Co-incidence? Ahmadism and Mormonism
“The view that Mormons are not Christians is the widely and strongly held view among Protestant pastors. That does not mean they do not respect Mormons as persons, share their values on family and have much in common. Yet, they simply view Mormonism as a distinct religion outside of basic teachings of Christianity. Many of these pastors may know Mormons who consider themselves Christians, but Protestant pastors overwhelmingly do not consider them such,” said Stetzer. “I know this is an unpleasant question to many, and one that some will use as a hammer on evangelicals.”
*Mormons differ from most Protestants in how they view the Trinity. They also have scripture in addition to the Bible, such as the Book of Mormon, and believe in prophets such as Joseph Smith, Jr., who founded the Latter Day Saint movement. * (Stetzer, Lifeway Research Study 2010)
And when Muslims say that they respect Ahmadis (Qadianis) as persons but can never accept them as Muslim as they diverge on a principle as fundamental as the trinity and have new prophets, they are considered ‘narrow-minded’ and ‘extremist’.
The major difference between the social situation of the two is that the Mormons generally keep to themselves and do not criticize the Christians or the society of the country (United States) in which they have long felt alienated — they accept it as the cost of being ‘chosen’. The Ahmadis, however, have never uttered a single sentence in favor of Pakistan, boycotted elections and taken every opportunity to vilify and denigrate Pakistan and Muslims wherever they can — with a Western-backed ‘in-your-face’ attitude that raises heckles of conservatives. And nor do the Mormons feel that it is their constitutional duty to preach on every street corner, and for this reason alone — they are better tolerated than the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
As I am fond of saying, Muslims in India and Pakistan and elsewhere would leave the Ahmadi religion alone if they were to stick to their beliefs and not trample on Muslims’ right with the ‘in-your-face’ of ‘real Islam’ and their hyper-evangelical proselytization.
Dear Ahmadis, take a page from the Mormon Book. There might be some alienation, but a lot less discrimination. Not convinced? What are the chances of a Jehovah’s Witness running for President in the United States.
Dear U.S. State Department, think about this next time you copy/paste Amjad Khan’s submission into your Pakistan country report on human rights.