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

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Blair, Middle East and the Doomsday Cults

Tony Blair says that we should get ready for a battle between the open-minded West and the closed-minded Middle East. Its the same-old modern day cursades narrative which has claimed millions of lives so far and counting. Not long ago, he participated in the worst military adventure the west has ever embarked upon in its history. Thanks to a misguided, malicious and greed-driven war in the Middle East, we are on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. But, Mr. Blair refuses to learn a lesson. He wants more!


He says that the Muslim societies have been over-run by a supremicist ideology which have put them in direct conflict with the West. But it takes two to tango, so there must be a supremicist mindset at work in the West too which encourages the hubris of military conquest of the Middle East.


Blair must be very aware of his role in psychologically mauling a whole generation of young Muslims who grew up in the post 9/11 world. Social media has awakened this generation to the horrific attrocities of war. Those images and video clips, real or fakes, are constantly making the rounds on the internet, adding fuel to fire already lit by their local hate preachers.


You simply cannot force this genie back in the bottle by more war. This will not only compromise the already struggling moderate voices in the Muslim countries but also embolden the extremists even more.


There is a growing network of various groups, increasingly inter-connecting and unifying across the Islamic world calling for a global caliphate/Khilafah. Some groups are more open about the idea of a global Jihad to bring about this revolution. Many agree with each other on principle and are increasing their influence among the young Sunni men and women living in the west. The traditional strands of Sufi, riualistic Islam focused on persoanl piety have been sidelined as weak and unambitious.


Although various Khilafah movements may pose a threat to the Arab royals, the transition from a non-political Sunni/Wahabi to a political one seems to be very easy and frequent. It is very difficult to contain or control this phenomenon through policing, even if you are Saudi Arabia.



Doomsday cults are thought to be fringe groups of conspiracy theorists, but think again. The state of Israel and its Zionist zealots are a doomsday cult. There are countless Christians who believe that the US and its allies must protect the Holy Land as it is the promised site for the return of Jesus. Sunni preachers have been warming up their congregations for the imminent appearance of the Mahdi, and the latest interpretations of hadith literature promises Syria to be of vital import in this respect. Then there are those skeptics who feel that Mahdi has to be created through war and consensus of Muslims, and to add to the mix, there seems to be unlimited hatred for the Shia by thousands of Jihadis converging in Syria. Shia Muslims themselves are being told about the re-emergence of the Mahdi is a certainty and the present day conflict was foretold in many prophecies before.


This may sound far-fetched for some of you. But American diplomats were advising their government not to enter into any negotiations with a 'Messianic' regime in Iran, a leaked diplomatic cable (via Wikileaks) reveals. How come eschatological beliefs of some are causing so much suffering in this day and age? This is after all, the age of reason and science. Many clergymen, Christians, Jewish and Muslims alike, seem to have resigned to the fact that Messiah's do not float down from the heavens. But consider how Ahmedinijad started his speech at the UN General Assembly a few years ago. He prayed for the immediate appearance of the Mahdi, a warrior leader who will rid the world of all evil. Think again about why Bush and Blair consulted God before launching an attack on Iraq and Afghanistan. Behind the seemingly secular political rhetoric, humanitarian concerns and an agenda for democracy, the west is turning a blind eye to the absurdities of literalistic religious zealots in all camps.


Mr. Blair has said one thing that I agree with. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are nurturing a venomous generation of violent preachers which needs to be checked. While Saudi royals are happy to preach peaceful interpretations of Islam to their own citizens, they are recruiting anti-shia paramilitary forces from Pakistan and Jihadi fighters from other Sunni nations to fight in Syria. Saudi puritanical influence of the Muslim youth living in the UK is also increasingly visible.


Exclusion of the moderates and the reformists through 'Takfir' (Edicts of heresy) is the most potent instrument in the hands of these hate preachers. Takfir means exclusion, and according to some puritans, loss of right to life. This is exactly what is driving the Jihadi machine in Syria at the moment. Bashar and his allies are kafirs, worthy of death. Glimpses of this takfir are also visible in the UK, which only shows how easy it can be to recruit fighters from this country. Muslims have to combat this menace themselves first.



It is also essential for the Muslims living in the UK to create their own identity, free of the burdens and strains of dictatorships and theocracies of their ancestral countries. In fact, Muslims in the West are closer to the real Islamic ideals of logic, reason and sciences then their brethren in the Middle East. We must export our new, enlightened and rational worldview to them instead of importing antiquated, literalistic and medievalist ideas to us. Currently we are only exporting gap-year Jihadis and openly partisan statesmanship in the form of Tony Blair.



I suggest that Mr. Blair should seriously consider education, both at home and in the Muslim world as his top priority, not war. I will leave his religious views alone. Afterall, It is a matter between a megalomaniac and his own ego.