Ahmadiyya in Afghanistan

Last updated

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic community in India, under the leadership of the caliph in London. The earliest contact with the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam and the Punjabi people within modern-day boundaries of India & Pakistan, occurred during the lifetime of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The movement began by Ahmad, was largely seen as apostasy by most other Muslim groups, including by those in Afghanistan, and accordingly only twelve years after Ahmad's claim to be the promised Mahdi, two of the foremost Ahmadi Muslims were stoned to death in Kabul during 1901 to 1903. The killings continued until 1925, when in 1924–1925, under Emir Amanullah Khan, affiliation with Ahmadiyya beliefs became a capital offence and those who converted were forcibly reverted. [1]

Contents

History

The history of the movement in Afghanistan begins with the efforts undertaken by two early converts, namely Syed Abdul Latif and Abdur Rahman, later to become the two of the first few people in the history of the movement. Syed Abdul Latif, from Khost Province, was a royal advisor to Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah Khan, two of the Emirs of Afghanistan between the late 19th and early 20th century. Latif, along with Sardar Shireendil Khan, the former governor of Khost Province, represented Abdur Rahman Khan during the negotiation of the Durand Line agreement with British India in 1893. [2] [3] In 1901, he became an Ahmadi after reading some of the books of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. Latif was a member of the religious clergy of Afghanistan. Consequently, he sent one of his foremost followers, Abdur Rahman, to Qadian, India to learn more about the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. [4] Following a number of dialogues with Ahmad of Qadian, Rahman himself became an Ahmadi. Eager to convey his new found faith, he travelled to Kabul, the seat of the emir of Afghanistan, instead of returning to Latif. There, the religious clerics persuaded the emir to authorize a death sentence for Rahman. [4] Following his arrest, Rahman was strangled to death [4] on June 20, 1901. [5]

Syed Abdul Latif sitting on the right of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan Syed Abdul Latif and Abdur Rahman Khan.png
Syed Abdul Latif sitting on the right of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan

In 1902, Latif requested Emir Habibullah Khan for permission to travel for Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Granting Latif his request, the emir presented him with a cover for his travel expenses. Latif reached Lahore in October 1902 accompanied with some of his students. On arrival, he learnt that the Ottomans, who controlled much of Arabian peninsula, had imposed restrictions on people travelling to Mecca from British India as a consequence of a plague that had spread in the country. Therefore, Latif decided to visit Qadian instead, to meet Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. After spending a number of months, he returned to Kabul, publicly announced his allegiance to the Ahmadiyya movement. He had offered his oath of allegiance to Ahmad during his period of stay in Qadian. [6] The emir, on the order of religious clerics, charged him with apostasy which carried the death penalty in Afghanistan. Latif was imprisoned for several weeks before his public execution on July 14, 1903. Unwilling to recant his views, he repeatedly attempted to convince others of the Ahmadiyya interpretations during his period of imprisonment and trial. [7]

By the mid-1920s, nine Afghan Ahmadi were killed or stoned to death for their faith, [8] all in Kabul. They were all among the first ten Ahmadis killed for their faith in the history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, with the tenth being Sheikh Ahmad Furqani, who was killed in Baghdad, Iraq in January 1935. [5] By 1925, Afghanistan introduced a criminal code which imposed capital punishment for anyone adopting the Ahmadiyya beliefs. [8]

Prophecies

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to have foretold the execution of two of his devout followers based on an Arabic revelation he claimed to have received, twenty years before Latif's death, [9] "Two goats will be slaughtered and there is no one on the earth that can avoid death." He interpreted this to mean that two of his followers would be killed and that as a result general destruction would overtake the country in which they were to be killed. Condemning the killing, Ahmad writes in his book The Narrative of Two Martyrdoms:

"O land of Kabul! you are a witness to the heinous crime committed on your soil. O miserable land! you have, in the sight of Allah, been condemned as you are the scene of this most atrocious crime." [10]

In 1906, Ahmad is believed to have prophesied the martyrdom of another three of his followers, when he claimed to have received the Arabic revelation, "Three goats will be slaughtered". According to Ahmadi commentators this revelation referred to the 1924-1925 killings of Moulvi Naimatullah Khan, Moulvi Abdul Haleem, and Qari Noor Ali, all leading religious figures among the Ahmadiyya members in Afghanistan. [11] The killings occurred despite the fact that the Ahmadi Muslims congratulated the then emir, Amanullah Khan, in 1922, for granting religious freedom to his people. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Qadiani or Qadiyani is a religious slur used to refer to Ahmadi Muslims, primarily in Pakistan. The term originates from Qadian, a small town in northern India, the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. While it is pejorative to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it is used in official Pakistani documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Ghulam Ahmad</span> Indian religious leader (1835–1908)

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdī—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of the Islamic prophecies regarding the end times, as well as the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement</span> Separatist group within the Ahmadiyya movement

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, is a separatist group within the Ahmadiyya movement that formed in 1914 as a result of ideological and administrative differences following the demise of Hakim Nur-ud-Din, the first Caliph after Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya movement are referred to by the majority group as ghayr mubāyi'īn and are also known colloquially as Lahori Ahmadis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qadian</span> City in Punjab, India

Qadian is a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement within Islam. It remained the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya movement until the Partition of India in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Nasir Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1909–1982)

Mirza Nasir Ahmad was the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from Pakistan. He was elected as the third successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 8 November 1965, the day after the death of his predecessor and father, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad</span> Ahmadiyya religious leader (1889–1965)

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad was the second caliph, leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jahan Begum. He was elected as the second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 14 March 1914 at the age of 25, the day after the death of his predecessor Hakim Nur-ud-Din.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hakeem Noor-ud-Din</span> Caliph of the Ahmadiyya

Hakeem Noor-ud-Din was a close companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and his first successor and first Ahmadiyya caliph since 27 May 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahibzada Abdul Latif</span> Afghan royal adviser and Ahmadi martyr (1853–1903)

Sayyad Abdul Latif more commonly known as Sahibzada Abdul Latif among the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, was the Royal Advisor to Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah Khan, the father and son kings of Afghanistan between the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is believed that Abdul Latif helped King Abdur Rahman Khan during the negotiation of the Durand Line Agreement with the British India in 1893. In 1902 he became a follower of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and is remembered as one of the first martyrs of the Ahmadiyya movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya</span> Messianic movement within Islam

Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ) is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed as both the Promised Mahdi and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam; as well as to embody, in this capacity, the expected eschatological figure of other major religious traditions. Adherents of the Ahmadiyya—a term adopted expressly in reference to Muhammad's alternative name Aḥmad—are known as Ahmadi Muslims or simply Ahmadis.

<i>Review of Religions</i> English language monthly magazine

The Review of Religions is an English-language comparative religious magazine published monthly by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Regularly in print since 1902, it is one of the longest running Islamic periodicals in English. It has been described as the main publication of the Ahmadiyya movement in the language and as a valuable source material for information on the geographical expansion of Ahmadi activity. The magazine was launched by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad with the aim of conveying an accurate understanding of Islamic teachings across the English-speaking world and dispelling misconceptions held against the faith. The articles, however, typically comprise distinctly Ahmadi perspectives. In addition to the English edition published from London, the magazine currently publishes separate quarterly editions in German, French and Spanish.

Bahishti Maqbara, located originally in Qadian, India, and then in Rabwah, Pakistan, is a religious cemetery established by the Ahmadiyya Community as a directive from the community's founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, made known in his booklet Al-Wasiyyat. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established it in his will after he saw an angel showing him the place of his burial.

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza was an Indian chief and landowner best known for being the father of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. He belonged to a family of Mughal nobility that had lost most of its estates to the Sikh Kingdom during the late 18th century and only a fraction of which – including Qadian, the family's ancestral seat – he was able to regain from it.

Mirza Hadi Beg was an Indian nobleman and Qadi of Central Asian origin and a direct ancestor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. He migrated from Samarqand, in what is today Uzbekistan, to northern India and settled in the Punjab during the 16th century. Hadi Beg was a collateral kin of Babur, the founding emperor of the Mughal dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, but was not a Timurid.

Bashir Ahmad Orchard was an English convert to Ahmadiyya Islam and the first European Ahmadi Muslim missionary

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya and other faiths</span>

The Ahmadiyya branch in Islam has relationships with a number of other religions. Ahmadiyya consider themselves to be Muslim, but are not regarded as Muslim by mainstream Islam. Mainstream Muslim branches refer to the Ahmadiyya branch by the religious slur Qadiani, and to their beliefs as Qadianism a name based on Qadian, the small town in India's Punjab region where the founder of Ahmadiyya, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Saudi Arabia</span> Islamic movement

Ahmadiyya is a persecuted religion in Saudi Arabia. Although there are many foreign workers and Saudi citizens belonging to the Ahmadiyya movement in Saudi Arabia, Ahmadis are officially banned from entering the country and from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. This has led to criticisms from multiple human rights organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Australia</span> Islamic movement

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic movement in Australia, first formally founded in the country in the 1980s, during the era of the fourth caliph. However, the history of the Community dates back to the early 20th century, during the lifetime of the founder of the movement, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, with the first contacts arising as a consequence of Australians travelling to British India, and also as a consequence of early, "Afghan" camel drivers settling in Australia during the mid to late 19th century. Today there are at least four Ahmadi mosques in four of the six Australian states, representing an estimated 6,000-8,000 Australian Ahmadis in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Syria</span> Islamic movement

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious movement in Syria under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadiyya in Egypt</span> Islamic movement

The Ahmadiyya is an Islamic movement in Egypt with origins in the Indian subcontinent. Although the earliest contact between Egyptians and the Ahmadiyya movement was during the lifetime of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, its founder, the movement in Egypt was formally established in 1922 under the leadership of its second Caliph Opposition to the Ahmadiyya grew particularly in the latter part the 20th century and Ahmadis have seen increased hostility in Egypt more recently. There are up to 50,000 Ahmadi Muslims in Egypt.

References

  1. ↑ Vincent Littrell. [Islam: Ahmadiyya]. World Association of International Studies, February 17, 2006
  2. ↑ Alikuzai, Hamid Wahed (October 2013). A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes. Vol. 1. Tafford publishing. p. 720. ISBN   9781490714462.
  3. ↑ Hadi, Hamid (31 March 2016). Afghanistan's Experiences: The History of the Most Horrifying Events Involving Politics, Religion, and Terrorism. Vol. 11. AuthorHouse. ISBN   9781524600068.
  4. 1 2 3 Valentine, Simon Ross (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at: History, Belief, Practice. Columbia University Press. p. 70. ISBN   9781850659167.
  5. 1 2 "List of Martyres". ThePersecution.org. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ Khan, Adil Hussain (6 April 2015). From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia. Indiana University Press. p. 130. ISBN   9780253015297.
  7. ↑ Khan, Adil Hussain (6 April 2015). From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia. Indiana University Press. p. 131. ISBN   9780253015297.
  8. 1 2 Khan, Adil Hussain (6 April 2015). From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia. Indiana University Press. p. 133. ISBN   9780253015297.
  9. ↑ Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam. Tadhkirah (PDF). Islam International Publications. p. 110.
  10. ↑ Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam. The Narrative of the Two Martyrdoms. Islam International Publications.
  11. ↑ Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam. Tadhkirah (PDF). Islam International Publications. p. 781.
  12. ↑ Germain, Eric (2007). "Southern Hemisphere Diasporic Communities in the Building of an International Muslim Public Opinion at the Turn of the Twentieth Century". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East . 27 (1): 135. doi:10.1215/1089201x-2006-048.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.