REFUTATIONS OF ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Baitul Futuh, London: the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have built western Europe's largest mosque

Contents

1- Allegation numbers of Ahmadi Muslims are small and limited to South Asia

It is impossible to know exactly how many Ahmadis there are worldwide:

I cannot give you the overall figure of the whole world. In some places, the organisational set up is not very well established, so they cannot have the figures, but we are in millions all across the world. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Peace Conference 2013, meeting with English press)

However, there are some independent studies which shed light on this issue. For instance, the Pew Research Center, USA, is one of the world's most respected think tanks on global religion. Their study 'The World's Muslims: Unity & Diversity' (2012) showed the percentage of Muslims belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect in several countries. Another Pew report, 'The Future of the Global Muslim Population' (2011) informs us of how many Muslims live in each of those countries. The combined information gives an independent estimate into the number of Ahmadis residing in those nations:

Country	Born Ahmadi Population	Net Converts to Ahmadiyya	Total Ahmadi Population 2010
Nigeria	1,514,560	757,280	2,271,840
Tanzania	1,883,000	134,500	2,017,500
Niger	937,620	0	937,620
Ghana	390,600	234,360	624,960
Cameroon	467,740	-35,980	431,760
Chad	192,120	64,040	256,160
Mali	123,160	123,160	246,320
Uganda	81,200	81,200	162,400
Kenya	114,720	0	114,720
Senegal	0	123,330	123,330
Congo	67,830	-9,690	58,140
Liberia	57,530	-5,230	52,300
Guinea Bissau	14,100	0	14,100
TOTAL	5,844,180	1,466,970	7,311,150

2- Allegation apostates prove Ahmadiyya false

The Quran alludes to the fact there always has been and will be some people who leave the true religion:

Surely those who disbelieve after they have believed and then increase in their disbelief, their repentance shall not be accepted. (Quran 3:90-91)

In fact, independent studies repeatedly find very few Ahmadi Muslims leave the sect and that it is in fact one of the fastest growing sects of any religion in the world. One study followed years of research by a team led by Dr. David B. Barret. Barret was an internationally renowned Christian academic. His research was published in the World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) in which he compared the size and growth rates of the world's largest religions and sects. The most relevant data is reproduced below and shows Ahmadiyya to have the highest net % growth of any major Islamic sect:

	Annual Average for
Sect	Net Births	Net Converts	Net % Growth	Adherents (2001)
Hanafis	9,480,204	385,753	2.07	531,417,801
Shafites	4,590,019	99,981	2.20	239,900,000
Malikis	3,925,302	64,698	2.00	221,900,000
Ithna-Asharis	2,540,722	167,778	2.23	136,655,000
Ismailis	472,710	83,290	2.70	23,772,000
Zaydis	95,925	67,675	2.30	8,042,000
Ahmadiyya	156,461	61,139	3.25	7,950,000
Wahhabis	91,447	-2,147	1.37	7,000,000
Hanbalis	28,002	17,498	2.20	2,325,000
NOI	25,317	10,683	2.49	1,650,000
Karijites	26,901	3,799	2.10	1,636,000
Druzes	15,943	1,057	2.31	834,000
Yazidis	3,695	905	2.30	226,000
OTHER SECTS	58,271	18,329	3.46	2,654,000

NOTES:
Net Births = Net Annual Births - Net Annual Deaths
Net Converts = Net Annual Converts - Net Annual Apostates
Net % Growth = Net Converts + Net Births taken as a percentage of the original population

All statistics are from the years 1990 to 2000

3- Allegation weaknesses of individual Ahmadi Muslims proves Ahmadiyya false

Anti-Ahmadis like to present cases where individual Ahmadi Muslims have made some sort of minor mistake. Whether any of these stories are even true, only Allah knows. Nonetheless, it has no bearing on the truth or otherwise of Ahmadiyya. It is well documented that Judas Iscariot was one of the closest companions and follower of Jesus, but betrayed him in a most evil way. This bore no reflection on the truth of Jesus or his message. In the same way, Islamic historical traditions record how many of the tribes that accepted Muhammad^sa apostasised when he passed away but this bore no reflection on the truth of Muhammad^sa and Islam. So, if a individual Ahmadi Muslim has a personal weakness it has no bearing on the truth of Islam Ahmadiyya.

4- Allegation Ahmadi Muslims believe other sects/religions are hell bound

In Ahmadiyyat the concept of relationship with God is so wide based on the teachings of the Holy Quran that even those who are not Muslim - not to mention Ahmadiyyat - according to this concept religion can be different and religion can be wrong yet if a man is right and truthful he still has the right to have the direct link with God and it is God who establishes that link because wherever truth is found God loves truth. So ideology is important but not that important. The difference in ideology can be based on genuine differences and disagreements. If someone genuinely cannot understand Islam, why must he be condemned to Hell? Most important is your inner truth, your attitude to life, your love of God on the one hand and your love of humanity on the other. (Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV, question and answer session)

5- Allegation Ahmadi Muslims offer cash incentives for people to convert

Quite the opposite is true; Ahmadis - whether born or converted - are asked to make donations at their local mosque as discussed below.

6- Allegation 'chanda' donations are innovations against the teachings of Islam

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are asked to pay almost 9% of their earnings-after-tax in various donations (chanda aam, chanda jalsa gah etc). Obviously, those who do not earn are exempt from these donations and those who are suffering from poverty or hardship are also exempted:

They should not have asked this person for contribution...Management should be thoughtful about such people and should not force people to pay. Sometimes finance secretaries and those of Tehrik e Jadid pursue people. Contributions should be taken in accordance with people’s situations. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Friday Sermon 7 Nov 2014)

This income is used to fund the maintenance of mosques and buildings, local and national events, the publication of literature and media spreading the message of Islam, missionary activities and charitable causes. It should be noted, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community does not accept donations from any organisations or individuals who do not belong to the community - ie all funds for all Ahmadiyya projects are raised inernally. Spending on these activities is repeatedly supported by the Quran and ahadith including:

Spend in the cause of Allah. (Quran 2:195-196)

They who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, then follow not up what they have spent with taunt or injury, for them is their reward with their Lord, and they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Quran 2:262-263)

Whoever spends anything in the cause of Allah, is rewarded seven hundred times more. (Tirmidhi)

Now the allegation is made that as the rates were not specified in the Quran, they are still unIslamic. This is incorrect. During the khilafat of Hazrat Umar, a Khalifa who is accepted as divinely guided by all Sunni non-Ahmadi Muslims, he set up rates, tax collectors and administrative structures according to the need of the time. Non-Ahmadi Muslims do not object to this and there is a clear precedent that a khalifa can set up organisational sytems to take donations according to the need of that era.

7- Allegation 'chanda' donations are misused

The opponents of Ahmadiyya make this allegation. However, it is completely untrue. Around the world Ahmadi Muslims will attest how their donations are in fact used for high-profile and worthy charitable projects (more details in section 6 above). Moreover, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community makes use of independent audits to ensure money is not wasted:

No one should think - and all who give chanda should remember this - that the Jamaat System is running because of their chandas and this is why the finance secretary comes to him again and again. This is a promise of Allah that He made with the Promised Messiah that there would never be any financial straitened circumstances and things will continue inshAllah. If he was ever concerned it was that the monies should be spent properly. By the Grace of Allah, the Exalted, we try to ensure that expenditures are done in the most correct way possible. If in some places some carelessness is detected, people’s attention is drawn to such things and a system of auditing is in place for this very purpose. And this is the responsibility of the President of the Jamaat that he should keep a careful eye on the expenditures and not that any and all bills that come are automatically approved of necessity. Make the audit system effective and allow it to run with independence and authority so that the auditors can work with full authority and they should be afforded complete powers. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Friday Sermon, 16th August 2013)

Furthermore, even in countries where the government is openly hostile and sponsors persecution of Ahmadis such as Pakistan and Indonesia, the authorities have never found a single occasion of financial wrongdoing. In fact, in countries like the UK, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a registered charity and has the UK’s Charity Commission conduct an audit after which information on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s finances is published by the charity commission, ensuring complete transparency and that the authorities have approved the community’s accounts and expenditures. It should be noted, the UK Charity Commission has highlighted several instances of financial irregularity or uncooperativeness at non-Ahmadi Muslim charities around the UK but has never once taken any issue with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. This information is available online at the UK Charity Commission’s website.

8- Allegation motto 'Love for all, Hatred for none' is unIslamic

The third Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community coined the motto 'Love for All, Hatred for None'. Opponents of the community object to this by saying Ahmadis must also love evil people. However, they have not grasped the true meaning of the motto:

If we are trying to protect the oppressed, this is the love for him. If we are trying to stop oppression by the cruel person, that is love for him. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Peace Conference 2013, meeting with the English press)

This teaching is in accordance with the Quran:

Did He not find thee [Muhammad] an orphan and take thee under His care and found thee lost in love for thy people and provided thee with guidance for them? (Quran 93:7-9)

Say: "I ask of you no reward for my service to you, except such love as subsist between kindred."(Quran 43:23-24)

O ye who believe! take not others than your own people as intimate friends; they will spare no pains to ruin you. They love to see you in trouble. Hatred has already shown itself through the utterances of their mouths and what their breasts hide is greater still. We have made clear to you Our commandments, if you will only use your understanding. Behold! you are those who love them, but they love you not. (Quran 3:118-120)

This teaching was also taught by Jesus in the Bible:

You shall love your neighbour as yourself. (Matt 22:34-40)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

9- Allegation Ahmadis are banned from offering funeral prayers of other sects

If a nondescript person, a Muslim anywhere is found dead then we do not have to hesitate until we find out what his real views were. The general rule that every Muslim has the right of burial will be applicable and we will say the funeral prayer in such cases. A plane crashed and among the passangers was a Muslim and there was no one else but the Ahmadis to say the funeral prayers and they said them. (Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad)

10-Allegation Ahmadi Muslims are forbidden from marrying non-Ahmadi Muslims

The allegation is made that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's strong discouragement of its members - exceptional cases aside - from marrying people of other faiths or sects is against the teachings of Islam. The irony of this allegation is that the same anti-Ahmadiyya sites that most vociferously make this allegation also tell their non-Ahmadi Muslim readers never to marry an Ahmadi, which seems somewhat hypocritical.

Regarding the allegation itself, it should be noted that although such marriages are discouraged where an individual Ahmadi requests special permission for one to occur it is normally granted. It should also be noted that this discouragement is not a legal edict or fatwa, but an administrative measure that has been implemented during some periods of Ahmadiyya history and has not been during others. Such a measure is not unique to Ahmadis; Umar, the second Khalifa after Muhammad^sa, forbade Muslim men from marrying Christian women even though it was permitted by the Quran.

One of the reasons for this rule is currently in place is that the religious leaders of other sects regularly declare marriages between non-Ahmadi Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims to be void. This led to Ahmadi Muslim women already in such marriages being treated in the most vile and abusive manner and to their children being described as illegitimate. Therefore, one of the reasons for this rule was as a response to non-Ahmadi Muslim attitudes and to protect young Ahmadis from the potential consequences of these marriages. They face the same dangers to this day, as a recent independent study confirmed:

One report was however found referring to a stigma against Sunni Muslims marrying members of the Ahmadiyya community...While, in general, relations between Sunni and Shia Mauritians appear cordial, sources note a fractious relationship between the Ahmadiyya sect, which has approximately 4,000 members, and Sunni Muslims. Although the Ahmadiyya are considered by Mauritian authorities (when counting religious affiliation for censuses) to be Muslims, they are not accepted as Muslims by Sunni Muslims. Hollop notes that Sunni Muslims will not marry members of the Ahmadiyya sect and that relations between the two have not always been amicable...No reports were found from Mauritius of people receiving adverse treatment from family members or other Muslims for marrying someone from a different Muslim sect. As noted in the answer to question one, reports were located to indicate a stigma exists when Muslims marry members of the Ahmadiyya sect who other Muslims do not regard as Muslims. (Country Advice - Mauritius – MUS39194, Australian Government Report, 2011)

11-Allegations against disciplinary procedures

It is very rare for someone to be formally disciplined by the community and this action only occurs in extreme cases. The severest disciplinary action is simply to be discharged of their pledge of allegiance to the khalifa. Under these circumstances, their donations are no longer accepted and they are no longer eligible to be elected as officials. Otherwise, there is no change in their status. They are still called Ahmadis and are still permitted to attend Ahmadi Muslim mosques as they please and normally a letter of apology will be accepted with their reinstatement into the organisational structure of the community. The khalifas have discussed these issues on occasion:

When complaints are lodged it distresses my heart to take disciplinary action. If we have a true connection with the Promised Messiah we should be trying our best to restore old relations and associations. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Firday Sermon 31 Aug 2007)

Disciplinary procedures exist in our community also and these are for reformation purposes and not as a mark of cruelty. All restrictions are for the sake of reforming individuals, otherwise undue cruelty is also tantamount to killing. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Friday Sermon 2 Aug 2013)

A few persons who brazenly violated the principles of the Jamaat were excommunicated. Now we don't declare them non-Ahmadis, this should be remembered very clearly, we call them excommunicated from the administration, that is they are no longer any part of our organisation under Khalifatul Masih, but we have no right to declare them non-Ahmadis. (Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, question and answer session)

Disciplinary action is taken to prevent some matters entering our Community because a true believer should only practice what is good. Without this, neither can he or she enjoin what is good nor can he or she forbid evil. (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Friday Sermon 4 Feb 2011)