Martin Road, Karachi; September 16, 2022: On September 16, Police and Rangers came to the Baitul Hamad, Martin Road, Karachi and met the local Ahmadiyya president. They said that people have objections against the minarets on the Ahmadiyya mosque, so Ahmadis should remove these to put an end to the issue. The president told them that these minarets are old and he would not remove them. The officials said that they knew that Ahmadiyya Jamaat is a peaceful Jamaat and this worship place is quite old but some people come to the police station with complaints every day. The officials solicited cooperation from Ahmadis.
Thereafter the police sent for the Ahmadiyya delegation to the police station on the same day. The SHO confirmed that the worship place was old but the mullas have approached high officials for removal of minarets. Ahmadis told him that they are law-abiding, and there is no law against minarets on Ahmadiyya places of worship. According to the law Ahmadis are not allowed to call their mosque a ‘Masjid’ so they follow it; there is a ban on the Adhan (call for prayer), they do not call Adhan. Ahmadis do not have big loud speakers in their mosque. If these opponents say tomorrow that Ahmadis’ names are the same as theirs or they breathe like them or they walk like them, will he still call them at fault? they added. “If it is written somewhere in law that minarets are illegal, then give us that quote and we will seek guidance from our elders”, they argued. Their argument was weighty, and the issue rested there.
