Ahmadiyya - Views By Mainstream Muslims

Views By Mainstream Muslims

Most Muslims consider both Ahmadi movements to be non-Muslim and heretical, while some consider them Muslim but misguided. This is for a number of reasons, chief among them being the question of finality of prophethood, since they believe members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community do not regard the Islamic prophet Muhammad as the last prophet. The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement does not subscribe to this belief; its members, and do not see Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet in the conventional sense. Ahmadis claim that this is a result of misinterpreting Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's statements referring to his coming “in the spirit of Muhammed” (similar to John the Baptist coming in the spirit and power of Elijah). Ahmadi Muslims believe Ghulam Ahmad to be the Mahdi and Promised Messiah. Mainstream Muslims reject this, stating that Ghulam Ahmad did not fulfill the prophecies of Imam Mahdi and that the title of Messiah was given only to Jesus and no one else. Ghulam Ahmad is considered to be a false prophet.

The Muslim World League held its annual conference at Mecca, Saudi Arabia from 14th to 18th of Rabiul Awwal 1394 H (April 1974) in which 140 delegations of Muslim countries and organisations from all over the world participated. At the conference, the League issued the following declaration:

"Qadianism or Ahmadiyyat: It is a subversive movement against Islam and the Muslim world, which falsely and deceitfully claims to be an Islamic sect; who under the guise of Islam and for the sake of mundane interests contrives and plans to damage the very foundations of Islam."

Both Ahmadi movements are considered non-Muslims by the Pakistan government, and this fact is recorded on their travel documents. By contrast, Ahmadi citizens from Western countries and some Muslim states perform Hajj and Umra, as the Saudi government is not made aware that they are Ahmadis when they apply for a visa. A court decision has upheld the right of Ahmadiyyas to identify themselves as Muslims in India.

As the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement’s view regarding Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s status as a Prophet is closer to current mainstream Islamic thought, the literature published by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement has found greater acceptance among the Muslim intelligentsia.

Some Muslims group both Ahmadi movements together and refer to them as “Qadianis”, and their beliefs as “Qadianism” (after the small town of Qadian in the Gurdaspur District of Punjab in India, where the movement's founder was born), which are derogatory terms. However most, if not all, Ahmadis of both sects dislike this term as it has acquired derogatory connotations over the years, and furthermore, they prefer to differentiate their two separate movements. Most Muslims will not use the term “Muslim” when referring to Ahmadis, even though both sects refer to themselves as such, citing the fatwas given by the Islamic scholars. However, as members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement deny the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, some mainstream Islamic scholars consider the Lahore Ahmadiyya to be Muslims. In earlier times in Pakistan and India, there was widespread persecution of Ahmadis by certain Muslim groups. Sporadic violence as well as persecution of a more subtle nature against Ahmadis continues even today.