International Human Rights Desk For the Ahmadi Muslim community, the question of peaceful coexistence cannot be separated from our lived experience. In Pakistan, the state denies Ahmadis the right to identify as Muslims, to call our places of worship mosques, or to even use the language and expressions of Islam. Ahmadis are denied dignity in life, and increasingly, in death. Ahmadi graves are desecrated, funerals are blocked, and the dead are refused space in cemeteries. These abuses emerge from a system that treat certain lives as incompatible and inferior to others. In this climate, peace cannot be reduced just to the absence of violence. It must include the ability to exist in safety, to be recognized, and to be able to live by one’s faith or world view. The Ahmadi understanding of what the requires is shaped primarily by our faith, especially the principle of tawhid, the oneness of God. It is the cornerstone of Islamic ethics law and social order. This principle reorders power. If God alone stands above, then all human beings stand as equal. There is no hierarchy of race, class, or nation that can override this. By recognizing this principle, people can recognize the equal humanity of each other. Peaceful coexistence comes from restraint borne out of humility, from the recognition that every life carries meaning, that we are not the center of our universe, and that there are things beyond us greater than ourselves. As captured best by the current head of our community, Miraz Masroor Ahmad, when he said “instead of inciting hatred and enmity against each other, we should work towards peace and mutual understanding.” Thank you.