The Ahmadiyya believe in a prophet after Muhammad, which makes them heretics in the eyes of orthodox Sunni Muslims, but they believe in the Qur’an, so it is extremely unlikely that an Ahmadi would burn the Qur’an out of malice. This is likely yet another victimization of the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan — once again bringing to the fore the bitter irony in the fact that in the U.S., Ahmadi spokesman such as Qasim Rashid and Haris Zafar are among the most energetic propagandists for the political line of their oppressors.
“Mob torches factory in Pakistan following blasphemy accusation,” AFP, November 21, 2015 (thanks to C. Cantoni):
LAHORE (PAKISTAN) (AFP) – An angry mob in Pakistan’s Punjab province torched a factory after one of its employees was accused of committing blasphemy, police officials said on Saturday.
Hundreds of people surrounded a chipboard factory in Jehlum city on Friday night and set the facility ablaze after reports surfaced that one employee had allegedly desecrated the Koran.
“The incident took place after we arrested the head of security at the factory, Qamar Ahmed Tahir, for complaints that he ordered the burning of Korans,” Adnan Malik, a senior police official in the area, told AFP….
According to police, another employee at the factory had reported that Tahir was overseeing the burning of Korans in the facility’s boiler and intervened to stop the act.
“We registered a blasphemy case against Tahir, who is Ahmadi by faith, and arrested him after confiscating the burnt material, which also included copies of the Koran,” Malik said.
Following the arrest, a mob reportedly descended on the factory, setting it alight….
Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims by the Pakistani government in 1974 because of their belief in a prophet after Muhammad. They are frequent victims of discrimination and violent assaults, but it is rare for suspects to be convicted for attacks against them….