The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan (Anthem Modern South Asian History)

This path-breaking work traces the history of the political exclusion of the Ahmadiyya religious minority in Pakistan, drawing on revealing new sources and connecting its discussion to larger issues of Islam in postcolonial Muslim nation-states. Winner of the Karachi Literary Festival Peace Prize 2015. In this path-breaking new work, Ali Usman Qasmi traces the history of the political exclusion of the Ahmadiyya religious minority in Pakistan by drawing on revealing new sources. This volume is the first scholarly study of the declassified material of the court of inquiry that produced the Munir–Kiyani report of 1954, and the proceedings of the national assembly that declared the Ahmadis non-Muslims through the second constitutional amendment in 1974. The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan chronicles anti-Ahmadi violence and the legal and administrative measures adopted against them, and also addresses wider issues of the politics of Islam in postcolonial Muslim nation-states and their disputative engagements with ideas of modernity and citizenship. Winner of the Karachi Literary Festival Peace Prize 2015. | Winner of the Karachi Literary Festival Peace Prize 2015, 'The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan' traces the history of the political exclusion of the Ahmadiyya religious minority in Pakistan by drawing on revealing new sources. The Ahmadis believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadiyan (1835–1908) was a prophet (in a nuanced understanding of this term) and promised messiah. This led to the group's condemnation as infidels during the colonial period, setting in course a painful history of religious exclusion. Part I of this volume traces the development of the anti-Ahmadi movement from its origin in Punjab province, where an agitation movement was launched calling upon the central government to declare the Ahmadis officially non-Muslim. After the movement intensified, leading to proclamation of martial law in Lahore in 1953, the Punjab government held a court of inquiry, which released its report in 1954. The proceedings of the Munir-Kiyani inquiry commission has now become available to scholars, and is a key focus of analysis. Part II focuses on the developments in Pakistan's politics that created a discursive space where legislative measures against the Ahmadis could be deliberated and adopted by the national assembly, and argues Pakistan's first general elections in 1970 reflected the entrenchment of religious leaders in Pakistan's power politics. The national assembly's 1974 session saw Ahmadis unanimously declared as non-Muslims; the records of this session's debates are extensively reviewed in this book. A truly path-breaking study, this work goes beyond merely chronicling the details of anti-Ahmadi violence and the legal and administrative measures adopted against them, to address wider issues of the politics of Islam in postcolonial Muslim nation-states and their disputative engagements with the ideas of modernity and citizenship. Winner of the Karachi Literary Festival Peace Prize 2015, The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan traces the history of the political exclusion of the Ahmadiyya religious minority in Pakistan by drawing on revealing new sources. The Ahmadis believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadiyan (1835 1908) was a prophet (in a nuanced understanding of this term) and promised messiah. This led to the group s condemnation as infidels during the colonial period, setting in course a painful history of religious exclusion. Part I of this volume traces the development of the anti-Ahmadi movement from its origin in Punjab province, where an agitation movement was launched calling upon the central government to declare the Ahmadis officially non-Muslim. After the movement intensified, leading to proclamation of martial law in Lahore in 1953, the Punjab government held a court of inquiry, which released its report in 1954. The proceedings of the Munir-Kiyani inquiry commission has now become available to scholars, and is a key focus of analysis. Part II focuses on the developments in Pakistan s politics that created a discursive space where legislative measures against the Ahmadis could be deliberated and adopted by the national assembly, and argues Pakistan s first general elections in 1970 reflected the entrenchment of religious leaders in Pakistan s power politics. The national assembly s 1974 session saw Ahmadis unanimously declared as non-Muslims; the records of this session s debates are extensively reviewed in this book. A truly path-breaking study, this work goes beyond merely chronicling the details of anti-Ahmadi violence and the legal and administrative measures adopted against them, to address wider issues of the politics of Islam in postcolonial Muslim nation-states and their disputative engagements with the ideas of modernity and citizenship. " 00. 9781783082360i 01.0_pp_i_iv_Frontmatter 02.0_pp_v_vi_Contents 03.0_pp_vii_viii_Acknowledgments 04.0_pp_1_8_Introduction 05.0_pp_9_10_Part_I 05.1_pp_11_34_The_Records_of_the_Court_of_Inquiry_and_the_MunirKiyani_Report 05.2_pp_35_64_The_Background_to_Jamaat_Ahmadiyyah_and_the_Origins_of_the_Anti-Ahmadi_Movement_The_Role_of_Majlis-i 05.3_pp_65_92_The_Political_Hierarchy_and_Administrative_Structure_of_Pakistan_Contextualizing_the_Events_of_19525 05.4_pp_93_118_Disturbances_in_Lahore_and_the_Imposition_of_Martial_Law 05.5_pp_119_164_The_Findings_of_the_MunirKiyani_Report 06.0_pp_165_166_Part_II 06.1_pp_167_184_Understanding_the_Events_of_1974 06.2_pp_185_220_The_Final_Solution_of_the_90-Year-Old_Problem_The_Parliamentary_Proceedings_of_1974 07.0_pp_221_226_Debates_on_the_Ahmadis_after_1974_A_Postscript 08.0_pp_227_258_Notes 09.0_pp_259_264_Bibliography 10.0_pp_265_269_Index In this path-breaking new work, Ali Usman Qasmi traces the history of the political exclusion of the Ahmadiyya religious minority in Pakistan by drawing on revealing new sources. This volume is the first scholarly study of the declassified material of the court of inquiry that produced the Munir-Kiyani report of 1954, and the proceedings of the national assembly that declared the Ahmadis non-Muslims through the second constitutional amendment in 1974. The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan chronicles anti-Ahmadi violence and the legal and administrative measures adopted against them, and also addresses wider issues of the politics of Islam in postcolonial Muslim nation-states and their disputative engagements with ideas of modernity and citizenship. Book jacket