Mirzā Ghulām 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 Mahdi—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of Islam's latter day prophecies, as well as the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century.
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.
Hāfiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad was the third caliph, head of the Ahmadiyya Community. 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.
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.
The Fazl Mosque also known as The London Mosque, is the first purpose-built mosque in London, England. It was opened on 23 October 1926 in Southfields, Wandsworth. At a cost of £6,223, the construction of the mosque and the purchase of the land on which it stands, was financed by the donations of Ahmadi Muslim women in Qadian, Punjab, British India, with support from the British Muslim convert Khalid Sheldrake. Between 1984 and 2019 the Fazl Mosque was the residence of the caliphs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and therefore its de facto international headquarters. The administrative headquarters now lies at the site of the Islamabad, Tilford.
The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subject to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged from the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all the five pillars and articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims.
Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, is an Islamic revival or messianic movement originating in Punjab, British India, in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have 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.
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.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in Indonesia. The earliest history of the community in Indonesia dates back to the early days of the Second Caliph, when during the summer of 1925, roughly two decades prior to the Indonesian revolution, a missionary of the Community, Rahmat Ali, stepped on Indonesia's largest island, Sumatra, and established the movement with 13 devotees in Tapaktuan, in the province of Aceh. The Community has an influential history in Indonesia's religious development, yet in the modern times it has faced increasing intolerance from religious establishments in the country and physical hostilities from radical Muslim groups. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimates around 400,000 Ahmadi Muslims, spread over 542 branches across the country.
Ahmadiyya in Pakistan are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The number of Ahmadiyya in the country has been variously estimated to between 0.22% and 2.2% of Pakistan's population. Hence Pakistan is the home to the largest population of Ahmadis in the world. The city of Rabwah in Punjab, Pakistan used to be the global headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Community before they were moved to England. The Ahmadiyya population in Pakistan has often come under persecution and discrimination by the Sunni majority.
The timeline of Ahmadiyya history began in 1889 when the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established in Qadian, a village of India. It is now a worldwide community consisting of members from over 200 nations.
Jāmi’ah al-Ahmadīyyah is an International Islamic seminary and educational institute with campuses in Pakistan, United Kingdom, India, Ghana, Canada, Germany, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, and Kenya. In addition, there are affiliated Mu'alameen centers in Pakistan and Madagascar. Founded in 1906 as a Section in Madrassa Talim ul Islam by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it is the main centre of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for Islamic learning.
Abdur Rahim Dard, known as A. R. Dard was an Ahmadi Muslim writer, missionary, and political activist for the Pakistan Movement, who served as the Imam of the historic Fazl Mosque, the premier gathering place for Indian Muslims regardless of denomination in London. He is known for convincing Muhammad Ali Jinnah to return to British India and fight for the Pakistan Movement.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious branch originating in 1889 in northern India around the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have been divinely appointed as both the promised Mahdi and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times.
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. The mainstream Muslims branches call the Ahmadiyya branch with the religious slur "Qadianis". and their beliefs as "Qadianism" which is named after Qadian, the small town in the Gurdaspur district of India's Punjab region where the founder of Ahmadiyya Ghulām Ahmad was born. The Ahmadi Musliims dislike this term, because it has derogatory connotations and because they prefer to differentiate their two movements.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in the United States. The earliest contact between the American people and the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam was during the lifetime of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In 1911, during the era of the First Caliphate of the Community, the Ahmadiyya movement in India began to prepare for its mission to the United States. However, it was not until 1920, during the era of the Second Caliphate, that Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, under the directive of the caliph, would leave England on SS Haverford for the United States. Sadiq established the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United States in 1920. The U.S. Ahmadiyya movement is considered by some historians as one of the precursors to the Civil Rights Movement in America. The Community was the most influential Muslim community in African-American Islam until the 1950s. Today, there are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 American Ahmadi Muslims spread across the country.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in Spain, under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London. The earliest history of the Community in Spain dates back to the period of the Second Caliph, when Malik Mohammad Sharid Gujrati, a missionary of the Community, arrived in Madrid on March 10, 1936. However, in the same year the Spanish Civil War broke out forcing Gujrati to abandon the country. Missionary efforts commenced once again following the Second World War, in 1946 when Karam Ilahi Zafar was sent by the caliph. The Basharat Mosque in Pedro Abad, built by the Ahmadiyya in the 1980s is the first mosque to be built in Spain since the Fall of Granada and the end of Muslim rule at the end of the 15th century. Today there are two purpose built Ahmadi Muslim mosques and roughly 500 adherents in Spain.
Ahmadiyya in The Gambia is part of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at under the leadership of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate. Ahmadiyya teachings entered Gambia during the era of the Second Caliphate through the flow of Ahmadiyya literature and a number of traders returning to the country. The first missionary to enter the country was Alhaji Hamza Sanyaolo, a Nigerian who entered in 1959. After a number of months he was followed by Gibriel Saeed, a Ghanaian missionary. Since its earliest history in the Gambia, the Community has been facing resistance and religious intolerance from certain Muslim clerics and Islamic bodies in the country.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in Nigeria under the caliph in London. Members of the organization are predominantly from Western Nigeria.
