Ahmadiyya in Saudi Arabia

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Ahmadiyya is a persecuted branch of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Although there are many foreign workers and Saudi citizens belonging to the Ahmadiyya movement in Saudi Arabia,[1] Ahmadis are officially banned from entering the country[2] and from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.[3][4] This has led to criticisms from multiple human rights organizations.

History

From the very early history of the Ahmadiyya Movement in the late 19th century, Ahmadis have had contact with the region in what were then a host of

Ta'if
, is registered in Ahmadiyya records as having pledged allegiance to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, but nothing much is known of him except his name and residence. Both of these persons were also included by Ghulam Ahmad in a list of 313 of his companions.

In September 1912, Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the eldest son of Ghulam Ahmad, travelled to the Hejaz, with Mir Nasir Nawab – his maternal grandfather, and Sayyid Abdul Hayyi Arab – a companion of Ghulam Ahmad, and performed the Hajj pilgrimage. This was before he became the second Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya movement in 1914, succeeding his predecessor Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first Khalifa. Noor-ud-Din had himself lived in the Hejaz for some years in the late 1860s in pursuit of religious learning, approximately 20 years before the birth of the movement.[8][9]

Modern status

There are no accurate figures for the number of Ahmadis in Saudi Arabia.[1] However, Ahmadi Muslims are a small community, primarily foreign workers from India and Pakistan and some from other countries. There is an increasing number of Saudi citizens who belong to the movement. Since the Ahmadiyya faith is banned in the country, there are no Ahmadi mosques. Ahmadis generally gather together in private properties for their daily prayers,[10] thereby limiting exposure to the local authorities.

In a 2006–2007 nationwide campaign to track down and deport Ahmadi Muslim foreign workers, the Saudi religious police arrested 56–60

Prince Nayef, and targeted Ahmadis solely because of their faith.[10] Despite calls from international human rights groups, by April 2007, 58 Ahmadi Muslims were deported to their country of origin.[13]

In May 2012, Saudi authorities arrested two Saudi citizens because of their conversion to the Ahmadiyya movement. Saudi officials encouraged them to abandon their beliefs, and three months later, they were detained. They have not been released since then.[1]

Pilgrimage

Although Ahmadi Muslims are not openly permitted to enter the holy cities of Mecca or Medina by law, there are reportedly many Ahmadis who do perform Hajj and Umrah, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.[3] Pakistan raises an additional barrier to performing Hajj. It requires that all Muslims applying for a passport must denigrate the founder of the community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and declare that all Ahmadis are non-Muslims.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Saudi Arabia: 2 Years Behind Bars on Apostasy Accusation". Human Rights Watch. May 15, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  2. ISBN 9783658069452
    . Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780595228348
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0691134840
    .
  5. ^ "Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol.1, p.355" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Al-Fazl, 25 July, 2008, p.27" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Hamamatul Bushra , Introduction to writings".
  8. ^ Syed Hasanat Ahmad. The Way of the Righteous (PDF). pp. 24–31.
  9. ISBN 9781598842043
    .
  10. ^ a b "Letter to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd al-'Aziz Al Sa'ud". Human RIghts Watch. 23 January 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  11. ^ Depending on the source there were 56–60 Ahmadis arrested in the years 2006–2007
  12. ^ "Saudi Arabia: International Religious Freedom Report 2007". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  13. ^ "Saudi Arabia" (PDF). United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  14. ISBN 978-1-107-04418-0
    . When applying for a passport, every Pakistani Muslim must sign a statement deriding Ahmad and denouncing his followers as non-Muslims.
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