AHMADIYYA POPULATION WORLDWIDE

Ahmadiyya Mosque, Malaysia 

The Pew Forum is one of the world's most high profile think tanks and research groups into worldwide religion. Recently, they published an analysis of the beliefs within the populations of 39 Muslim countries and published a 150 odd page report on the issue. Anti-Ahmadiyya groups often and repeatedly raise (somewhat irrelevant) allegations regarding the numbers and growth of Ahmadi Muslims worldwide. As the Pew Forum offered independent and reliable research into the statistics of Ahmadis in these countries, we thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to test whether the anti-Ahmadi allegations hold any truth to them. 

Remember, the Pew Forum report was totally independent and did not ask Ahmadis to give figures. Instead, they went to each of these countries and conducted interviews with thousands and thousands of Muslims to ascertain their beliefs. They then collected and analysed the results of these interviews in a scientific and fair manner. They presented the number of Ahmadis in each country as a percentage of the total Muslim population. However, we found another independent Pew Forum report from 2010 that also gave the total numbers of Muslims in each of those countries and from this we have been able to extrapolate the number of Ahmadi Muslims in each of these countries in 2010, according to the Pew Forum's research. We have also collected other interesting statistics from the same report and from these statistics we have formed data on the following subjects:

1- REFUTATION: Allegation Ahmadi Muslims numbers are small and decreasing

2- REFUTATION: Allegation non-Ahmadi Muslims have unanimously declared Ahmadi Muslims to be 'Kafir'

3- REFUTATION: Allegation the return of Jesus is not important to Muslims

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ONE OF THE STUDENTS ON OUR TEAM- THE IRON MAN- WHO CONTRIBUTED THE RESEARCH TOWARDS THIS ARTICLE

1- REFUTATION: Allegation Ahmadi Muslims numbers are small and decreasing

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

First of all, we should begin by noting that of the 39 countries which which the Pew Forum analysed, only the 13 mentioned above had Ahmadi Muslim populations which were equal to or greater than 1% of the total Muslim population of that country. Now it's interesting to note that although the leader of one of the most notable anti-Ahmadi sites on the internet recently declared that there are only 500 thousand Ahmadis worldwide, the Pew Forum's more independent and reliable research shows that these 13 countries alone have an Ahmadi population of around 7 million. 

Another common allegation made is that Ahmadi Muslims are streaming to leave the community and that, God forbid, within a generation Ahmadiyya will be wiped out. However, the Pew Forum's statistics show that the net converts (net meaning the total converts to Ahmadiyya minus those leaving Ahmadiyya) amounts to approximately 1 million people in these countries alone. 

2- REFUTATION: Allegation non-Ahmadi Muslims have unanimously declared Ahmadi Muslims to be 'Kafir'

Country	Sunnis	Shias	Sufis	Ahmadis
Bangladesh	3%	17%	11%	32%
Indonesia	16%	48%	44%	78%
Malaysia	9%	22%	14%	23%
Thailand	1%	8%	6%	5%
Pakistan	3%	37%	15%	66%

The Pew Forum only collected statistics on who thinks Ahmadis are Muslims from the five countries mentioned above. Now a common allegation by the same anti-Ahmadiyya site and the same anti-Ahmadiyya leader mentioned above is that the 'normative tradition' of Muslims (whatever that nonsensical terminology is supposed to mean) have every right to call Ahmadi Muslims kafir as they have 'unanimously' agreed upon this. However, the statistics show that none of the 5 countries Muslim population 'unanimously' agree on Ahmadis being non-Muslim. In fact, apart from Pakistan and Indonesia, the majority of Muslims do not consider Ahmadi Muslims to be kafir. Furthermore, the statistics show that in some cases the number who consider Ahmadis to be non-Muslims is similar to the number who consider other sects to be non-Muslim. In fact, in Malaysia more Muslims declare Shias and Sufis to be non-Muslim than declare Ahmadis non-Muslim! We think the anti-Ahmadiyya websites and leaders- by their own stupid 'logic'that we completely condemn and disagree with- are now obliged to declare all the poor Shias and all the poor Sufis of the world to be non-Muslims!

3- REFUTATION: Allegation the return of Jesus is not important to Muslims
Several leaders on the same anti-Ahmadiyya website have attempted to convince Ahmadi Muslims that no one actually cares about or believes in the prophecies regarding the coming of the Imam Mahdi and the return of Jesus and these are simply obscure 'esoterica' which Ahmadi Muslims indulge in to distort Islam. Really, they say, it is not important and not something that is even necessarily true or that matters one jot to Islam or the world's Muslims. 

Pew Forum says 'no'.

In Pakistan, 55% of Muslims believe Jesus will return within their lifetimes, whilst another 32% are unsure and only 13% believe he will not do so. In other countries the statistics are even higher. In Tunisia 67% of Muslims expect him to return within their lifetimes, in Turkey 65% and in Iraq 64%. That’s a total of several hundred million Muslims- or a huge chunk of the worldwide Muslim population- that in those four countries alone are personally awaiting the return of Jesus. 

The Imam Mahdi is even more fervently awaited. For example, 83% of Afghanis expect his advent within their lifetimes. 72% of Iraqi Muslims, 68% of Turkish Muslims, 62% of Malaysian Muslims, 60% of Pakistani Muslims, 57% of Thailand’s Muslims, 56% of Lebanese Muslims and 51% of Moroccans expect the Mahdi to arrive within their lifetimes and most of the rest of the Muslim populations in those countries simply state that they are not sure either way- as in they believe it is possible that the Mahdi could arrive within their lifetime. The figures also show that the vast majority of Muslims around the world definitely believe that the Mahdi will one day come.

The point is, the return of Jesus and the advent of the Imam Mahdi are huge deals within the Muslim worlds. The majority of Muslims believe in those prophecies and are awaiting these figures and in fact hundreds of millions of Muslims expect these prophecies to be fulfilled so soon as to be within their own lifetimes (the Pew Forum only interviewed over 18s and so we can take it that those who believe he will return within their lifetime believe he will return in the next 50 years at the most). 

The anti-Ahmadis constantly claim Ahmadi Muslims misrepresent Islamic teachings. An independent source has now openly declared and proven that it is in fact the anti-Ahmadis who misrepresent Islamic beliefs. 

Message to All Ahmadi Muslims

The Muslim world has spoken. The majority of them are awaiting the advent of the Imam Mahdi and the Promised Messiah. They are ready. 100s of millions amongst them expect this event within their own lifetimes. All we have to do is get the message to them in a clear and undistorted manner and pray for Allah's Help and Guidance.