More misreporting of
the South Africa case
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Some anti-Ahmadiyya spokesmen have gone a step further than Prof. Khurshid
Ahmad, and boldly proclaimed that Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims
by a South African court. A friend from the U.S.A. has sent to The
Light a news-item published in Urdu by the Idara Dawat-O-Irshad,
U.S.A. Inc., of Alex. VA, which carries the following three banner
headlines:
"Great, international triumph for Muslims,
humiliation for Qadianis,
Historic judgment by full bench of Supreme
Court of South Africa,
Qadianis declared to be non-Muslims."
These misrepresentations are just beyond belief. The report underneath
reads as follows:
"The full bench of the highest court of Cape Town, South Africa,
comprising five judges, while giving its judgment on an old case,
has confirmed the unanimous verdict of the Islamic world and the decisions
of the National Assembly of Pakistan and its higher courts, and declared
the Qadianis to be non-Muslims. Over-turning the judgment given by
a single judge, it has refused to accept them as Muslims. The full
bench of the Supreme Court made it clear that matters relating to
the religious beliefs of any community can only be decided by the
ulama and theological experts of that community, who are the
custodians, guardians and trustees of that creed. This right cannot
be taken away by any court or group. It is inappropriate for a secular
or worldly court to give a decision on who is a Muslim and who is
an apostate. The Muslims also have the right to excommunicate any
person from the religion."
The news report then extends its congratulations to various persons,
beginning as follows:
"On this historic judgment, we congratulate and pay tribute
to the learned judges of the Supreme Court, the Muslim lawyers, the
President of the Muslim Judicial Council Sheikh Nazim, and its other
members . . ."
The judgment may or may not be historic, but it is certainly a historic
act to congratulate Sheikh Nazim because it is rare indeed that the
loser of a case is congratulated for winning it. Nazim is the man
about whom the appeal judgment says:
- "The appeal of the first appellant (Nazim) is dismissed. .
." (p. 169).
- Nazim gave "false evidence" at the trial (p. 156 and 160).
- The defendants (Nazim and the MJC) could not call even one
Muslim "out of hundreds present" at the wedding incident
to support Nazim in the trial. The two witnesses who did appear "give
the impression of giving evidence under orders", and remained
just short of committing perjury (p. 113).
If such are the grounds for congratulation, then it just shows the
abysmal moral standards of those who are extending the felicitations.
We repeat: it is entirely untrue and groundless to suggest that
this judgment has either declared or accepted that Ahmadis are non-Muslims.
The reaction of the anti-Ahmadiyya parties following this judgment
is itself a plain judgment of Allah upon them because their behaviour
has shown them in their true colours.
We ask all fair-minded Muslims to ponder the following questions: how
can you believe these people's general allegations against the Ahmadiyya
Movement and its Founder when they are capable of producing such blatant
falsehood as above? And, further, can any decent Muslim possibly associate
himself with such so-called ulama and defenders of Islam who
spread total and absolute untruths throughout the world?
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