ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5 Abdul Basit argues that violence against the Ahmadi sectarian minority has been normalized in Pakistan through government policies that have ex-communicated and criminalized the group. This has created both legal and moral justifications for political discrimination, social ostracization and violence against the Ahmadis. Basit analyzes the legal frameworks that have produced, sustained and reinforced these norms. Basit further argues that various Pakistani governments have appeased the radical Islamists by passing anti-Ahmadi laws to bolster their ideological legitimacy, and to also neutralize political competition from the extremists. This has allowed the radical Islamist groups to increase their influence in the society with catastrophic effects for the country’s inter-faith and intra-faith harmony.
