The Wrong Kind of Muslim: An Untold Story of Persecution & Perseverance

by Qasim Rashid

The Wrong Kind of Muslim is a call to unite those of all faiths and of no faith in the struggle for universal freedom of conscience. Since 9/11, terrorists in Pakistan have killed over 40,000—and counting. Often risking his life, Qasim Rashid journeys into the heart of that terrorism to unearth the untold story of those silenced by Taliban suicide bombings, secret police torture, and state sponsored religious persecution. Rashid exposes the horrifying truth about growing radicalism in Pakistan and its impact on Western security. But most importantly, Rashid uncovers the inspiring untold story of millions fighting back—and winning.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, Pakistan, History

232 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2013

Reviews

[Almas Nasar · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The wrong kind of muslim by Qasim Rashid is for people from every walk of life but most especially for the well-informed and well-read youth of Pakistan.I say well-read and not well-fed because it is only education that guarantees the ability to tolerate and understand stories without prejudice.And since this book champions in its cause to abolish all forms of prejudices and the abhorrent vices that stem from them,it is best to read the book with zero presumptions.Although even if one does hold fast to his opinions while reading the book,he will find himself re thinking his take on minority persecution again.

In retrospect, only the hardest of hearts may stay immune to the effect of the incidences recounted here.On more than one occasions I had to fight back tears.

This book however does not seek any sympathy from the reader.And it is due to this intention, the author naturally writes with light humor despite the gravity of the content.

After the pages culminate into the climax of cruelty,my albeit bleeding senses are captured when the author ends on the note: Win the hearts

Hope this title opens the floodgates to the magic of pen against sword in achieving the only purpose the entire humankind is in dire need of:
PEACE”

[Serjeel Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this book, I was afflicted by a host of hostile emotions which have brought me to a very fragile state over the past few days. The author has brought on such horrific scenarios in such instances that I'd be turning the pages of this book horrified at what was to happen next. In simple words, Qasim Rashid has presented us with a scenario that is not made up, not a story of the past, and not just random incidents. These are brutal and quite frankly unhuman scenarios that normal people like you and I have been put into all because of beliefs that don't fit the status quo of the minds of those who are following mainstream religions, some- not all- stuck in the dogma's directly in result to lack of education and blind obedience to their unqualified self righteous leaders. It's amazing how a human being can treat another human being in face of difference. This book was a clear reminder that how inside we are sometimes so fearful of change, that we seek to destroy that which we fear to continue in hopes to live a content life. We are terrified of change, and being wrong. This in turn can make us confused, disappointed, angry, barbaric, or even unhuman. One thing that I really enjoyed was that the author would begin each chapter with quotes that would foreshadow onto the coming content within the chapters. As an example, I am a fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and have very passionately enjoyed reading his essay's. Reading those quotes really brought about much context and emotion into my mind as I began reading through the chapters. Another example is of The Respected Mirza Tahir Ahmad (rh), who contributed in unparalleled fashion to the Islamic community, and who is considered a Caliph of the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam. As I got to the end of the book, a quote by John Lennon kept to mind, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be of one." We all believe in One God or being. I pray that this wonderful book is a step towards world peace. Amen

[Adeel Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book sheds light on the history of religious extremism in Pakistan which was affecting people of all minority faiths initially but has crept up to affect Pakistan at large today. The book depicts how Pakistan shifted path from democracy towards extremism, that led us to our current state. Pakistan is a perfect example of devastation that mixing state and politics with religion would certainly bring about.

This book touches a topic and raises a question I've found myself contemplating often times, that is, are my beliefs worth the struggle and persecution that i may have to face as a result? Are they worth dying for? In other words, why live a life in the open, but subject to intense persecution, when you could instead live a quiet and relaxed life and enjoy with your family?

This cliched quote i'm mentioning settled the case for me:
"It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep."
For reasons this book led me to understand, this quote has a much deeper meaning than what we generally perceive.

By a day as a lion I mean with freedom of conscience, which i'm giving preference to over living an oppressed life. To clarify my position here, I'm an Ahmadi (more commonly known as Qadiani, which is a derogatory term) living in Pakistan and it is constitutionally illegal if I call myself a Muslim or even appear to be one. This crosses all limits of barbarity. Call me a dog if you will, but you cannot force me to act like one. However, thousands of Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus are in jail, are criminals under the anti-blasphemy laws. Many are killed for their faith, their offence being hurting the feelings of Muslims, and no one is held accountable. These laws achieved nothing other than legitimizing the hatred and unjust violent acts of religious fanatics.

Majority of Pakistan is in an oppressed state of mind today, hearts filled with apathy, becoming increasingly ignorant. Ignorance essentially is 'where there is an itch in your heart, but you make a point not to scratch it, in fear of what might come leaking out'. Meanwhile:



Bangladesh, learning from our mistakes, has decided to ban the religious fundamentalist parties altogether, which i'm positive will save them their future, even though they may go through a hard period of time initially.

Also, i digress, i do not understand the hatred against Malala at all. It is evident that the incident of her shooting is factual, and to add insult to injury, her own country is disowning her for reasons beyond my understanding. She is standing up for her rights in the most civilized way possible. She is not the one defaming Pakistan, it is we who are.

Now, there are only two apparent ways to bring a positive change. First one is revolution, which, history proves, brings with it bloodshed, and does more to damage the country than saving it. The other is evolution, where with perseverance and steadfastness to the principles of freedom despite the threats faced, a stronger and better nation is sure to emerge eventually. And i'd rather die today and believe my offspring would live a better life, or live to see them grow sheepishly, in an oppressed society. I guess this is why 'shahadat' has such an exalted status in religion. My 'jihad' is of perseverance in faith in the face of extremism, an intellectual jihad, or I shall die struggling for freedom of conscience. In words of the author, "Attitude of succumbing to the danger, to the perception of fear, does more to harm the next generation than any oppressive regime ever could" .

I'll conclude here with another cliched quote:
"slow and steady wins the race." We will win the hearts.

[Haider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not speak highly enough of this book. I have always been intrigued to know more about the Ahmadi faith and have recently been researching it but like so many people I was at first reluctant to learn more about the Ahmadi belief due so many reasons which seem so insignificant now. This book has helped me hold on stronger to my own belief while i research other peoples beliefs like the Ahmadies. Just like them people of my own Shia belief are persecuted for ridiculous reasons and I have had many people come to me to research my Shia belief to try to understand why I and so many others are strong in our faith in the face of abuse, violence and ofcourse death, due to this I owe it to other faiths in the same position to research their views. This is not because I want to change my faith or find reasons to tell another faith they are wrong, the main reason is to help myself become one less ignorant and arrogant person in this big world and to be one more person who truly believes that God's creatures are all equal and they all deserve my decency, understanding and love towards them and hopefully these acts on my part will help other people become more decent,understanding and loving towards their fellow man. For this I thank Qasim Rashid whole heartedly, your words have further helped me on my road to self improvement.

[Amy Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend The Wrong Kind of Muslim. This book is very eye-opening and Qasim Rashid's message is a powerful one. Through his own story and those of relatives and friends, Rashid shares a glimpse into the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims (and other minority religious groups) in Pakistan. The book is well written and engaging. The stories are heart-breaking, but they show how ordinary people bravely faced discrimination, persecution, torture, and even death without resorting to any form of violence or retaliation. The Wrong Kind of Muslim is important not just because it educates readers about religious persecution in Pakistan, but also about the importance of freedom of conscience and religion.

[Laura Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book about the lack of freedom of religious conscience in Pakistan specifically. The author writes in a very accessible manner. He approaches the topic in a series of conversations with his family members in Pakistan. At the end of the book, the author leaves us with hope and a task, to continue the fight. So I tell you all here. If you have a Kindle and want to borrow this book from me, let me know and I will send it to your email. Knowledge is the first step in making the world a better place for all of us to live in.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book! I learned so much about the discrimination and religious persecution of a little-know sect of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, as told from the first-hand stories of the author's relatives.

[Rachel Castelino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qasim Rashid's book is really amazing. He starts off to answer the question - "why don't people just convert to a religion that makes their life easier?" And he takes the reader along on his journey - through being Muslim in the US, through learning about the history of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, after Partition, and the oppression that Christians, Shiite Muslims, atheists and others face in that country as well. It's such a complicated and difficult topic, but because we're exploring with him, he has the generosity to make the journey easy, and the stories affecting, without getting bogged down in the sheer numbers and the bloody violence.

At the end of the day, his conclusion is that people don't change their religion in the face of oppression, both because of the strength of their faith, and because they know that submitting to oppression, instead of fighting for religious freedom, makes their children and their children's children less safe, because the religious extremists just keep going, making all of us less safe. Freedom of conscience and tolerance makes us all free. I'm reminded that at the start of the Nazi regime, famous Jewish people were offered the option to convert. Some didn't take that option, because they couldn't imagine that their privilege wouldn't protect them, many didn't take it because of their faith. But at the end of the day, the more power the Nazis got, the more they started going after Jews - even having a few drops of Jewish blood, or like my friend's aunt a large nose or "Jewish features" was enough. And that's what happened in Pakistan as well - first it was intended for Muslims, but was also intended as a secular state. And now it's controlled by Sunni mullahs who declare other Muslims kafirs, and make it impossible for them to vote.

This was such a great book, especially for this period in time, when religious extremists are continuing to hack at the separation between church and state, and a real warning of the brutality that can follow when a state gives religion too much power. I hope he wins his Va Senate race, because we need more thoughtful voices and compassionate thinkers. https://rashidforva.com/meet-qasim/?f...

[Nancy Agafitei · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening description about the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims by other Muslims in Pakistan.

[Altaf Hussain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Last week was week of banned books. I thought to post review of this book in that week but got no time. So, here it is. Yes, it's banned in Pakistan and I got this from an old book store. Though, I read it around 2 months ago but forgot to upload its review because it left no substance on my thoughts. This book could have been much better if it would had answered the questions addressed inside it instead of putting bogus arguments and very weak sources.
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I picked up this one with really high hopes. The content I was promised in the introduction never came. I have a habit of tracking some sources. Randomly I tracked two sources, one source was a blog of some unknown person and the other source was no where to be found.
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The interesting parts and arguments were left unanswered without even leading to some related stuff. I can never comment on persecution and deprivation of rights of Ahmedi community, whom he addresses as wrong kinds of Muslims as perceived by the society. I can never justify my any word regarding any violation. I completely agree with author's opinion of darkening one particular community in Pakistan. Though I found exaggerations in writing but there I totally give author a big margin.
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But the conversations of Qasim Rashid with his uncle, than with Daniyal and than with others were way too filmy and disappointing. I felt at many instances that I'm reading a script of a bollywood action thriller movie. Many conversations were highly contrived.
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What I loved about the book was its message, Love for all, hatred for none. However, author really failed to live upto that message through his writing. The last time, I was this much disappointed with a book was "Letters to young muslims." I picked that one with high hopes too some two years back and that one like this also left many interesting arguments unanswered.
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These are completely my opinions. Not a hard reality but I'm really interesting to know views of others regarding this book. So, if anyone have read this one please let me know about your views. I want to read different views. Or you share the same opinions?

[Wajiha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautifully written book with such a sad but sadly ignored topic! As a ahmadi muslim myself this really moved me, seeing how so many of my community have suffered and are still suffering. I cried (A LOT) while reading this book, because the stories told in this are seriously messed up but also the sad reality. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, no matter if they are already familiar with the persecution of ahmadis or not, because despite knowing about (and sadly having experienced it) I learned a lot from this book.

[Uzair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Planned much of my trip to Pakistan when I was 22 based on Qasim's story.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think all Muslims are the same? Think again. Mr. Rashid takes the reader to Pakistan, the United States and elsewhere as he discusses Muslims, Islam and the internal struggle between different faiths (different branches of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, atheism, etc.). Some of these stories might be very familiar: a Christian tells Rashid (who is an Ahmadi Muslim) he can be "saved" by converting and accepting Jesus Christ. Others may not be so familiar but are very personal and poignant: Muslims attending prayers at the mosques, only to be gunned down by terrorists.

And to add complexity to this story: the call for bandages, water, help is answered. The community helps each other, while the Pakistani government tries to "bribe" the families of the deceased, while perhaps not bothering or even outright ignoring the violence in the mosques. Rashid's book discusses the nuances of this, and how Ahmadi Muslims are the target of outright prejudice. As the author is an Ahmadi Muslim, so most of the text focuses on that. But we also see pieces of the lives of Christians, Hindus and others who live in Pakistan. Many of them, for most intents and purposes of the government, do not exist. I'd been aware of this, but it's still something to think about when living in some place like the US. Which is in no way perfect when it comes to religious differences (or much else...), but it's an intriguing contrast to consider.

It is clear that not all Muslims, Pakistanis, etc. are a monolith, despite perhaps what Western media may say. I didn't feel the author was the greatest writer in portraying the difficulties and troubles, but the book in itself is invaluable. He provides insights and thoughts about some of Pakistan's political history (ie Benzair Bhutto), noting that while she made mistakes politically, he acknowledges he owes personally for allowing his wife to continue her education via a scholarship. And I found that quite poignant.

Unfortunately this book likely won't be read by those who need to read it the most. It might not be a keeper or one you'll want to read again, but even if don't know the least little bit about Islam and Muslims (I am no expert at all, but I have had friends who were), it's definitely worth picking up. Don't let the cover put you off in any way, keep an open mind and realize Muslims have their own struggles in their religion too.

[Naima Arif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth a read!

I just finished reading this book and in the end it left me with a sense of responsibility for speaking up for injustices to freedom of conscience - which is the ultimate goal of this book.

In the beginning of the book, Rashid seems a little too oblivious in the conversations he has with people in Pakistan - it seems that it is purposely written that way. Perhaps I felt this way because I was already a bit familiar with the situation in Pakistan. But, when I look back at my own experiences as a Pakistani born, Canadian Muslim; I found myself asking those same questions on my first visits back home. So maybe the writing style is appropriate for those who have never known about Ahmadi persecution.

The incidents related in this book are heart wrenching. There were many times where I simply had to put the book down to compose myself. I had always grown up knowing that my Ahmadi Muslim brothers and sisters faced persecution in Pakistan and weren't allowed to freely practice their faith. However, this book really opened my mind to the deep rooted problems and suffering that exist not only for Ahmadi's, but for Christians, Shias, and Hindus in Pakistan.

I recommend this book especially to young Pakistanis who were raised outside Pakistan. So that we can all educate ourselves about what's really going on in our homeland and take a step to make a difference in ridding Pakistan of its poisonous blasphemy laws.

[Sidra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is addressed to a particular community is not the voice of all Muslims. That being said, I would really like to emphasis on the fact that everyone has a right to express their opinions but at certain instances this book offended me. Why? Because it disgraced the country I call my homeland. We don't treat minorities like the way the author has described. Not all Christians in Pakistan work as sweepers, I have seen Christians working on a very high profile too. Also, Pakistan is not an ideology of a pseudo mullah.

All in all, the book offered a better insight to develop a better understanding of the Ahmadi faith but it was not very comprehensive since some of the facts were distorted and most of the book is comprised of stories Mr Rashid has heard from other while the other part comprises of his own speculation of the situation as a foreigner. In my opinion this was a controversial book and only showcased the thoughts of one particular community.

[Saurabh Shrivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wondered why two countries (India and Pakistan) are so different from each other today despite being born from the same nation. Similar people, similar language, similar food. What changed then?

When you have a government that has restricted freedom of expression and freedom of religion, you are essentially creating a breeding ground for various types of extremists to exist in the first place. Pakistan's blasphemy laws, Ordinance XX, no voting rights to minorities, state sponsored religious persecution are among various reasons that made this nation what it is today.

This must read book sheds light on what minorities faced in Pakistan during the time of Zuleika Ali Bhutto (democratically elected govt.), Zia Ul Haq (Military coup) and till today. It is a must read for anyone who cares about human rights, freedom of expression, thought and universal freedom of conscience.

[Craig Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're Next

This is the best presentation I have read of what happens when a nation turns itself over to fundamentalists. When heresy and blasphemy become a crime, everyone becomes a criminal.

[Balancedobsession · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book! Would read it again but I'll be moving on to his next book in response to Geert Wilders. This book explains different types of oppression and of course not all of it includes all of the problems but it does include the problems that people face in Pakistan today.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summary of book: 5/5. Actual book: 1/5.

[Ric Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good overall but some of the conversations seemed a little contrived, i. e. they seemed to have been heavily edited in order to make a point.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I had no idea all this was happening. I thought I was informed but I had no idea. This is required reading for citizens of the world.