What is it about?
This chapter argues that the declaration of heresy against the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan cannot be explained by purely local realpolitik. Rather, in making a case for a constitutional amendment declaring Ahmadis heretics, Pakistani politicians in 1974 actively relied on arguments from around the world. This rhetoric brought the world "in," and also made it easier for other Muslim communities around the world to declare the Ahmadis heretics.
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Why is it important?
This chapter upsets natural ways of thinking about heresy: that is an entirely local affair and can be explained away by arguments related to power or theological distinctions. Instead, I show that that those making a case for declaring the Ahmadis heretics implicate the rest of the world in five rhetorical categories. This raises the stakes for such declarations of heresy for everybody.
Perspectives
This is the first academic analysis of the 21 volumes of transcripts of the 1974 parliamentary discussion that ended in approving the second amendment to Pakistan's constitution by declaring Ahmadiyya non-Muslims. I am extremely grateful to the section of the legal community that worked hard to declassify, publish and disseminate the proceedings in 2011.
Dr. Ali Qadir
Tampereen yliopisto
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Parliamentary Hereticization of the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan: The Modern World Implicated in Islamic Crises, January 2014, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004277793_009.
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