Ordinance XX

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Ordinance XX (Urdu: 295-C آرڈیننس 20) is a legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 26 April 1984 and is meant to prohibit the practice of Islam and the usage of Islamic terms and titles for the Ahmadiyya Community.^{[citation needed]} The ordinance bars Ahmadi, who are deemed Non-Muslims under the Pakistani constitution, from publicly practising the Islamic faith and also disallows them from using any Islamic texts for praying purposes.^{[citation needed]} It is in addition to – but separate from – the 1974 Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. While the Second Amendment declared that Ahmadis are non-Muslims, the Ordinance prohibits Ahmadis from identifying themselves as Muslims. ^{[citation needed]}

The ordinance also debars Ahmadis from the use of any honorific titles and modes of address deemed specific to the Islamic community such as the greeting "As-salamu alaykum" (peace be upon you), reciting the Six Kalimas or the shahada (declaring belief in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad) etc., from building mosques and calling the Adhan (call to prayer), from undertaking Muslim modes of worship, from worshipping in non-Ahmadi mosques or public prayer rooms, and from making any citations from the Quran and Muhammad's hadith.^{[citation needed]} Punishment for anyone convicted of doing any of the above is imprisonment of up to three years and a fine. Ahmadis, who self-identify as Muslims and observe Islamic practices, claim that the Ordinance criminalises their everyday life.^[1] Expressing the Kalima (Muslim creed) and greeting with peace in the Muslim way is a criminal offence for Ahmadis in Pakistan.^[2]

Unable to perform his duties as the leader of the Community without violating the Ordinance, Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Ahmadiyya caliph was compelled to leave Pakistan and migrate following its promulgation. He left with his immediate family and 17 other Ahmadis for London on 29 April 1984, eventually moving the headquarters of the Community to London during his years of exile.^[3][4][5]