Ahmadiyya in Pakistan

Ahmadiyya by country
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Ahmadi Proportion of each Pakistani District in 2017 according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

Ahmadiyya in Pakistan are members of the Ahmadiyya Community. The number of Ahmadiyya in the country has been variously estimated to between 0.22% and 2.2% of Pakistan's population.[1][2][3][4] Hence, Pakistan is the home to the largest population of Ahmadis in the world. The city of Rabwah in the province of Punjab used to be the global headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Community before they were moved to England.

Ahmadis in Pakistan have often come under religious persecution and discrimination.[5] According to a Pew Research Center, only 7% of Pakistanis consider Ahmadis as Muslims.[6]

The Ahmadiyya movement originated in the city of Qadian. Following the independence of Pakistan, Ahmadis moved to the city of Rabwah to establish their headquarters. There have been a number of notable Pakistani people who have belonged to the Ahmadiyya Community, including the country's first Nobel Prize laureate, Abdus Salam and Pakistan's first foreign minister Muhammad Zafarullah Khan. Ahmadiyya and Mahdavia constitute the two main Mahdi'ist creeds in Pakistan.[7]

  1. ^ The 1998 Pakistani census states that there are 291,000 (0.22%) Ahmadis in Pakistan. However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has boycotted the census since 1974 which renders official Pakistani figures to be inaccurate. Independent groups have estimated the Pakistani Ahmadiyya population to be somewhere between 2 million and 5 million Ahmadis. However, the 4 million figure is the most quoted figure and is approximately 2.2% of the country. See:
    • over 2 million: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2008-12-04). "Pakistan: The situation of Ahmadis, including legal status and political, education and employment rights; societal attitudes toward Ahmadis (2006 - Nov. 2008)". Retrieved 2012-06-28.
    • 3 million: International Federation for Human Rights: International Fact-Finding Mission. Freedoms of Expression, of Association and of Assembly in Pakistan. Ausgabe 408/2, Januar 2005, S. 61 (PDF)
    • 3–4 million: Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2005, S. 130
    • "Pakistan: Situation of members of the Lahori Ahmadiyya Movement in Pakistan". Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  2. ^ over 2 million: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2008-12-04). "Pakistan: The situation of Ahmadis, including legal status and political, education and employment rights; societal attitudes toward Ahmadis (2006 - Nov. 2008)". Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  3. ^ 3 million: International Federation for Human Rights: International Fact-Finding Mission. Freedoms of Expression, of Association and of Assembly in Pakistan. Ausgabe 408/2, Januar 2005, S. 61 (PDF)
  4. ^ 3–4 million: Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2005, S. 130
  5. ^ Uddin, Asma T. (2014). "A Legal Analysis of Ahmadi Persecution in Pakistan". In Kirkham, David M. (ed.). State Responses to Minority Religions. Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements. Farnham, U.K. and Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing/Routledge. pp. 81–98. ISBN 978-1-4724-1647-6. LCCN 2013019344.
  6. ^ "In Pakistan, most say Ahmadis are not Muslim".
  7. ^ Sheikh, Samira. "Aurangzeb as seen from Gujarat: Shi ‘i and Millenarian Challenges to Mughal Sovereignty." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 28.3 (2018): 557-581.