By A. Abdul Aziz.

In Pakistan organisations like Khatme Nubuwwat have been allowed to grow and flourish and they now yield considerable power and influence over the government.  Their religious ideology is now intrinsically woven into the political structure leading to extremism that has now spiralled out of control.

…..it is now beyond the power of [the Pakistan] government to reverse the situation for Ahmadis. Over time the religious political parties have gained in strength, sensitising the population to the status of Ahmadis to the point where ‘the common man can be incited and brought to the street’ against Ahmadis.’ (Views of a senior government adviser in Pakistan, noted in the 2007 report of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group mission to Pakistan into internal flight for Ahmadis, entitled Rabwah: A Place For Martyrs?

It notes that the instigators behind the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan and other countries are connected with the Khatme Nubuwwat (‘finality of prophethood’) movement  meaning that there can be no prophets after the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him, and that the same movement is also active in Sri Lanka.

Khatme Nabuwwat is an international religious organisation founded in Pakistan which exerts considerable political and civic influence. Its main aim is to refute the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (see its website www.khatm-e-nubuwwat.org). In Pakistan Khatme Nabuwwat openly promotes anti-Ahmadiyya sentiment through conferences, television programmes and leaflet distribution.

This vocal and active minority of Muslims are now exporting this ideology to Sri Lanka and spreading hatred against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The worrying development of such threats now being made against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Sri Lanka

According to reports, the instigators behind the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan and other countries are connected with the “Khatme Nubuwwat” (finality of Prophethood) movement or defenders of finality of prophethood and they are the one, as being a challenge to the Government of Pakistan.

The worrying fact is, the same movement is activated in Sri Lanka. Recently (17 January 2016) in Negombo, a public meeting had been organized by All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulema (ACJU), in the name of defending the finality of prophethood, in which representative from Government Ministers, Muslim MPs, other Parliamentarians, representatives of other faiths, representatives of legal body and Police Officers were present.

In his address, ACJU President Rizvi Mufthi publicly announced that an office for the defending of finality of prophethood should be opened in Negombo and he himself is prepared to offer his own land for this purpose.

In his most anti-Ahmadi provocative address, ACJU President went on to say that this sort of gatherings will be organized in Colombo and other places in the future.

According to reports, a Muslim Minister also addressed in the event. The Tamil Newspaper NAVAMANI DAILY” widely covered the event.

The media reports also confirm the link of “Khatme Nubuwwat” (finality of Prophethood) movement or defenders of finality of prophethood in Pakistan with their Sri Lankan counterpart.

It is our concern that unless this hatred and in some cases incitement to violence is stopped now it will escalate further and affect not just Ahmadi Muslims but other Muslims as well as wider society. We believe therefore that this is a serious and real threat to community cohesion in Sri Lanka.

The Ahmadi Muslim Community is a non-violent community and will remain so, but we urge the authorities to take note of the issues raised and take whatever action is necessary to prevent extremists from preaching hatred and violence against Ahmadi Muslims in Sri Lanka and to preserve the social harmony and peace for all its citizens.