WASHINGTON D.C: A Leading American think tank, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has expressed concern over the growing threat of religious extremism in the United Kingdom, according to a news agency.

In a research paper published by the MEMRi, Tufail Ahmad, Director for South Asia said, “The speeches and activities of Islamic clerics settled in the UK and coming into the UK from Pakistan and elsewhere reveal only one point — they teach the same extremist ideas that are taught in Pakistan.”

Ahmad was speaking in the context of the recent weeks-long siege of Islamabad over the issue of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat, a belief that is part of the Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

He said, “the ideas articulated by militants in Pakistan are being preached in British towns and Europe – publicly and in mass rallies”.

He further states, “In recent decades, Ahmadis, pejoratively dismissed by clerics as ‘Qadianis’ and persecuted by the Pakistani state and society, have found shelter in the UK. Ahmadis will be at the receiving end of Pakistani extremism flowing into the UK because they are accused, of not believing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to be the last prophet.”

Speaking in Birmingham on November 28, Chaudhary Dawood Pahalwan, the convener of the Jamaat-e-Islami UK for the Midlands – “paid generous tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the honour of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” during the violence in Islamabad.

Pahalwan warned, “Unless Nizam-e-Mustafa [the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) system of governance] is established in Pakistan, there cannot be peace in the country.”

Ahmad indicated that there have been several instances where Islamic clerics in the UK have opposed democratic rule in favour of Islamic rule.

In conclusion, Ahmad writes, “Khatm-e-Nabuwwat is one of the beliefs that constitute Islam’s blasphemy laws. The speeches and activities of Islamic clerics settled in the UK and coming into the UK from Pakistan and elsewhere reveal only one point: they teach the same ideas that are taught in Pakistan.”