What so special about the Ahmadis?

Ahmadiyya Muslim Annual Convention; Jalsa Salana 2014

What is so special about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community?

 

Those of us who count themselves to be the part of this movement will have many answers to this question.

 

But the most important answer in my eyes is that the Ahmadi Muslims follow a Caliph, the Khalifatul Masih, who they believe to have been chosen by God, through the democratic vote of a large electoral college comprising of representatives from all over the world.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

 

 

There are tens of millions of Ahmadi Muslims in the world and they are not short of adversaries; mostly their coreligionists, who have been told that Messiahs have to fly down from the skies on the shoulders of angels.

 

The community would have been just another sect in Islam if it was only a theological argument about the nature of prophecy and the revival of faith, but the fact is, it is much more than that.

 

Ahmadiyya Islam is the only solution to the scourge of violent extremism which has engulfed the world of Islam.

 

Sir Zafrulla Khan, the Pakistani Ahmadi jurist and statesman, while speaking at the first constituent assembly of his newly founded homeland, warned his countrymen that 'in place of the ideals set up  by Islam, people may fall into the error of substituting tinsel limitations and narrow bigotries'.

 

 

Sir Zafrulla Khan

 

A companion of the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement and his succssors, Sir Zafrulla was acutely aware of the takfiri mindset of many Muslims. Saudi Arabia was gradually rising as the power-broker in the middle-east and the Wahabi/Salafi House of Saud had no intention of letting any tolerant version of Islam to prevail if they could help it.

 

Wahabism or its tributaries had opposed Ahmadiyya Islam since its inception. But the rise of the Saudis had given Wahabism a source of power and influence which grew steadily across the Muslim world. Debates and fatwas of heresy were no longer sufficient to curb the growing intellectual and spiritual impact of the Ahmadiyya caliphate.

 

When the universal declaration of human rights was being debated at the UN, Saudi Arabia disagreed with the clause on the rights of an individual to adopt any faith they choose. Sir Zafrulla, an Ahmadi Muslim and the delegate for Pakistan not only supported the UDHR but declared that Islam advocates the full freedom of conscience. Saudis disagreed and also noted that Zafrulla did not belong to  mainstream Islam.

 

A prominent Iraqi journalist Ali Effendi revealed that in 1949 he was asked to write against the community in Arabic newspapers by certain 'agents' of imperialism. Instead, Mr Effendi defended the community by writing a tract listing the services of the Ahmadis for the rights of Palestinians and other Arab nations on various forums. A few years later, a violent movement broke out against the Pakistani Ahmadis in Pakistan. One of the main demands of the agitators was to remove Sir Zafrulla Khan from his post as the foreign minister.

 

Strangely enough, in the coming years, Saudis and their Arab allies could not thank Sir Zafrulla enough for being the lone warrior for the Palestinian cause at the UN.

 

Recently, Wikileaks latest project, Saudi Cables revealed that Prince Nayef himself had instructed his embassy in Indonesia to increase their activities against the Indonesian Ahmadis.

 

I wasn't surprised to learn that. In fact, the Saudis were instrumental in severe persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, even getting them declared non-Muslims and banning their entry to Makkah. I have discussed this in great detail in my blog here and here.

 

Prince Nayef, the hardline Wahabi/Salafist Crown prince who died in 2012. (Image courtesy Wikipedia)

 

The cable from Prince Nayef to Saudi embass in Jakarta: (source Wikileaks)

Prince Faisal, later the Saudi King, knew of the community as early as 1924. He knew Sir Zafrulla Khan personally. Faisal, dreaming of a caliphate of his own, assumed the leadership of the Arab world already in tatters and in deep political turmoil, and used his oil money to fund a global takfiri campaign. His first target was the Ahmadis.

 

Faisal withi a young Muammar Qaddafi (Image courtesy Wikipedia)
 

After he was assassinated, King Faisal's successors dove head first into the business of Jihad. Afghanistan and Pakistan became their playgrounds. Whereas their bigoted worldview and a thirst for blood has helped maintain a favourable economic outcome for the West, Taliban and other subsidiary Jihadi organizations have continued to target Ahmadis in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia in the last 30 years.

 

In 1984, Gen. Zia, another sworn ally of Saudi Arabia and the US attempted to incarcerate the Khalifatul Masih, but failed.

General Zia's draconian laws resulted in state sponsored persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan.

 

 

Khalifatul Masih IV moved to London and continued his mission with much greater effectiveness in the UK. Zia, like Faisal left the world unrequited in his dream to destroy the Ahmadiyya Caliphate.

 

Post Soviet war Taliban had a short-lived Emirate (wannabe caliphate) of their own which died its own death. Mullah Omar and his advisers turned Afghanistan into a haven for the jihadis and invited a destruction upon their people which continues to this day.

 

Now everyone is talking about ISIS and their Caliphate, of Boko Haraam, the new Taliban in Afghanistan and ex Al-Qaeda groups pledging their allegiance to the so-called caliph Baghdadi. 

 

Post revolution Shia Iran and numerous Western misadventures have caused this takfiri fervour to intensify. Sponsoring one murderous campaign after another, we can sense the desperation of a dying empire. An empire built on misplaced sense of entitlement to lead the Muslim through force and coercion.

 

Jesus, the Messiah to the children of Israel,  once spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and of creating new heavens and a new earth. Of course he meant that his coming will transform the spiritual life of the Jews and will give them a new purpose to make the world a better place. In Islamic terms, Jesus was a caliph to Moses and David.

 

Islam is need of its very own true Caliphate. 

 

Ahmadiyya Caliphate has been winning the hearts and minds for the past 100 years and this conquest is destined to save the world.

  

UK will host over 30000 Muslims from across the country and around the world this month at the Jalsa Salana. They will renew their pledge to the Khalifatul Masih in a global Baia'at ceremony, promising to carry on the mission to create new heavens and a new earth.

 

 

 

Bai'at: The Pledge of allegiance to the Khalifatul Masih:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My pervious posts on Jalsa Salana UK:

The real war front against Islamic extremism

A photographic journey through Jalsa Salana

 

 #JalsaUK

 

 

 

 

 

Caliphate of the Damned

As Muslims around the world start the month of Ramadan, ISIS, a group of Salafist militants have announced the re-establishment of Khilafah, the Islamic form of government as idealized by the orthodox Muslims.

One Abu Bakr Baghdadi has been chosen as the Khalifa (Caliph) who is in the process of accepting the Bay'ah, the pledge of allegiance from his followers. He is now the head of state and the undisputed religious leader of this new country being carved out of Iraq and Syria.

Baghdadi uses the same name as the first Khalifa of Muslims, Abu Bakr, who was elected as the leader of the faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He was followed by three more caliphs, Umar, Uthman and Ali. After Ali's assasination, Muslims could never agree on a single leader. Khalifa became a title used by various dynasties who ruled the Islamic world until the fall of the Ottomans in the last century.

It is no surprise that a Khalifa has emerged from amongst the militants. If anything, it has taken them two decades longer than it should have. Usama bin Laden was rumoured to be accepting the bay'ah from Al-Qaeda recruits in the build-up to his call to arms against the West. He was never proclaimed as the Khalifa. There must have been some theological expediencies as Al-Qaeda was trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of Sunni sects. ISIS have discarded all such shackles.

Political Islamism has always been fantasizing about Khilafah for a long time. Even Gandhi had joined the Indian Khilafat Movement in early 1920s. Qutb and Maudoodi, the two major 20th century ideologues for political Islamists saw Khilafah as the only viable solution for returning the Ummah to its glory days.

Hizb-e-Tehrir, the torchbearers for the return of Khilafah have also issued a statement defending their beliefs and mildly disagreeing with the violent group's methods of achieving what they have been dreaming for decades.

Regardless of the means of attaining it, or how they define the objectives of this institution, this caliphate will fail. As will any other which harbours the ambition of political leadership of the Muslim world.

The Holy Quran contains a verse called the Ayah of Istikhlaf. (the Verse of Khilafah) which describes the institution of Khilafah in these words

Allah had promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors (Khalifah) in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then who so is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious. (Surah Al-Nur, Verse 56)

According to this verse

a. Khilafah is a promise made by God for the Muslims.

b. It will be established amongst those who do good works.

c. It will be established for spiritual guidance

d. Khilafah will bring peace and remove fear.

e. Those who forsake this Khilafah will be the rebellious ones.

There are many more finer points which can be inferred, but I will keep my discourse to the most obvious ones stated in the verse. Islamic Khilafah is not a political institution. The first four Caliphs were also the political leaders for the nascent Muslim community as they had inherited it from the Prophet (Peace be upon him).

Those who are flocking to pledge their lives to Al-Baghdadi should reflect on this verse and seriously ask themselves these questions:

Is Al-Baghdadi claiming to be a Khalifah made by God Himself?

Are they doing the 'good works' as defined by the Holy Quran. i.e., charity, saving lives, serving mankind and above all, keeping away from all forms of rebellion?

Is their Khalifa guiding them on how to achieve spiritual excellence through prayer and contemplation on the deeper meanings of the Quran?

Is this Khilafah removing fear and establishing peace?

Obviously, the answer to all these questions is NO. This so-called Khalifah is nothing but a murderer who is gathering around him a bunch of killers to spread fear and terror in the name of Islam. Quran informs us of the fate of such rebels in these words

So when they deviated from the right course, Allah caused their hearts to deviate, for Allah guides not the rebellious people.