Persecuted Muslims in a Muslim Land: The Ahmadhiyya

The problem with theocracies is that it's much easier to be branded a heretic or a blasphemer, which can be illegal. The Ahmadhiyya sect of Islam is branded just that in Pakistan; which is, for all intents and purposes, a Muslim theocracy. It's one of 2 countries that have large numbers of members. The other one is neighboring India. One might assume that it's easier for a Muslim to be a Muslim in a Muslim nation, more so than in a majority Hindu nation. Not so. India has an ethos of pluralism that accepts theological diversity much easier than Pakistan.

In these episodes from 2019, I speak with Fazeel Khan, an Ahmadhiyya Muslim from Pakistan, who offers us a history of his particular movement, and the trials that a lack of religious freedom bring.

A footnote to this: Fazeel & I became fast friends. In the summer of that year he invited me to address a world convocation of Ahmaddhiyya Muslims in Columbus, Ohio. It was a rare privilege, for which I am quite grateful.