Forum Pakistan

Ahmadiya
Religious Sect. Founded in *Punjab in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is revered by his followers as * Mahdi, a prophet and a reincarnation of Krishna and Jesus Christ. Following the death of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1908, the sect was led by his successors (KhaLifahs). From 1898 to 1947, the city of Qadian (Punjab state, India) was the religious centre of this sect and the seat of its authority. After 1947, it moved to the town of Rabwah (Punjab Province, Pakistan).

The sect is based on strict centralism. All members donate no less than 4 per cent of their annual income to the sects fund. Their doctrine rejects the finality of Muhammad's (PBUH) prophethood which inspired the harsh criticism of orthodox *uLema, both *Shia and * Sunni. Ahmadiya also preach the equality of all people before God, the peaceful nature of jihad, which they regard as a movement for the spread of Ahmadiya teaching, and obedience to authorities.

In 1914, a group of Lahori Ahmadiyas refused to recognize the leadership of Nuruddin, the first successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and broke away from the sect. Though they refused to recognize Ahmad as a prophet, they saw him as a reformer and a renovator of Islam (mujaddid).

The Ahmadiyas were repeatedly and voilently denounced in Pakistan in the years 1953, 1974, and 1984. In 1974 they were proclaimed a non-Muslim religious minority.
There are more than two hundred Ahmadiya centers in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and America conducting active missionary work.