Approximately 7,000 Muslims congregated from around the globe to take part in the 67th annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community formally known as the Jalsa Salana. The three-day convention was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, starting on August 16, 2015. Among the thousands in attendance was 22-year-old Burhan Sandhu from Brooklyn, New York, a 2016 Columbia University graduate and a practicing Ahmadi Muslim.
Ahmadi, or Ahmadiyaa, are a minority sect of Muslims who follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammed and the Holy Qur’an founded in Punjab, British India and what is now known as Pakistan. It is estimated that there are between 10 to 20 million Ahmadis worldwide. This number, however, is dwarfed immensely by the estimated 1.5 billion Sunni Muslims who make up mainstream Muslims around the world. Aside from the number of practitioners, there is another major factor where the two sects seem to diverge
This division is dictated by who Ahmadi Muslims choose to accept. “An Ahmadi Muslim accepts Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Masih Maud or the Second Coming of Jesus,” explains Sandhu, “in addition to following the path of Islam shared by mainstream Sunnis like the five pillars of Islam and the six articles of faith.” However, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is considered by Sunni Muslims to be an “impostor prophet” because of their literal interpretation of the khattam an-nabiyyeen, translated as “Seal of the Prophet.”
“The figurative interpretation that Ahmadis prescribe to is that Muhammad is the seal of the law-bearing prophets, and that no other prophet can bring a new law/text to mankind,” he says. “We liken Mirza Ghulam to Jesus; Jesus was technically a Jew who did not promote a new law himself, but rather tried to reform those Jews who had strayed from the original teaching. Ahmadis believe Mirza Ghulam fulfills a similar role for the followers of Muhammad - hence the title, "Second Coming of Jesus.”
Sunni Muslims fail to allow to understand Ahmadiyya from an Ahmadi’s perspective, and continue to hold onto their universalized belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a false prophet, and in consequence, fail to accept Ahmadis as Muslims.
Pakistan is at the forefront of denouncing this minority sect. In 1974, Ahmadis have been declared “non-Muslims” under Pakistani law after an amendment was passed. This amendment allowed for the passing of Ordinance XX, a series of laws which inhibited Ahmadis from identifying themselves as Ahmadis and restrained them from practicing regular Islamic ritual.
“As an American, I do think that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right so it disturbs me that Pakistan still adheres to such an authoritarian practice,” says Sandhu.
An example of the effects of Ordinance XX can be seen in just about everywhere in Pakistan. Pakistani Muslims applying for their passports in Pakistan must identify themselves by checking a box that denounces their belief in Ahmadi ideals, forcing Ahmadis to be marked down incorrectly.
“As a Pakistani, born there in fact, I would hate to be legally marked and have my religious privacy violated,” continues Sandhu. “Particularly since I would become a target of state-sanctioned sectarian violence.”
The situations for Ahmadis in Pakistan became most hostile as the years passed. Since 1984, 245 Ahmadis have been killed, while a 205 have been assaulted. Ninety-four of the 245 were killed during the 2010 Lahore Massacre, in which Sunni suicide bombers infiltrated two mosques in Ahmadi communities. This attack also left 120 with severe injuries.
The relentless persecution of Ahmadis carried on over the years, happening not only through anti-Ahmadi laws, but also anti-Ahmadi media. The hostility towards the sect was enough for Ahmadis to branch out to different parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, the United States, and in other areas around the world, Ahmadiyya is flourishing.
The Jalsa Salana is a clear example of that. The annual event takes place in countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Composed of Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis alike, the Jalsa seeks to give every individual a personal religious experience, ultimately forming a tightly knit community both at the convention, and back home.
“I found the tight knit aspect of the community pretty helpful when growing up as far as grounding my religious identity and making me keep things in perspective even as a youth,” says Sandhu.
Despite years of persecution from non-Ahmadi Muslim groups like the Sunnis, Ahmadiyya is now considered by many religious scholars to be the “Renaissance of Islam” due to its headstrong and persevering qualities, which can be best understood from a speech given by Rafiq Hayat at the UK Jalsa Salan in 2015 titled “The Character of an Ahmadi: Ambassador of Islam.” In it Hayat declares to his Ahmadi brethren that despite the heavy opposition they faced, and continue to face, they must not waver but rather help the community and the individuals around them.
