Ahmadiyya: Difference between revisions

'''Ahmadiyya''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑː|m|ə|ˈ|d|iː|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|also|UK|-|ˈ|d|iː|j|ə}}),<ref name="OED">{{OED|Ahmadiyya}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Ahmadiyya |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131234240/https://www.lexico.com/definition/ahmadiyya |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-01-31 |title=Ahmadiyya |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ahmadiyyah |title=Ahmadiyyah |work=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=30 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630151644/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ahmadiyyah |url-status=live }}</ref>}} officially the '''Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at''' ('''AMJ''')<ref>{{cite news |last1=Knipp |first1=Kersten |title=Who are the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-ahmadiyya-muslim-jamaat/a-49500230 |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=2019-07-07 |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924101548/https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-the-ahmadiyya-muslim-jamaat/a-49500230 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|{{lang-ar|الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية|al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyyah al-Aḥmadīyyah}}; {{lang-ur|{{nq|جماعتِ احمدیہ مسلمہ}}|translit=Jamā‘at-i-Aḥmadiyah Muslimah}})}} is an [[Islam]]ic messianic<ref>{{cite web |last=Friedmann |first=Yohanan |year=2011 |title=The Ahmadiyyah Movement |url=http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0004.xml |work=Oxford Bibliographies |access-date=4 January 2019 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214174733/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0004.xml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Özaykal |first=K. A. |title=Messianic Legitimacy: the case of Ahmadiyya and Mahdiyya Movements |journal=Journal of Istanbul University Faculty of Theology |date=2016 |issue=35 |pages=217–256 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/iuilah/issue/30645/331056 |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022212551/https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/iuilah/issue/30645/331056 |url-status=live }}</ref> movement originating in [[British Raj|British India]] in the late 19th century.<ref name="Valentine 2008 xv">{{cite book |last=Valentine |first=Simon |title=Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: History, belief, practice |year=2008 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-70094-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q78O1mjX2tMC&q=+islamic+reform |page=xv}}</ref><ref>*{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=Diane |title=Essential Islam: A comprehensive guide to belief and practice |year=2009 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-36025-1 |page=242}}

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.<ref name="Valentine 2008 xv" /> Its adherents consider Ahmad to have appeared as the Mahdi—bearing the qualities of [[Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam|Jesus]] in accordance with their reading of scriptural prophecies—to revitalize Islam and set in motion its moral system that would bring about lasting peace.<ref>Multiple sources:

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad established the Community (or [[wikt:jamaat|''Jamāʿat'']]) on 23 March 1889 by formally accepting [[Bay'ah (Ahmadiyya)|allegiance]] from his supporters. Since his death, the Community has been led by a succession of [[Ahmadiyya Caliphate|Caliphs]]. By 2017 it had spread to [[Ahmadiyya by country|210 countries and territories]] of the world with concentrations in [[South Asia]], [[West Africa]], [[East Africa]], and [[Ahmadiyya in Indonesia|Indonesia]]. The Ahmadis have a strong missionary tradition, having formed the first Muslim missionary organization to arrive in [[Great Britain|Britain]] and other Western countries.<ref>Multiple sources:

The movement is almost entirely a single, highly organized group. However, in the early history of the community, some Ahmadis dissented over the nature of Ahmad's prophetic status and succession. They formed the [[Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement]], which has since dwindled to a small fraction of all Ahmadis. Ahmadiyya's recognition of Ahmad as a prophet has been characterized as heretical by mainstream Muslims, who believe that Muhammad was the [[seal of the prophets|final prophet]], and the Ahmadi movement has faced non-recognition and [[Persecution of Ahmadis|persecution]] in many parts of the world.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |title=The Handbook of Transcultural Counselling and Psychotherapy |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Education]] |year=2011 |isbn=9780335238514 |location=UK |editor-last=Lago |editor-first=Colin |publication-date=1 October 2011 |page=312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vREBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA312}}</ref><ref name=":2"/><ref name="persecution"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3098725.stm |title=Islamic sect gathers in Surrey |last=Cloudhury |first=Barnie |date=26 July 2003 |access-date = 19 April 2015 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023074042/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3098725.stm |archive-date=23 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some Sunni Muslims pejoratively use the term [[Qadiani|''Qādiyānī'']] to refer to the movement.<ref name="Gualtieri 1989 14">{{cite book |first=Antonio R. |last=Gualtieri |title=Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadis and Orthodoxy in Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCwHaOabz7YC&pg=PA14 |year=1989 |publisher=Guernica Editions |isbn=978-0-920717-41-7 |page=14}}</ref>

The Ahmadiyya movement was founded in 1889, but the name ''Aḥmadīyah'' was not adopted until about a decade later. In a manifesto dated 4 November 1900, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad announced that the name chosen to identify the movement from other Muslim groups would be in reference to [[Muhammad]]'s alternative name ''[[Aḥmad]]''.<ref>{{cite book| author = Spencer Lavan| title = The Ahmadiyah Movement: a History and Perspective| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5q1WAAAAMAAJ| year = 1974| publisher = Monohar Book Service| page = 93 | isbn = 9780883864555}}</ref><ref name="aaiil.org"/> According to him, the meaning of the name ''Muḥammad''—"the most praised one"—comported with the traits of glory and indicated the triumphant career of the Islamic prophet following his [[Hegira|migration to Medina]]; but ''Aḥmad'', an [[elative (gradation)|Arabic elative form]] meaning "highly praised" and also "one who praises the most", comported with the beauty of his sermons and conveyed the perseverance and forbearance that characterized his earlier life at [[Mecca]]. Accordingly, these two names reflected two aspects or modalities of Islam and in later times it was the latter aspect that was destined to be the chief characteristic of its progress.<ref name="Diagonal-Verlag"/><ref name="aaiil.org"/><ref>[https://archive.org/details/revuedumondemusu01miss/page/534/mode/2up "A short sketch of the Ahmadiyya Movement"]. ''[[Revue du monde musulman]]'', 1 (1907):535–576. p.545</ref><ref>Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=60Qm9fprZ9UC&pg=PA46 Commentary on The Holy Quran, Volume 1 Surah Fatiha]'', Islam International, 2004, pp. 46–57</ref> Ghulam Ahmad deemed it a blameworthy innovation (''[[bid‘ah]]'') to label an Islamic [[Islamic schools and branches|group or school]] after anyone other than Muhammad.<ref>''[[Malfūzāt|Malfūẓāt]]'' [Dialogues], Vol.2, (London: The Gresham Press, 1984), pp. 208–209.</ref> The announcement of 1900 stated: {{blockquote|The name which is appropriate for this Movement and which we prefer for ourselves and for our Jamā'at is ''Muslims of the Aḥmadīyah Section''. And it is permissible that it also be referred to as ''Muslims of the Aḥmadī school''.<ref>''Majmu'a Ishtihārāt'', Vol.3, (London: The Gresham Press, 1984), p.364, dated 4 November 1900</ref>}}

(5th edition) Munich: CH Beck, p.355</ref> and the name variant of Muhammad,<ref name="Diagonal-Verlag"/> some Sunni Muslims, especially in the [[Indian subcontinent]] from where the movement originated, refer to Ahmadis using the [[pejorative]] terms {{Lang|ar-latn|Qādiyānī}}—derived from [[Qadian]], the home town of Ghulam Ahmad; or {{Lang|ar-latn|Mirzaī}}—from [[Mirza (noble)|Mirza]], one of his titles.<ref>Multiple sources:

*{{cite book |last= Qasmi |first=Ali Usman |title=The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan |year=2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-425-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_o1DgAAQBAJ |page=2}}</ref> Both are externally attributed names and are never used by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community itself.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal |jstor = 27798273|title = The Relativity of Categorizing in the Context of the Aḥmadiyya|last1 = Lathan|first1 = Andrea|journal = Die Welt des Islams|year = 2008|volume = 48|issue = 3/4|pages = 372–393|doi = 10.1163/157006008X364749}}</ref>

*[http://www.alislam.org/islam/ "Islam"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407234632/http://www.alislam.org/islam/ |date=7 April 2015 }}, Al Islam Online</ref> In the derivation of Ahmadi doctrine and practice, the Quran has supreme authority followed by the ''sunnah'' and the ''ahadith''. Quranic rulings cannot be overruled by any other secondary or explanatory source. If a ''hadith'' is found to be in manifest conflict with the Quran and defies all possible efforts at harmonization, it is rejected regardless of the [[Hadith terminology|classification]] of its authenticity.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (2004) [https://www.alislam.org/library/browse/book/The_Essence_of_Islam/?p=2&l=English#page/129/mode/1up''The Essence of Islam'', Vol. II, pp. 129–39,<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224448/https://www.alislam.org/library/browse/book/The_Essence_of_Islam/?p=2&l=English#page/129/mode/1up |date=3 December 2017 }} Tilford: Islam International</ref> Their acceptance of the authority of the four [[Rashidun|Rightly Guided]] caliphs (successors) as legitimate leaders of the Muslim community following Muhammad's death, their belief that a caliph need not be a descendant of Muhammad, and use of the ''[[Kutub al-Sittah]]'' fundamentally aligns Ahmadis with the [[Sunni]] tradition of Islam rather than with the [[Shi'a]] tradition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 2023 |title=What is the difference between Ahmadi Muslims and other Muslims? |url=https://www.alislam.org/question/difference-between-ahmadi-muslims-others/ |website=Al Islam}}</ref> In matters of ''[[fiqh]]'' (Islamic [[jurisprudence]]), Ahmadis reject strict adherence (''[[taqlid]]'') to any particular school of thought (''[[madhhab]]''), giving foremost precedence to the Quran and ''sunnah'', but usually base their rulings on the [[Hanafi]] methodology in cases where these sources lack clear elaboration.<ref>Multiple sources:

*{{cite web|title=Question & Answer Session (3 March 1996) with Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Islam Ahmadiyya|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWIkm-nXbK0&t=30s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/hWIkm-nXbK0 |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=8 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> What essentially distinguishes Ahmadi Muslims from other Muslims is their belief in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, as both the promised [[Mahdi]] (Guided One) and [[Messiah]] foretold by Muhammad to appear in the end times. Summarising his position, Ahmad writes:

Ahmadi teachings state that all the major world religions have divine origins and are part of the divine plan towards the establishment of Islam as the final religion, because Islam is the most complete and perfected the previous teachings of other religions,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/library/articles/The_Promised_Messiah_Prophecies_Fulfilled-20081007MN.html |title=The Promised Messiah – Prophecies Fulfilled |publisher=Alislam.org |access-date=13 August 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110725000642/http://www.alislam.org/library/articles/The_Promised_Messiah_Prophecies_Fulfilled-20081007MN.html | archive-date= 25 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> which (they believe) have drifted away from their original form and been corrupted. The message which the founders of these religions brought was, therefore, essentially the same as that of Islam, albeit incomplete. The completion and consummation of the development of religion came about with the advent of Muhammad. However, the global conveyance, recognition and eventual acceptance of his message (i.e. the perfection of the ''manifestation'' of Muhammad's prophethood) was destined to occur with the coming of the [[Mahdi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=2739&region=E1&CR=EN,E2 |title=The Holy Quran |publisher=Alislam.org |access-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725000651/http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=2739&region=E1&CR=EN%2CE2 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus, Ahmadi Muslims regard [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] as that Mahdi and, by extension, the "Promised One" of all religions fulfilling eschatological prophecies found in the scriptures of the [[Abrahamic religions]], as well as [[Zoroastrianism]], the [[Indian religions]], [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American traditions]] and others.<ref name="ita_4">Invitation to Ahmadiyyat by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Part II, Argument 4, Chapter "Promised Messiah, Promised One of All Religions"</ref> Ahmadi Muslims believe that Ahmad was divinely commissioned as a true reflection of Muhammad's prophethood to establish the unity of God and to remind humankind of their duties towards God and His creation.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q78O1mjX2tMC&q=simon+ross+valentine+ahmadiyya | title=Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: history, belief, practice | pages=32–33 | author=Simon Ross Valentine | publisher=Columbia University Press | isbn=978-0-231-70094-8 | year=2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alislam.org/library/articles/2007WCJSSpeech_20071228.pdf | title=Raising Ahmadi Children in the West | author=Nasir Mahmood Malik | publisher=Al Islam | access-date=10 June 2011 | year=2007 | archive-date=27 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927222512/http://www.alislam.org/library/articles/2007WCJSSpeech_20071228.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> Summarising the Islamic faith, Ahmad writes:

Contrary to [[Islamic view of Jesus' death|mainstream Islamic belief]], Ahmadi Muslims believe that [[Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam|Jesus]] ''was'' crucified and survived the four hours on the cross.<ref name="alislam.org-2">{{•}} {{cite web |url=https://www.alislam.org/articles/jesus-son-of-mary-islamic-beliefs/ |title=Jesus Son of Mary – Islamic Beliefs |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2020 |website=Alislam.org |publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |access-date=14 July 2021 |archive-date=16 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716222819/https://www.alislam.org/articles/jesus-son-of-mary-islamic-beliefs/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |last=Goraya |first=Azhar Ahmad |date=2020 |url=https://www.alislam.org/articles/jesus-christ-died-natural-death/ |title=Jesus Christ died a Natural Death |website=Alislam.org |publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |access-date=14 July 2021 |archive-date=5 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505132912/https://www.alislam.org/articles/jesus-christ-died-natural-death/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |last=Iqbal |first=Farhan |date=2020 |url=https://www.alislam.org/articles/30-verses-of-holy-quran-which-prove-natural-death-of-jesus-christ/ |title=30 Verses of the Holy Quran which prove the Natural Death of Jesus Christ |website=Alislam.org |publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |access-date=14 July 2021 |archive-date=16 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716222812/https://www.alislam.org/articles/30-verses-of-holy-quran-which-prove-natural-death-of-jesus-christ/ |url-status=live



}}</ref> He was later revived from a [[Swoon hypothesis|swoon]] in the tomb.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/index.php |title=Jesus, a Humble Prophet of God |publisher=Al Islam |access-date=22 August 2006 |archive-date=18 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518182901/http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Ahmadis believe that Jesus died in [[Kashmir]] of old age whilst seeking the [[Ten Lost Tribes|Lost Tribes of Israel]].<ref name="alislam.org-2"/><ref name="Korbel-Preckel 2016">{{cite book |last1=Korbel |first1=Jonathan |last2=Preckel |first2=Claudia |year=2016 |chapter=Ghulām Aḥmad al-Qādiyānī: The Messiah of the Christians—Peace upon Him—in India (India, 1908) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtY6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA426 |editor1-last=Bentlage |editor1-first=Björn |editor2-last=Eggert |editor2-first=Marion |editor3-last=Krämer |editor3-first=Hans-Martin |editor4-last=Reichmuth |editor4-first=Stefan |editor4-link=Stefan Reichmuth (academic) |title=Religious Dynamics under the Impact of Imperialism and Colonialism |series=Numen Book Series |volume=154 |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=426–442 |doi=10.1163/9789004329003_034 |isbn=978-90-04-32511-1}}</ref><ref name="Leirvik 2010">{{cite book |last=Leirvik |first=Oddbjørn |year=2010 |title=Images of Jesus Christ in Islam |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gzd_I2AFswwC&pg=PA34 |chapter=Christ in the Qurʾān and in Ḥadīth |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum International]] |edition=2nd |doi=10.5040/9781472548528.ch-002 |pages=34–36, 129–132 |isbn=978-1-4411-7739-1}}</ref><ref>[http://www.aaiil.org/uk/newsletters/2001/1001ukbulletin.pdf "Death of Jesus"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011911/http://www.aaiil.org/uk/newsletters/2001/1001ukbulletin.pdf |date=5 March 2016 }}, by Shahid Aziz, Bulletin October 2001, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (UK)<br />[http://www.alislam.org/library/books/promisedmessiah/index.htm?page=50 The Promised Mehdi and Messiah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402211143/http://www.alislam.org/library/books/promisedmessiah/index.htm?page=50 |date=2 April 2015 }}, p. 50, "Jesus Migrated to India", by Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, Islam International Publications Limited</ref> Jesus' remains are believed to be entombed in the [[Roza Bal]] shrine in Kashmir under the name [[Yuz Asaf]].<ref name="alislam.org-2"/><ref name="Korbel-Preckel 2016"/>

Formally, the history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community begins when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad took the [[Bay'ah|oath of allegiance]] from a number of his companions at a home in [[Ludhiana]], India, on 23 March 1889. However, the history can be taken back to the early life of Ahmad, when he reportedly started receiving revelations concerning his future, but also as far back as the traditions of various world religions. At the end of the 19th century,
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian proclaimed himself to be the "Centennial Reformer of Islam" ([[Mujaddid]]), [[Second Coming|metaphorical second coming of Jesus]] and the [[Mahdi]] (guided one) awaited by the Muslims and obtained a considerable number of followers especially within the [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]], the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and [[Sindh]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/page.php?title=&record=1512 |title=H.H. Risley and E.A. Gait, (1903), Report of the Census of India, 1901, Calcutta, Superintendent of Government Printing, p. 373 |publisher=Chinese Heritage of the Australian Federation Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205180023/http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/page.php?title=&record=1512 |archive-date=5 February 2012 }}</ref> He and his followers believe that his advent was foretold by [[Muhammad]], the [[Prophet of Islam]], and also by many other religious scriptures of the world. Ahmadiyya emerged in [[India]] as a movement within Islam, also in response to the Christian and [[Arya Samaj]] missionary activity that was widespread in the 19th century.

By 2016, the community had been established in 209 countries and territories of the world with concentrations in [[South Asia]], [[West Africa]], [[East Africa]], and [[Indonesia]]. The community is a minority Muslim sect in almost every country of the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Ne280712Minority.asp |title=The Minority's Minority |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626100223/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Ne280712Minority.asp |archive-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In some countries like [[Pakistan]], it is practically illegal to be an Ahmadi Muslim.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427 |title=The 1974 ouster of the 'heretics': What really happened? |date=21 November 2013 |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613025520/http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427 |url-status=live }}</ref> Together, these factors make it difficult to estimate the Ahmadiyya population for both the community itself as well as independent organizations. For this reason, the community gives a figure of "tens of millions";<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alislam.org/introduction/index.html | title=An Overview | access-date=4 March 2014 | publisher=Al Islam | archive-date=16 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316012248/http://www.alislam.org/introduction/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref> however, most independent sources variously estimate the population to be at least 10 to 20 million<ref name="pop">See:

* {{Cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2012/01/20/january-20-2012-ahmadiyya-muslims/10124/ | title=Ahmadiyya Muslims | publisher=PBS | access-date=6 October 2013 | date=20 January 2012 | archive-date=10 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310050128/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2012/01/20/january-20-2012-ahmadiyya-muslims/10124/ | url-status=live }}</ref> worldwide, thereby representing around 1% of the world's Muslim population.<ref>A figure of 10 to 20 million represents 0.62% to 1.25% of the worlds Muslim population.</ref> In 2001, the ''[[World Christian Encyclopedia]]'', estimated that the Ahmadiyya movement was the fastest growing group within Islam.<ref>{{as of|2001}} the Ahmadiyya Movement had been the fastest growing sect over decades across multiple editions of the ''World Christian Encyclopedia''. The 2001 edition placed the growth rate at 3.25%, which was the highest of all Islamic sects and schools of thought. See:

Ahmadi have been viewed as infidels<ref>{{Cite web|last=Imam|first=Zainab|date=2016-06-01|title=The day I declared my best friend kafir just so I could get a passport|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1261622|access-date=2021-08-14|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814113902/https://www.dawn.com/news/1261622|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Sayeed|first=Saad|date=2017-11-16|title=Pakistan's long-persecuted Ahmadi minority fear becoming election scapegoat|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-election-ahmadis-idUSKBN1DG04H|access-date=2021-08-14|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814113856/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-election-ahmadis-idUSKBN1DG04H|url-status=live}}</ref> and heretics<ref>{{Cite web|last=Paracha|first=Nadeem F.|date=2013-11-21|title=The 1974 ouster of the 'heretics': What really happened?|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427|access-date=2021-08-14|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=13 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613025520/http://www.dawn.com/news/1057427|url-status=live}}</ref> and the movement has faced at times violent opposition.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8711026.stm |title=Who are the Ahmadi? |date=28 May 2010 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530013220/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8711026.stm |archive-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=When Muslims are not Muslims: The Ahmadiyya community and the discourse on heresy in Indonesia |last=Burhani |first=Ahmad Najib |publisher=[[University of California]] |year=2013 |isbn=9781303424861 |location=Santa Barbara, California |url=https://alexandria.ucsb.edu/lib/ark:/48907/f3707zhx |access-date=23 February 2018 |archive-date=28 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128213850/https://alexandria.ucsb.edu/lib/ark:/48907/f3707zhx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/newdelhi/heretical-ahmadiyya-sect-raises-muslim-hackles/article1-752846.aspx |title='Heretical' Ahmadiyya sect raises Muslim hackles |last=Haq |first=Zia |date=2 October 2011 |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419082837/http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdelhi/heretical-ahmadiyya-sect-raises-muslim-hackles/article1-752846.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 April 2015 |place=New Delhi}}</ref> In 1973, the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] officially declared that the Ahmadiyya was not linked to Islam.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Harrigan|first1=Jane|title=Faith-Based Welfare and Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood Movement|date=2009|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137001580_4|work=Economic Liberalisation, Social Capital and Islamic Welfare Provision|pages=56–77|place=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-30033-4|access-date=2021-08-14|last2=El-Said|first2=Hamed|doi=10.1057/9781137001580_4}}</ref> In Pakistan, Ahmadis have been officially declared as non-Muslims by the [[Government of Pakistan]]<ref name="2ndamend">{{cite web|title=Constitution (Second Amendment) Act, 1974|url=http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/amendments/2amendment.html|access-date=21 January 2020|website=The Constitution of Pakistan|publisher=pakistani.org|archive-date=17 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717144752/http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/amendments/2amendment.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the term [[Qadiani|''Qādiānī'']] is often used pejoratively to refer to them and is also used in Pakistani documents.<ref name="Gualtieri 1989 14"/>