Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835-1908)

By most accounts, the second half of the Nineteenth Century was a period of transition, with the industrial revolution in Europe driving the need for capturing markets abroad and thus, most parts of the world coming under colonial subjugation at the hands of the new European empires. Even as material riches increased on a global scale, the decline and fall of religious mores and spiritual values was staring mankind in the face.

It seemed as though there existed a direct correlation between scientific creativity and atheistic/ agnostic tendencies in society where religion was seen as meaningless ritual hindering mankind from its secular progress. It was also a time characterized by the decline and fall of the Great Muslim powers in Asia and Europe and general spiritual stagnation in the Islamic world.

The spiritual shine and intellectual appeal of Islam came under relentless attack at the hands of an ascendant Christianity, glittering with the zeal of the missionaries and the material power of the European empires.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835-1908) rose on the religious horizon at this great moment in world history in defense of true spirituality and ethical belief in the Unity of God. He argued that true spirituality has deserted all religions because of the bad innovations introduced by misguided adherents who gave a golden opportunity to unscrupulous enemies of religion to mount a scathing attack on real religious practices and thus put the fort of true spirituality under siege.