Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, AMJ) is an Islamic revival movement founded in British India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
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Ahmadis are almost universally discriminated against in Muslim societies, and countless of fundamentalist groups have attempted to destroy the community. They retain a population of roughly 12 million worldwide, and claim to be the fastest-growing Muslim group.[1] Today, AMJ is headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan and London, UK.
Views
On tolerance
The Ahmadi website claims that they are committed to the value of "peace, love, justice, and sanctity of life", reject the use of violence, advocate for the separation of church and state, universal human rights, and women's rights. It also says that MGA acknowledged the wisdom of the founders of other religions including "Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Guru Nanak."[2] While one likely won't ever know whether a predominantly-Ahmadi nation could create an Islamic-progressive humanist utopia, there hasn't as yet been any Ahmadi Jihadism or oppressions perpetrated by Ahmadis.
On Jesus
Ahmadis claim that Jesus survived the crucifixion, emigrated eastward to escape persecution, reached out to the Ten Lost Tribes, and died somewhere in Srinagar, Kashmir. They even have a tomb dedicated to him. The shrine of Roza Bal was relatively unknown before MGA claimed in 1899 that it is actually a tomb of Jesus.
On science
While Ahmadi doctrines are often claimed to be compatible with science, this seems to be a misconception coming from the fact that the first Muslim Nobel laureate was a Pakistani Ahmadi theoretical physicist, Abdus Salam.
On Ahmad's prophethood
MGA claimed that he was a "subordinate prophet", meaning that Muhammad is still the central figure of Islam, and MGA would not exceed him nor alter his teaching.[4] However, this idea is already considered by mainstream Muslims as a breach of the Islamic tenet that says Muhammad was the final messenger.
Some Ahmadis claim that MGA is a mujaddid (a reformer who appears once or twice a century to straighten up Muslim belief) and disagree with his prophethood. They created their own branch known as Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in 1914.[5] They often call themselves Lahoris, and label the mainstream Ahmadis as Qadianis (from Qadian, the birthplace of MGA). Lahoris only retain around 30,000 members and represent merely 0.002% of total Ahmadi population.
Persecution
As is the case with any minority religious groups, Ahmadis are an easy target for scapegoating by Islamic fundamentalists and populist politicians in many predominantly-Muslim countries.
The worst among all persecutions occur in Pakistan, the birthplace of AMJ. There are an estimated 4 million Ahmadis in Pakistan,[6] but it is the only country where Ahmadis have been constitutionally declared as non-Muslims (since 1974). The declaration was a result of Pakistan's Islamization under the military dictator Zia ul-Haq
Anti-Ahmadiyya sentiment is also a growing problem in Indonesia, where there are an estimated 400,000 Ahmadis. In 2011, a mob of 1,500 radicals led by an Islamist vigilantist organization Islamic Defenders Front carried out an attack on Ahmadi villages, leading to the death of three Ahmadis.[7]
External links
References
- Who are the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat? DW. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Al Islam. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Reality in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution? (in Punjabi)
- The Question of Finality of Prophethood Al Islam. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam Muslim. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Who are Pakistan’s Ahmadis and why haven’t they voted in 30 years The Conversation. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Pakistan: The Multifaceted Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community DW. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Pakistan's Ahmadi community releases damning persecution report Reuters. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/pakistan-multifaceted-persecution-ahmadiyya-community Pakistan: The Multifaceted Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community Pulitzer Center. Retrieved May 19, 2020.