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Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in Switzerland, under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London. The Community was founded on October 13, 1946, during the late period of the Second Caliphate, when the caliph directed Shaikh Nasir Ahmad to establish a mission in the country. [1] Today there are two Ahmadi mosques and 14 local branches, representing an estimated 800 Ahmadi Muslims.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Switzerland was founded in the year 1946, following the Second World War. In the 1940s three missionaries were appointed to open an Ahmadi mission in German-speaking Europe, at the request of the second Caliph Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad. On October 13, 1946 the three Ahmadi Muslim missionaries, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad, Abdul Latif and Ghulam Ahmad Bashir met in Zurich, Switzerland, intending to establish a mission in Germany. However, due to the recent conclusion of the war, they were unable to enter the country. As a result, a mission was established in Zurich instead. Soon after, Abdul Latif and Ghulam Ahmad Bashir left the country for the Netherlands, whilst Sheikh Nasir Ahmad continued to serve Switzerland for the following 16 years, until 1962. During this period a German translation of the Quran was published and an Islamic journal Der Islam was founded. [2]
In 1960, in view of growing multiculturalism, the country’s municipal government offered the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community a parcel of land for the construction of a mosque, at a rate of 3000 francs annually, for 60 years. [3] [1] The location was in a residential zone in Zurich, opposite a church. The mosque project received overwhelming support from local and national groups. [1] However, it wasn't without criticism. National churches belonging to various Christian denominations in Switzerland, including the Catholic Church, pointed out in a joint statement that whilst the government is offering Muslims a place for the construction of a mosque, the churches are facing difficulty in finding construction sites for their places of worship. The Swiss evangelical party responded to the governments offer as an "unfortunate way of showing preference to a religious minority in attacking the religious sentiments of the majority of [residents of Zurich]." [3] Nevertheless, the issue was resolved and the construction project was given the green light. [4] On August 25, 1962, Amatul Hafiz Begum, the daughter of the founder of the Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, laid the foundation stone for the first mosque in the country. The opening ceremony was held on 22 June 1963 led by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, who was at that time the President of the 17th UN General Assembly. Emil Landolt, the Mayor of Zurich was also present. The mosque was named the Mahmud Mosque. [2] By opening the mosque, the Community set a visible presence of Muslims in Switzerland. [5]
Over the years, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community grew primarily due to immigration from Pakistan. By the 1990s, the Mahmood Mosque was becoming too small to house its members. As a consequence, the Community began to search for a place, for another mosque. 15 years later, in 2005 the Community found a suitable place, a joinery in Haüsern, a hamlet in the municipality of Wigoltingen, in Thurgau. [4] The national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Switzerland, W. Tarnutzer, wrote to the caliph, in London, requesting approval of the project. After approving the project, the Community proposed the project to the municipal government. On one hand the council disapproved the project and on the other, a number of residents in the neighbourhood began to collect signatures against the project. The Community organized an informational event in response to the negative reaction. In order to avoid self-portrayal, the event featured positive remarks from a non-Muslim journalist and a priest. Following the event, there were no objections. [6] The mosque is named the "Nuur Mosque".
Predominantly aiming at the perceived misconceptions of the place of Islam in modern society, the Swiss Ahmadiyya Muslim Community regularly organizes public lectures, discussions and open house days at their mosques.
There are 14 local chapters and an estimated 800 Ahmadis in Switzerland, many of which are descendants of immigrants from Pakistan. [1] There are two Ahmadi Muslim mosques in the country, the Mahmud Mosque, in Zurich and the Nuur Mosque, in Wigoltingen, which is due to undergo construction. [7] Both mosques lie in the German-speaking part of the country. The current national president is Walid Tariq Tarnutzer and the national missionary in-charge is Sadaqat Ahmed.
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.
Mirza Tahir Ahmad was the fourth caliph and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of the founder of the community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He was elected on 10 June 1982, the day after the death of his predecessor, Mirza Nasir Ahmad.
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 Mahmood Mosque, situated in Forchstrasse, Zurich, is the first purpose-built mosque in Switzerland. It is owned and run by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The mosque has a minaret, the new construction of which is now banned in Switzerland by popular vote.
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.
Jalsa Salana is the formal, annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community initiated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the community who claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi of the end days. Usually, the gathering spans over three days, beginning on Friday after the Friday Sermon. Typically, the flag hoisting ceremony is used to identify its commencement. Although there is a central, international Jalsa attended by Ahmadis from across the world, many of the countries hold their own national jalsa, sometimes attended by the Khalifatul Masih.
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.
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.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is an Islamic movement that was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the late 19th century. Judaism is another Abrahamic religious group. Ahmadis and Jews have not interacted much in the history.
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.
Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial (1887–1960) was a companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the first Ahmadi missionary sent from India, under the leadership of Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya movement. In 1913, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad asked for volunteers to serve as Ahmadi Muslim missionaries in England. Sial volunteered and travelled to England on June 22, 1913 and arrived the following month. There he served twice as a missionary. He earned an MA in Arabic from the Aligarh Muslim University.
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 community in Japan. The history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Japan begins after a number of mentions by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who showed a particular interest in introducing Islam to the Japanese people. The first Ahmadi Muslim missionary to be sent to Japan was Sufi Abdul Qadeer, who was sent by the second Caliph. He arrived in Japan on June 4, 1935. Today there is one purpose-built mosque, the largest in the country, representing an estimated 300 Ahmadi Muslims.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic branch in Denmark, under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London. Kamal Yousuf, an Ahmadi Muslim missionary, who was appointed for disseminating Ahmadiyya teachings in Scandinavia, first toured Denmark in 1956. The earliest Danes to have converted to the movement were from the 1950s and the Community was first established in 1959, during the last few years of the Second Caliphate. Today, there are two Ahmadi mosques, of which one is purpose-built mosque, the oldest in the country. There are an estimated 600 Ahmadi Muslims in the country.
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic community in Sweden, under the leadership of the caliph in London. The earliest history of the Community in the country begins in 1956, during the Second Caliphate, when Kamal Yousuf was appointed as the head of the mission in Sweden. However it was not until 1970 that the Community was first officially registered. Today, there are two purpose-built mosques, one of which is the oldest in the country, and also a number of other Islamic centers, representing an estimated average of 1200 Ahmadi Muslims in the country.
Al-Hajj Abdul Rahim Nayyar was a companion of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and a missionary of the Ahmadiyya Islamic movement in West Africa. He pledged allegiance to Ghulam Ahmad, formally joining the Ahmadiyya movement, in 1901. Travelling to the Gold Coast in 1921 upon invitation from Muslims in Saltpond, Nayyar was instrumental in consolidating Ahmadiyya missions in several West African countries.
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