Home
/
Secretary Blinken delivers remarks on the 2023 report on International Religious Freedom

June 26, 2024

The Case of 104 Persecuted Members of AROPL officially Highlighted and documented by the US State Department

We are pleased to announce that the persecution case involving 104 members of our faith in Turkey has been officially highlighted, recognized, and documented by the US State Department, in its 2023 International Report on Religious Freedom. The release of the report was announced by U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and details in the section concerning Turkey, the involvement of UN human rights experts in July of 2023; urging the Turkish government to refrain from deporting 104 followers of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. The information listed under "Abuses involving discrimination or unequal treatment" in the report details the violence, detention and abuse the members faced during their detention in Edirne. It also highlights that our members, often labeled as heretics and infidels in their home countries, are at risk of severe persecution under blasphemy laws. The US State Department’s annual international religious freedom report is submitted to Congress and is drafted by US embassies around the world. We hope that this recognition by the US State Department will bring further attention to the plight of our members and lead to positive actions to ensure their safety and freedom.

Read the Full Report

1999

Ahmed Al-Hassan (FHIP) Meets Imam Mohammed Al-Mahdi (PBUH & His Family)

“And the story of this meeting was that one day I was asleep and in my sleep, I saw a vision. And the Imam Mahdi (PBUH) was standing near the Mausoleum of Sayyed Mohammed, the brother of Imam Al-Askari (PBUH). And he ordered me to meet him and after that, I woke up and it was 2 am. And I prayed 4 Raka’s of the Night Prayer. And I went to sleep and saw another vision also having Imam Mahdi (PBUH) in it asking to meet me. And I woke up and it was 4 am and so I finished my night prayers and then prayed Fajr.

Then after two days of these visions, I traveled to Samarra where I found the two Imams Al Hadi and Al Askari, (PBUH). Then I returned to Balad where I found Sayyed Mohammed (PBUH) then I went to Baghdad where I found the Imams Al-Kadhim and Al-Jawwad (PBUT). Then I went to Karbala where I found Imam Al-Hussain (PBUH) and the martyrs (PBUT). And I met Imam Mahdi (PBUH) at night in the Mausoleum of Imam Al-Hussain (PBUH). Then I met with Imam Al Mahdi in the morning in the Maqam of Imam Mahdi (PBUH), which is in Karbala at the end of the Al-Sidra street.

So we sat in the Maqam alone, which was almost empty of people, with the exception of the servant (of the Maqam) who was standing in the women’s prayer area away from us.“

-Excerpt from “The Sermon of the Meeting” by Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan

BACK TO TIMELINE