In news- Unknown attackers broke the domes and minarets of a mosque of Pakistan’s minority Ahmadiyya community in Karachi, Pakistan, recently.
History of Ahmadiyya movement-
- The origins of the religious sect are in Qadian near Amritsar in Punjab, India.
- They believe in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(1835-1908) of Qadian.the name Ahmadiyya is a name shared by several Sufi (Muslim mystic) orders.
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the movement in 1889.
- He established the Community (or Jamāʿat) on 23 March 1889 by formally accepting allegiance from his supporters. Since his death, the Community has been led by a succession of Caliphs.
- In opposition to some aspects of Islam, he preached that he was the promised messiah who had the task of bringing God’s teaching into harmony with the present-day world.
- He said his coming was awaited not only by Muslims but by Christians and Jews as well.
- He claimed to have been divinely appointed as both the Promised Mahdi (Guided One) 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.
- Ahmadi thought emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries.
- Ahmadis thus view themselves as leading the propagation and renaissance of Islam.
- There are around 2-5 million Ahmadis in Pakistan. The community is also present in India, and some estimate their numbers at around 1 lakh.
- The sect has long been opposed by hardline Muslim clerics, some of whom consider Ahmadiyyas to be heretics.
- However, Ahmadiyyas do not dispute the centrality of the Prophet in their religion.
Source: The Indian Express
