The senior imam at Scotland’s biggest mosque has praised Mumtaz Qadri who was executed last month for killing former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.
Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman of Glasgow Central Mosque used the popular messaging platform, WhatsApp, to show his support for Qadri.
Qadri, a former police bodyguard, shot Taseer 28 times in an upscale market in Islamabad in 2011. He later admitted the killing, saying he objected to the politician’s calls to reform controversial blasphemy laws — a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan.
In messages seen by the BBC, Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman said that he is ‘disturbed’ and ‘upset’ at the news of Qadri’s execution, before writing, “Rahmatullahi alai”, a religious blessing usually given to devout Muslims and meaning may God’s mercy be upon him.
In another message he said, “I cannot hide my pain today. A true Muslim was punished for doing which [sic] the collective will of the nation failed to carry out.”
However, the imam said the messages had been taken out of context and that he was expressing his opposition to capital punishment.
As the most senior imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, Maulana Habib Ur Rehman plays the important role of leading prayers and giving religious guidance and teachings. It was confirmed by the BBC that the messages came from the imam himself.
Many took to Twitter appalled by the imam’s sentiments towards Qadri.
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