Ahmadiyya Movement (Qadiani Movement)
- The Ahmadiyya Movement began around 1899 at the town of Qadian (Gurdaspur, Punjab), under the leadership of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835–1908), who in 1891 claimed to be a prophet, a revivalist (mujaddid), and the messiah (mahdi) anticipated by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, through peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam. (See editorial note on this founding date below.)
- Ahmadi thought centres on the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity, as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and on the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost over the centuries.
- It emphasised the humanitarian and universal character of Islam.
- It also held that technological progress should be regarded by Muslims as part of God’s purpose and accordingly given religious recognition.
- The movement was strictly apolitical, while remaining conservative in social morals.
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claim to prophethood directly challenged the orthodox Islamic tenet that Muhammad was the final Abrahamic prophet.
- The orthodox Muslim community in India took particular offence at Ahmad’s unwavering loyalty to colonial British rule, at a time of rising nationalist sentiment.
- The Ahmadi community in colonial India also tended to be better educated and more prosperous compared to other Muslims.
- These religious, cultural, and political factors together contributed to the community’s early targeting by Muslim political groups after independence — particularly in Pakistan, where Ahmadis were legally categorised as a non-Muslim minority under national law in 1974.
- The movement split into two following the death of Ahmad’s successor, Maulana Nur-ud-Din, in 1914, dividing into the Qadiani and Lahori branches:
- One group affirmed Ahmad’s messianic status — the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) Movement; and
- A second group regarded him only as a reformer, while otherwise adhering to mainstream Islamic belief that Muhammad was the final prophet — the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.
