police said one of the injured was in a critical condition.(Updated @ 12:30 PST First posted 10:15 PST)

URL : http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/07/welcome.htm



Friday October 07, 2005 — Ramazan 02, 1426 A.H.
Mandi Bahauddin toll climbs to 8
(Updated at 1030 PST)
MANDI BAHAUDDIN: The toll of Mnadi Bahauddin incident climbed to 8 whereas 13 people were injured in the incident.

The deceased included two real brothers Raja Muhammad Ashraf, Raja Abid and their other family members Raja Muhammad Altaf, Raja Abdul Majeed and Raja Lahrasab.

Names of those received injuries in the incident are Capt Ayub, Muhammad Sajid, Muhammad Adnan, Shariq Ahmad, Zameer, Umair, Farooq, Farooq Ahmad, Irfan, Ashraf, Mahmood Shah, Ashraf, Mahmood Waheed, Abid and Hareer.

Bodies and injured were rushed to hospitals in Kharian and Lahore.

District police sources said that no one claimed responsibility of the attack and search for culprits underway.

Security has beefed up at religious places country wide following the incident. Strict security measures also directed for Jummah prayer congregations.



Six killed in Mandi Bahauddin firing
(Updated at 0810 PST)
LAHORE: At least six persons were killed and 15 others wounded in Mandi Bahauddin here, police said Friday.

Police said some Qadianis were praying in a house in Mong Town when two motorcyclists opened firing leaving six dead and 15 seriously wounded.

The injured persons were rushed to hospital. Police have cordoned the area.

URL : http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2005-daily/07-10-2005/main/update.shtml#06



http://www.wedding.keywordblogger.net/?sub=full&pid=212047
Turmoil in Pakistan

Our insensitive jerk from Pakistan is still paralysed over dealing with religious extremism in the country. When the fuck is he going to pull his head out of the sand? Eight died and over 20 injured when gunmen opened fire as worshippers from the Ahmadiyya sect in Punjab state. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said: “We condemn this attack. Any act of violence in which innocent people are killed should be condemned.” Shahbaz Bhatti, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, also condemned the killings, but said the government had failed to protect minorities. In Pak, this doesn’t happen just to Ahmadiyyas , but also frequently to the Shias . Pakistan also had its first gay marriage , but its unlikely to open a flood of others. On hearing of the wedding, a tribal council told the pair to leave the area or be killed for breaking religious and tribal “values and ethics”. I’m more worried about the fact that the old man was buying the young kid. Hmmmm…



http://komiek.blog.com/352489/
October 07, 2005
my blood is just as red as yours...
Eight dead, twenty injured in religious sect attack in Pakistan

3 masked men opened fire in a mosque near the town of Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab, Pakistan killing eight and injuring 20 more. The dead and injured belonged to a Muslim sect called Ahmadiyyat. In 1974, the Pakistani government declared them heretical.

The group arrived on motorcycles, entered the mosque and fired away during Friday morning prayers (Friday is the Muslim holy day). The Ahmadiyya have been targeted by Muslim sects throughout the world because of their beliefs.

From Punjab to Bangladesh the Ahmadi's are being accused of "propagation of offensive material". Human rights groups have repeatedly tried to shed light to the problem, but the Pakistan government refuses to protect the minority community.



http://asmamirza.blogspot.com/2005/10/depressing-incident.html
Saturday, October 08, 2005
A Depressing Incident!
Assalam-o-alaykum w.w!

A very sad incident happened in a village of my Pakistan … a real painful incident …! After Sahri time, when people gathered in a mosque to offer Fajr prayers … few people came and opened up fire, that caused eight shahadats and 20 people were injured.

The people who gave their lives belonged to Ahmadiyya Muslim community … they were offering second rak’at of Fajr prayers … when Allah blessed them with shahadat. This happened in a small village in Mandi Bahuddin (near Sargodha) in Pakistan.

I don’t have any words to express the pain … the first thing that came to my mind was the مخالفین who did this act … were they fasting? If yes, what was the neeyat they did after sahri?

It's a repetition, in 2000 and 2001 same incidents happened, martyring many in Ahmadiyya Mosques during and after the prayers were being offered.



http://clarityandresolve.com/archives/2005/10/you_are_not_the.php
October 07, 2005
You Are Not the Right Kind of Muslims, You Must Die

Once again we see how tolerant the death cult is to any deviation from its violent jihad norms: 8 Killed, 19 Wounded at Pakistan Mosque

MONG, Pakistan - Armed assailants opened fire inside a mosque belonging to a small Muslim sect in eastern Pakistan early Friday, killing eight people and wounding 19 others, police and a doctor said.

The attack on the mosque belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect, a frequent target of persecution, happened in the village of Mong, 150 miles southeast of the capital, Islamabad.

"So far we only know that three men riding on a motorcycle suddenly came in the village Friday morning. Two of them went inside the mosque and started firing," said Mohammed Arif, a police official. ...

Masood Ahmed Raja, a cardiologist who belongs to the sect, said he was going to the Baitul Hamad mosque when he saw three masked men fleeing on a motorcycle.

"I had no idea who these men were, but when I reached the mosque, I heard cries and saw blood everywhere," he said. "I don't know who attacked our mosque, but it seems to be an act of religious terrorism."

Yup. It was an act of pious Islamic holy war against the infidels/apostates, as prescribed in the Quran and sunna—an act that the Ahmadiyya Muslim community have forsaken since their inception, more than one hundred years ago. They actually have transformed Islam into a religion of peace, and as this horrific incident makes clear, they are a despised and persecuted minority.

Sadiq Ahmed Sherazi, who was leading prayer at the time, said one bullet missed his head and hit the wall.

"All of a sudden, (the attackers) opened fire and the shooting went on for five minutes and nobody could get out," he said, adding "then it went quiet and all we could hear was the sound of people crying."

Mumtaz Ali Khan, a 55-year-old injured man at a government hospital, said he was praying inside the mosque when he heard firing and saw people falling down.

"Then I fell down and found myself in the hospital when I opened my eyes," he said.

Nightmarish scenes like this illustrate why it is so very critical for infidels to throw their support behind civil, progressive Muslim groups like the Ahmadiyya. Without our help, they are doomed to such intolerance and violence from the mainstream Islamic community.

Posted by Patrick at October 7, 2005 12:06 PM



http://www.livejournal.com/community/nikkinewsnet/374269.html

This is NNN - Eight die in Pakistan Muslim sect attack
The Nikki News Network

01:27 pm October 7th, 2005
nikkinewsnet
delerium69

Eight die in Pakistan Muslim sect attack

At least eight people were killed and 20 injured when gunmen opened fire in a mosque as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers. The attack on members of the minority Ahmadiyya sect - often persecuted according to human rights groups - took place near the town of Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab.

Current Mood: melancholy



http://birpletok.blogspot.com/2005/10/agama-konflik.html
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Agama & Konflik

Jakarta suatu malam, udara menyesakkan pori-pori, namun mata saya belum mau lelah mengikuti alur kronologispertikaian antara Ahmadiyah di satu sisi dan sebuah Majelis di sisi lainnya. Mirip adegan tinju di, dua-dua petinju sedang ada di pojok ring, konsolidasi untuk babak konflik selanjutnya. Konflik berkelidan, belum mencapai titik temu, belum mencapai

sepakat untuk tidak sepakat. Yang satunya memegang kuasa-yang juga abstrak-dan yang satunya makin merasa keras bahwa keyakinannya layak untuk hidup dan berkembang.


tema konflik dengan mengusung panji-panji agama, kepercayaan, keyakinan dan segala sesuatu yang subtil masih terus berulang di melinium ini, dengan beragam variansi dan anasirnya terus bergerak dengan ragam ekspresinya, membentuk valensi yang terus berubah-ubah sebagai sebuah kekuatan. suatu kali ia bersifat X ketika pemeluknya ditindas, kali lain akan berubah menjadi Y ketika pemeluknya menindas.

Bayangkan saja tuan penganut muslim di palestina dan hidup serta berbagi nafas dengan pemeluk yahudi di jalur gaza, atau cobalah anda menjadi penganut kristen anglikan di tengah-tengah belfast, irlandia utara yang mayoritas katolik. mayoritas melambangkan kuasa, sedang minoritas atas nama jumlah, atas nama keinginan untuk sekedar eksis, dihargai, mendapat senyum dan sapa tiap sore hari. Di pojok-pojok dunia yang makin renta ini, kita bisa menyaksikan tema konflik.

Bayangkan anda jadi muslim di sebuah kota kecil di Bosnia Timur, bersentuhan langsung dengan serbia dan kroasia. di pinggiran sungai Drina yang mengalir deras. Bayangkan anda di musim semi di tahun 1992, pohon-pohon menghijau, tapi anda ketakutan. Milisi-milisi Serbia menguasai kota, penduduk muslim seperti anda dilarang keluar, lalu penangkapan dimulai, dalam hitungan hari, anda digiring ke sebuah kamp, berbaris satu-satu, lalu anda lihat mesjid tempat anda shalat jum'at berjamaah beberapa pekan sebelumnya, di atas permadani hijau dengan motif kembang jingga dan merah bergantian. namun ketika anda berbaris, mendadak ledakan besar menyebabkan mesjid itu rata dengan tanah, beberapa orang milisi telah meletakkan dinamit dan dalam satu kali ledakan, mesjid itu hilang dari tatapan anda, luluh lantak.

Sejarah mencatat, di kota-kota seperti Foca, Srebenika, di pelosok Bosnia sepanjang tahun 1992 hingga 1993, kekejaman berlanjut, perempuan-perempuan diperkosa secara nista, laki-laki dibantai, harta benda digusur, orang-orang muslim masuk ke kamp konsentrasi, persis seperti Nazi menggiring orang Yahudi di wilayah yang sama di perang dunia. Atau persis seperti Nazi menggiring partisan anak buah Broz Tito yang tertangkap di perang dunia ke II.

Di 2005 ini, Jakarta yang panas mencatat, penganut Ahmadiyah menyakini Ghulam Ahmad menerima wahyu, dan status kenabian Ghulam masih berlangsung. Pemeluk Islam lainnya juga wajar menganggap bahwa keyakinan Ahmadiyah itu dipandang merusak akidah dan menyimpang dari Islam.Beda paham antar-pemeluk beda agam, sesama pemeluk Islam, bahkan di antara sebuah organisasi Islam semakin tajam di tengah arus deras globalisasi. Penyelesaian sengketa keagamaan lebih mirip pertandingan tinju tanpa wasit, tanpa akhir. Cenderung diselesaikan dengan aksi pengerahan massa disertai kekerasan. Seolah Islam hanya bisa hadir dengan teror dan kekerasan.

Keyakinan Islam sebagai ajaran yang sempurna dan tunggal sering menempatkan sebagian umatnya sebagai Tangan Tuhan yang hendak menghakimi siapa saja yang berbeda, jika perlu dengan kekerasan, amuk. Pemeluk islam - agama yang santun dan damai - tampaknya mesti berdamai dengan pemeluk Islam lainnya.

Toleransi keagamaan bagi kemuliaan kemanusiaan, bukan untuk mengubah keyakinan, semakin penting untuk dikembangkan. Tuhan sendiri berfirman, jika Dia berkehendak, maka seluruh manusia akan memeluk satu agam dengan paham yang seragam. Tapi Dia biarkan semua berlangsung alami untuk menguji siapa yang terbaik.

Namun apa artinya? bukankah mabuk kemenangan hanya akan bisa dinikmati dalam beberapa bulan saja? teror dibalas dengan teror, dan atas nama agama.

Apa yang menjadi fanatik bagi sebagian orang bersenjata akhirnya mengarah pada kesia-siaan. Yang tersisa; kehancuran peninggalan sejarah, kampung halaman porak poranda, relasi kekerabatan sekejap hilang.

Tema itulah yang tampaknya selalu berulang dalam lintasan sejarah peradaban manusia, dengan segala variasinya. Pelbagai anasir agama, apa pun ekspresinya membentuk valensi yang berubah-ubah sebagai sebuah kekuatan. Ia bersifat "X" ketika pemeluknya ditindas, dan ia bersifat "Y" ketika pemeluknya menindas.

Seorang penyair Inggris, bertanya kepada seekor harimau, "Did he who made the lamb make thee?"-adakah ia yang menciptakan domba juga menciptakanmu?

Di sini, Tuhan selamanya ditafsirkan. Kita tak pernah berhubungan langsung dengan Dia. Dalam sajak Blake yang penuh pertanyaan itu, Tuhan dapat dibayangkan sebagai kemahakuasaan membuat domba yang lemah tapi selamat, tapi juga membuat sang macan penguasa hutan juga tampil gagah.

Agama, di tangan yang berkuasa dan pemeluk yang kuat, dengan gampang membuka godaan untuk memilih Tuhan yang mencipta si raja hutan; Tuhan yang menghadirkan kekuasaan, kecurigaan dan kekerasan sebagai anasir kelebihan Makhluk-Nya.

Namun, penulis menilai, di balik godaan untuk tampil berkuasa, kuat, dengan kekerasan bila perlu, bahwa di situ ada keyakinan yang cemas. Tuhan dibayangkan sebagai kuasa yang penuh amarah dan cemburu, mereka merasakan ada lubang yang masih menganga dalam hidup. Seorang "Pembela Tuhan" merasa mendapat mandat dan kehendak dari Dia tentu menginginkan muka bumi yang bersih dari apa saja yang najis, mencong, ataupun kotor. Mereka siap, apabila ada yang mengganggu sabda-Nya, untuk membuat manusia yang najis, mencong tadi disingkirkan, mesjid didinamit, gereja dibakar dan kuil diruntuhkan. Di setiap lintasan sejarah agama, hal itu terjadi. Tapi akhirnya selalu terbukti, gerak kehidupan selalu lebih rumit, lebih sulit ketimbang jalan yang lurus, hidup manusia ibarat lubuk yang kedap cahaya - bahkan jika cahaya itu datang dari iman yang kuat.

Semakin jauh yang mencong itu, semakin besar lubang kekurangan yang menganga itu, semakin besar nafsu untuk meluruskan jalan manusia, dan kita pun mendadak lupa bahwa ajaran agama manapun tak pernah menyimpan asumsi yang suci sama dengan yang lempang dan terang. "Cahaya" yang muncul di kitab suci melalui penafsiran sering muncul sebagai "cahaya" yang menyentuh, mempesona, menyebabkan kita tergetar, bukan cahaya yang seperti neon dengan sinar yang mereduksi bayang-bayang.

Sebuah sajak Amir Hamzah tepat menggambarkan Cahaya Tuhan sebagai "kerlip lilin di kelam sunyi", sinar yang sabar, setia, selalu, dan tak mantap. Cahaya yang suci juga misterius sebagai sesuatu yang tak dapat diuraikan, dibuktikan atau diargumentasikan. Yang suci bukanlah tempat memperoleh klasifikasi tentang hal-ihwal yang hidup. Agama apa pun mengandung pengakuan yang mendasar kepada enigma nasib, kelahiran, dan kematian - dan sebab itulah agama bisa menumbuhkan kerendahan hati.

Pemeluk ahmadiyah sendiri perlu bercermin dan lebih terbuka mengkomunikasikan pandangan atas wahyu dan kenabian, termasuk makna Al-Mahdi. Para pihak yang memandang Ahmadiyah sesat dan mencong perlu melakukan tabbayyun (klarifikasi) melalui dialog guna menemukan titik kesepahaman. Kesediaan melakukan dialog secara terbuka itu akhirnya semakin penting, tak terhindarkan untuk menemukan yang terbaik bagi kemanusiaan, sehingga Islam benar-benar memberi rahmat bagi seluruh umat manusia.

Bayangkanlah lagi, kita sebagai umat yang terpojok, di pihak yang terancam dan tak bisa lagi berharap. Kitka akan terdesak dan bertanya, apa gerangan Kehendak-Nya, dan kita tahu bahwa kita tak tahu. Satu hal yang pasti: dalam keadaan yang celaka itu, kita tak mungkin mengatakan "akulah kehendak itu". Kita tak hendak menjadikan diri kita pengganti-Nya. Di titik ini, satu hal menunjukkan: tak adanya ketakaburan itu menyebabkan agama bisa dipeluk dengan kuat karena rela.

posted by birpletok at 7:07 PM

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