Visit by ‘Interfaith’ Pakistani Clerics to the U.K Turns into a Farce

March 13, 2020 Article

Interfaith group – FACES – which is a Pakistan based interfaith group brought a group of Islamic clerics to meetings with key politicians, ministers, hate crime practitioners and interfaith organisations in the U.K.

The Founder and former Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, met with the group and explained how sectarian hatred from Pakistan was being promoted through satellite channels and beamed into the homes of Urdu speaking British citizens; through such channels anti-Ahmadi rhetoric and anti-Shia hatred was being promoted, he said.

Furthermore, Mughal commented on how such hatred was influencing and re-enforcing such intolerance against minorities in Islam and that the murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow and the incendiary rhetoric of Islamist extremists such as Khadim Hussain Rizvi, posed a threat to the security of British nationals.

Having spent 45 minutes on this topic, we were then appalled to see those very Islamic clerics, promoting anti-Muslim bigotry against a U.K. Minister – Lord Tariq Ahmad. To add insult to injury, they made a short video which they posted up, suggesting that Ahmadis are ‘non-believers’ and that they were not aware of the background of this U.K. Minister.

Irrespective of what religion a U.K. Minister follows, we cannot stand idly by and have a member of our Government abused because of their Islamic identity which does not fit the ‘pigeon-holed’ belief patterns of such preachers. In fact, we would argue that such preachers are not fit for purpose and do not have the backbone to challenge bigotry.

We have asked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whether this trip was funded by the British taxpayer. The answer we have received was a categoric ‘no’. In future, we would ask civil servants to vet any group and individuals travelling from overseas who seek to meet with ministers in the United Kingdom. It makes a mockery of human rights and ‘tolerance’ when such clerics seek to abuse our ministers because they are, in their torrid minds, the ‘wrong type of Muslim’.

Here is the video of the clerics. They include Sunni and Shia clerics.

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Categories: anti-Ahmadi, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hate Crime practitioners, Interfaith Pakistan, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Lord Ahmad, News, Opinions