A long history of repression has forced believers to flee the country. Some are now seeking asylum in Hong Kong.
https://bitterwinter.org/ahmadi-religion-of-peace-and-light-members-persecuted-in-egypt/
Readers of “Bitter Winter” have been introduced to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), a Shia-derivative new religious movement not to be confused with the Sunni-derivative Ahmadiyya Community that is heavily persecuted in Pakistan. AROPL originated from the teachings in Iraq of Ahmad al-Hassan, whom devotees regard as the Yamani, a John-the-Baptist-like character who paved the way for the appearance of the Imam al-Mahdi, the eschatological figure who will restore a Divine Just State in the end times. The AROPL identifies the Qaim, “The Riser of the Family of Mohammed,” the end-times character who leads the actual rise for Imam Mahdi for the establishment of the Divine Just State, with Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, a college-educated American citizen with an Egyptian father and an American mother. He is also the second in a list of twelve Mahdis (Ahmad al-Hassan being the first), and the AROPL believes he is mentioned in the will of Prophet Mohammed, a document accepted as authentic in Shiite sources.
Egypt plays an important role in AROPL as a land mentioned in prophecies dating back to Prophet Muhammad and that once had an advanced monotheistic religion, although it later became corrupted. In 2012, even before Abdullah Hashem revealed himself as the second Mahdi in 2015, he and his followers had gathered in Egypt and had established there the first Shia-inspired school in the country.
This was the Egypt of President Mohammed Morsi, a representative of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood, who had come to power after the January Revolution of 2011 against President Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood is notorious for its anti-Shia policies, and their regime created a climate of suspicion and violence against the Shiites. On June 23, 2013, in what became known as the Abu Musallam incident, a mob of 3,000 radical Sunni Muslims attacked a gathering of Shiites, killing Shia leader Hassan Shehata and some of his followers.
It is not surprising that as a consequence of this climate the Shia-derivative AROPL was also harassed, and its community had to repeatedly relocate to escape neighbors’ hostility. Things became worse after a popular TV talk show called “Al-Ashera Masa’an,” hosted by Wael Al-Ibrashy, gave a platform to radical Sunni preachers who disclosed the school’s location, incited to violence against it, and called for governmental repression. The school, located in an apartment in Haroun Street in Doqqi, Cairo, was raided by the police on November 16, 2012, while AROPL believers were gathered for prayer.
The police confiscated the belonging of both men and women and divided the believers into two groups, one of Egyptian nationals and one of foreigners. Non-Egyptians were interrogated at length about the reasons they were in the country. Six foreigners, charged with violating residency regulations, and two Egyptians were arrested. On November 18, the foreigners were deported, despite protests by human rights organizations.
The incident forced the AROPL to operate underground, with all believers risking arrest and the non-Egyptian devotees risking deportation. In 2017, Abdullah Hashem and the majority of the AROPL members who were in Egypt were forced to leave the country. Contacts with the devotees who remained in Egypt continued via the Internet and the AROPL’s satellite channel.
The repression persisted well after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood government. In 2018, Egyptian AROPL members Mostafa Hallal and Manal Hallal (his sister) were arrested by national security forces while filming a short documentary film on the living conditions of children in Egyptian orphanages intended for the religion’s satellite channel. They were kidnapped in front of the orphanage they were filming and remained in underground solitary confinement with barely any light, no bathroom, and no access to any form of legal aid. Their whereabouts remained unknown for ten days, while they were interrogated daily by intelligence officers about their faith, their leader, and the whereabouts of other members of the AROPL in Egypt. Eventually, they were released without explanation.
Radical clerics continued to call for the eradication of AROPL. On March 24, 2024, a religious scholar residing in Egypt appeared in a video where he declared AROPL members heretics and called for them to be killed.
There are several incidents where AROPL members were harassed and discriminated against. Aboshosha and Mohamed Helmy faced severe challenges and threats at their workplaces, ultimately losing their jobs. The children of some members of the faith experienced bullying and harassment by their school peers. They were unjustly treated by school staff, barred from participating in examinations, and ultimately forced to drop out of the education system. Other members, such as Shaymaa Shehab and Asmaa Shehab, were subjected to abuse by their family members.
In August 2017, Hassan Ali, AROPL’s senior coordinator in Egypt, was arrested and interrogated. Detained in solitary confinement for over 24 hours without food, water, or a bathroom, he was then blindfolded and taken to a State Security building. There, amidst the sounds of others being tortured, he was threatened and questioned about his beliefs and his fellow believers. After three days of detention, authorities warned him against discussing these matters, threatening imprisonment on charges of blasphemy, incitement, and disturbing public order, before finally releasing him.
In October 2023, authorities raided the residence where members had relocated hoping to escape persecution and confiscated their laptops and cell phones. They arrested seven members, leaving the children behind unattended. They took the group to a police station, where they insulted and beat the men, and verbally abused the women. After being mistreated and threatened with charges of blasphemy and disturbing public order, they were released but warned they remained under surveillance. On May 5, 2024, they were summoned for interrogation and for a court hearing for contempt of Islam, which according to the Egyptian Penal Code is punishable with imprisonment for a period ranging from five to seven years. They fled Egypt in May 2024 and relocated to Hong Kong where they are seeking asylum.
The persecution of AROPL has been repeatedly denounced by NGOs and by the United Nations. On July 4, 2023, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs, together with other United Nations officials, published a joint statement where they stated that the AROPL refugees face serious risks if deported and that the obligation not to send back asylum seekers to countries where they may be persecuted or killed is “absolute and non-derogable.”
