The word ''Mirzai'' is a religious slur used to refer to
Ahmadis by many
South Asian Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, primarily in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
where they have been persecuted from early days and specially after the passage of
Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan which declares that Ahmadia are not Muslims and
Ordinance XX.
/ref> Ahmadis are the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphori ...
of Qadian
Qadian (; ; ) is a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India.
Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya m ...
.
Etymology and history
Etymologically, the term is derived from Mirza, a title of Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n origin denoting the rank of high nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
or Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
. Mirza is the last name of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of Ahmadiyya.
See also
* Mirza (disambiguation)
* Qadiani
Qadiani or Qadiyani ( ur, قادیانی, hi, क़ादियानी, pa, ਕ਼ਾਦਿਆਨੀ; ) is a religious slur used to refer to Ahmadi Muslims, primarily in Pakistan. The term originates from Qadian, a small town in northern Ind ...
* Persecution of Ahmadis
The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subject to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged from the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents beli ...
* Human rights in Pakistan#Human rights violations against Ahmadi community
References
Persecution of Ahmadis
Religious slurs for people
Islam-related slurs
{{Ahmadiyya-stub