Islamic revivalism- Ahmedia Movement / Quadiani Movement

• Started in around 1899 at a town Quadiyan (Gurudaspur, Punjab) under the leadership of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Quadim (1835–1908) who in 1891 claimed that he was a prophet, revivalist (mujaddid), and the messiah (mahdi) anticipated by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam.
• 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.
• It emphasized the humanitarian and universal character of Islam.
• It also emphasized that the technological progress should be regarded by the Muslim as a part of God’s purpose and should be given religious recognition.
• It was strictly apolitical.
• It was conservative in social morals.
• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s claim to prophecy which challenged the orthodox Islamic tenet that Muhammad was the final Abrahamic prophet.
  • Indian orthodox Muslim community took umbrage with Ahmad’s unswaying loyalty to the colonial British 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 contributed to their early targeting by Muslim political groups upon independence particularly in Pakistan where they were  categorized as a non-Muslim minority in national law in 1974. selfstudyhistory.com
• The movement split into two following the death of Ahmad’s successor, Maulana Nur ad-Din in 1914  into Quadiyani and Lahori.
  • One group affirming Ahmad’s messianic status (The Ahmadiyya/ Quadiyani Movement) and
  • a second group regarding him as a reformer, but otherwise adhering to mainstream Islamic beliefs that understand Muhammad to have been the final prophet (the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement)