The 2005 Mong shooting was an

Islamic Terrorist Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities ...

attack that occurred on 7 October 2005 in Mong in the Mandi Bahauddin District of Punjab, Pakistan. Eight members of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were killed inside a mosque as worshippers were performing

Salat (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...

Background

The Ahmadiyya movement was started in 1889 and follows the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who they believe was sent by God as a prophet and the Promised Messiah and

Imam Mehdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

prophesied in Islam "to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and re-institute morality, justice and peace." It is estimated there are between three and four million Ahmadis in Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Muslims have previously been targeted by

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

groups, while they have also suffered discrimination in Pakistan in the past, most significantly during the

Lahore riots of 1953 The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement, a faith marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore, Pakistan as well as the rest of Punjab, which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army wh ...

. They were declared non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1973 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and were legally banned from identifying themselves as such in 1984 during General

Zia-ul-Haq's Islamisation Sharization or Islamization ( ur, اسلامی حکمرانی) has a long history in Pakistan since the 1950s, but it became the primary policy, or "centerpiece" of the government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the ruler of Pakistan from 1977 ...

as per

Ordinance XX Ordinance XX ( ur, آرڈیننس 20) is a legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 26 April 1984 and is meant to prohibit the practice of Islam and the usage of Islamic ...

, despite Ahmadis calling themselves Muslim and following the rituals of Islam. In August 2005, authorities closed down the offices of 16 publications run by followers of the sect in a Punjab city for "propagation of offensive material".

Attack

Three men riding on a motorcycle holding guns, came into the village of Mong in Mandi Bauddin on Friday morning. Two of the perpetrators went inside the mosque and started firing immediately, killing eight people. The attackers managed to escape after the attack.

Response

According to what a witness told Ahmadi author Qasim Rahid, police showed up several hours after the killing and "made no effort" to find the killers. Amnesty International stated that: Interior Minister

Aftab Sherpao Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (آفتاب احمد خان شېرپاؤ; born 20 August 1944) is a Pakistani politician who is the current chairman of the centre-left Pashtun nationalist Qaumi Watan Party, after previously being a member of the Pakis ...

stated: "We condemn this attack. Any act of violence in which innocent people are killed should be condemned." Human rights groups have stated that Ahmadis have constantly suffered persecution in Pakistan and

Shahbaz Bhatti Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 19682 March 2011), popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from N ...

, head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said the government had failed to protect minorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mong shooting 2005 murders in Pakistan 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Attacks in Pakistan in 2005 Mass murder in 2005 Ahmadiyya in Pakistan Persecution by Muslims Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan Islamic terrorism in Pakistan Spree shootings in Pakistan Massacres in religious buildings and structures Massacres in Pakistan Mandi Bahauddin District Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2005 Crime in Punjab, Pakistan October 2005 events in Pakistan Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Pakistan