Pir Mian Javed Ahmed converts eleven Hindus to Islam in Pakistan
Ghotki, Sindh, Pakistan 
3 November, 2023
Case Summary
Eleven members of Hindu families, spanning across different age groups, were converted to Islam on November 4th 2023, at the Dargah-e-Aliya Bharchundi Shareef Dargah in Ghotki district, Sindh province, Pakistan. Pir Mian Javed Ahmed read Kalma in front of the Hindus and converted them to Islam. This is not the first time Pir Mian Javed Ahmed’s name surfaced for converting Hindus to Islam. Just days before 11 Hindus were converted, a 25-year-old Hindu named Shankar s/o Chetan Das Bhil from Thakrato was converted to Islam by Javed Ahmed.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the victims were brainwashed into converting their religion. The details of the case suggest that the Maulvi read the Kalma in front of the Hindus and converted them to Islam. Since the underlying offence is against people of a specific faith and involves indoctrination and illegal conversion, this case is being categorised under the primary category of Predatory Proselytisation. The distinct components of brainwashing and indoctrination demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their religious identity. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinated victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this specific case, it is important to also explain the dynamics of religious conversions in Pakistan. It is true that there are several religious conversions across the world which are completely voluntary and done out of the individual's own free will, driven by change in faith. However, religious conversions in Pakistan have an especially predatory nature. Pakistan, being an Islamic nation, harbours specific animosity towards non-Muslims, especially Hindus. Human Rights reports have detailed how minor Hindu girls are abducted by Muslim men and forcefully converted to Islam, then married off to their abductors. Hindus are widely persecuted on the basis of their religion. There are instances where minors, who were forced to convert after being kidnapped, were handed over to their abductors even by the courts of Pakistan. Temples are desecrated and razed to the ground, religious symbols destroyed and Hindus killed merely for displaying their faith. Under such circumstances, the version that 50 Hindus converted to Islam out of their own free will is a version that is most likely coloured by religious bigotry and coercion. Further, there is a strong possibility that even if the Hindus say they converted out of their own free will, it is to escape the persecution if they don't convert to Islam in Pakistan. For that reason, this case is being added to the hate crime tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
11
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 11
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 11
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 11
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
