Pakistan Times publisher Sheikh Najam Ali has been looking over his shoulder every day for a month since running an ad that proved controversial in the local Muslim community.

The ad, announcing a local Ahmadiyya celebration and describing the faith as Muslim, prompted death threats from anonymous callers, cancellations from advertisers and the removal of his papers in bulk from various distribution sites, he said.

The ad and subsequent coverage of the event has drawn criticism from some Muslims who say Ali has insulted them by giving authenticity to a sect that they consider non-Muslim.

"I had no idea there would be this kind of reaction" said Ali, whose free Urdu weekly has a circulation of 15,000 in the Houston area.

Members of the Ahmadiyya faith, an estimated 70 million worldwide, follow Islam's main tenets.

But contrary to mainstream Muslims, they don't recognize Muhammad as the final prophet. Instead, they believe another prophet followed in the 19th century named Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who came in the spirit of Christ to revive the religion of Islam, said Mohammed Zafarullah, a local imam for Ahmadiyya followers.

Established in 1889 in Punjab, India, the faith is considered non-Muslim by Pakistan's constitution and heretical by some Muslims.

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Courtesy The Houston Chronicle