When The Students Are Extinguishers

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 19 September 2024 "Mujhe Khauf Aatish-e-Gul Se Hai; Ye Kahin Chaman Ko Jala Na De" Shakeel Badayuni (I'm apprehensive of the fire of the flower, lest it should burn the garden) The services of a college teacher belonging to the Ahmadi minority community have been terminated following a large-scale protest by students at a college in Pakistan’s Punjab province for being an Ahmadi, a statement from the community body said on Tuesday. Syed Ahmad, who has been teaching for the last 11 years at the Superior College Sambrial at Sialkot, some 100 km from Lahore, got his job terminated on Monday as the protesting students held demonstrations at the boys’ and girls’ campuses – he taught at both the campuses – demanding his removal. Victor Hugo wrote, "There's in every village a torch- Teacher: and an Extinguisher- the clergyman." But in Pakistan, even students joined hands with the clerics to extinguish the torch of enlightenment, liberalism and tolerance. A couple of Pakistani Urdu dailies have reported that the teacher from the Ahmadiya sect was quite popular among the students and he always helped his poor students. But the moment his true identity surfaced, those very students demanded his ouster. They considered it to be a sin to study under a teacher who's a heretic in Pakistan. An Ahmadiya Muslim is an apostate in Pakistan despite the Pakistani Nobel laureate Salam belonging to the Ahmadiya sect. For the unversed (because non-Muslims also visit this site), the Ahmadiya is a sect of Islam that was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, India. The Ahmadiya is considered a peaceful religion that seeks to revive the understanding of Islam that existed during the time of Muhammad. That young Muslim students think so regressively is a sign of extreme religious fanaticism and degeneration among the Muslims in Pakistan. Pakistan is ravaged by everyday sectarian conflicts. The raging flames of religion have engulfed the whole country. Bigotry is integral to Islam. This incident will further fan religious sentiments in Pakistan and may also influence impressionable Muslims in India because quite a few of them are great followers of Pakistani religious preachers and follow their 'teachings' in toto. A question remains and it's germane to this issue: Why don't Ahmadiyas in Pakistan leave the country and settle elsewhere? They've no voting rights. They're not Muslims in Pakistan. People and the government regularly persecute them. They're worse than Dhimmis (A dhimmi is a non-Muslim person who lived in an Islamic state and was protected by law). Isn't it time to leave that country lock, stock, and barrel? ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/students-extinguishers-pakistan-ahmadiya/d/133237 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism