Intolerance among Kerala Ahmadis

[This is the fourth article in the series on "Kerala Ahmadis and the New Mujaddid", critically examining the responses of Kerala Ahmadi leadership towards the new Mujaddid Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius and his disciples in India, from among the Kerala Ahmadis who joined the Divine Manifestation]. 

In a recent opinion piece published in a major newspaper, Ifthikar Ahmed Sahib, an Ahmadi Professor in Kerala, underscored the need for giving space to dissenting ideas and alternative perspectives. He states: “The core aspect for all the material and spiritual ideologies is to look at dissenting perspectives with due respect and to deal with differences of opinions by engaging in productive dialogue. And the mental broadness to assimilate diverging opinions is precisely the corner stone of any democratic polity”. The Professor, then, went on to illustrate his point with reference to the decline of liberal values in Kerala society.

Is the Ahmadiyya Community an exception to this rule? Does their practice match up to what they preach? Do they show tolerance and a desire to engage with a diverging perspective from theirs? Or do they betray anger and hatred instead?

Mujaddidiyat: Three Ahmadis, Three Views!

[This article is the third in the series on Kerala Ahmadis and the New Mujaddid, critically examining the response of Kerala Ahmadiyya leadership to the coming of a Mujaddid in the new Century and the establishment of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala in 2010.  The previous installments were published here on May 14 & 15, 2011].

"My community will not agree on misguidance"-   Prophet Muhammad (sa) 

The senior leadership of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat has spoken. The Naib Nazir A’la Maulana Muhammad Umar Sahib is convinced that Ahmadiyya Khilafat is the permanent institution till the Day of Judgement. Man elected/ selected Khulafa may have erred on the doctrine and practice of Islam in the past. But the Ahmadiyya Khulafa are infallible human beings, incapable of delivering injustice in administrative matters nor can they move away from Sahih Al Islam through their pronouncements. All evidences to the contrary should be buried and ignored!

A Response to Maulana Umar Sahib

[This article is the second part of the series on 'Kerala Ahmadis and the New Mujaddid'. The first part was published yesterday, May 14, 2011 and can be accessed here. The series of articles analyses the strategies deployed by the Ahmadiyya leadership to put out the Light of Allah in the form of the new Mujaddid in Mauritius and his disciples in Kerala].   

Maulana Muhammad Umar Sahib is currently the Naib Nazir A’la, Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian. He is one of the leading scholars of the Indian Ahmadiyya Jamaat and among the first to officially respond to the coming of a Mujaddid in our times. Soon after the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam was formed and legally registered as an organization in Kerala, he wrote an article entitled “Khilafat and Mujaddidiyat” in the December 2010 issue of Sathyadoothan,  the official Ahmadiyya Journal. In spite of his profound learning and remarkable scholarship, the Maulana Sahib has come up with a deeply disturbing argument.  In the editorial abstract of the article, it is written: “The coming of Mujaddidin is irrelevant because the Khilafat system established by the Mahdi Massih is thriving”.(Sathyadoothan, p.13).

Kerala Ahmadis and the new Mujaddid-I

Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, which was established in March 2008 by the Mujaddid of the new Century Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius, crossed the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea and reached the shores of Kerala, India in September –October 2010. 

Supporting and endorsing an Elect of Allah is the binding duty and responsibility of believers who live in the time of a Divine Reformer. Thus Jamaluddin Sahib of Mathra was the first person in India to have the honour of accepting and becoming a disciple of the new Massih of Allah. Strangely, however, the Ahmadi Maulanas are standing up against the great Divine favour on the Community.

When the Massih of Allah elevated his first disciple in Kerala to the position of Amir Jamaat after the formation of the Jamaat in the State, the Maulanas gave went to their anger at the Divine favour by trying to assassinate the character and honour of the disciples of the new Massih. They seek to extinguish the Light of Allah through all foul means possible. At this juncture, it is important to remind them of what they don’t want to remember or hear: 

That till recently Jamaluddin Sahib of Mathra was an honourable man in the Jamaat. More than 50 people took Bai’at and were initiated into the Jamaat through him. He was instrumental in the formation of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in two places in South Kerala: Mathra and Trivandrum, the capital city of the State. And some of the Ahmadis who took Bai’at through him later went on to form another branch of the Jamaat in the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu as well. These are uncommon achievements by the record and practice of the Kerala Ahmadiyya Jamaat today. It would not have been possible but for the combination of special blessings of Allah and sincere  efforts of the people concerned. Caught up in the cauldron of jealousy and  hubris, can the leadership be expected to have the humility to acknowledge contributions or care about higher notions of gratefulness?   

The Fall of Usama ibn Laden

Usama ibn Laden, the slain chief of the Al Qaeda militant group, sought to project himself as championing the “Muslim” cause, by attacking imperial domains, promoting suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings. He thus 'elevated' “Fasad” into the realm of “Jihad” and sought to subtly project himself as the “blood-thirsty” Mahdi many common Muslims seem to expect from the Prophetic traditions for our times. By waging ‘Jihad’ against the US and their imperial allies, he was clearly taking on the great Satan (Dajjal) mentioned in the prophecies! How long can this subterfuge work? How long will Allah allow the falsehood to roam free? Reflecting on the recent events,  the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius states: “falsehood is bound to be washed away and truth rendered clear”.

Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon of May 06, 2011:

An Encounter with Sai Baba

Allah, the Most High has always been raising His Messengers with a single message: to preach the Unity of God. They come to confront the people’s practices of worshipping false gods- be it images, human beings or nature. Like all messengers before and after them, Hazrat Ibrahim (as), Moses (as),  Jesus (as) and the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) have  preached their non-negotiable stand on the Unity of God against all odds and that too in the den of polytheistic practices of their times! 

It is spiritually appealing to think that in these times when the Unity of God/Tawheed doctrine is being challenged and undermined through polytheistic practices among the human beings of all religions and fractional groupings in the world, God has raised someone as a renewer of Faiths, the true spirituality of Oneness of God in all traditions of people's beliefs. "Sathya Sai Baba", the Indian godman who died recently, had hundreds of thousands of people who looked upon him as the personification of God Himself. While speaking on the larger theme of the eventual fall of criminals irrespective of their religious identity or sectarian orientation, Khalifatullah Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius briefly touched upon the story of his encounter with the Sai Baba in 2005 at his place - Puttaparthy, India.

Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon of May 06, 2011:

Like you are all aware, the Sai Baba died on Sunday 24 April 2011 at the age of 84. Lots of people used to take him as god on earth and there are many of his adherents in Mauritius, whom I know personally, who pray him. There is a quote which says: When you do not believe in one God, then you shall believe in a million gods. By the grace of Allah, here in Mauritius, the devotees of the Sai Baba invite me in their several conferences to address them, and thus, it is on these occasions that I seize the opportunity to talk on the unity of Allah.

A Conference visit to Puttaparthy

In 2005, I was invited in Puttaparthy in India to participate in an inter-faith conference whereby different religious leaders of all communities were present and invited to address the audience. My family and I went there in the month of July (the 11^th) 2005. Many of Sai Baba’s devotees all round the world were present at the place of conference. 

Perspective on Ahmadiyya Khilafat

In a recent mail, an Ahmadi critic wrote: “…on one side the community that you belong to, keeps a view that this present Ahmadiyya Khilafath is not supported by Holy Quran, meanwhile on the other, it accepts this khilafath as divinely ordained, partially. That stand is too bizarre to be understood even…”

For the understanding of seekers after truth, we are providing below an extract from an Interview Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius granted to Mubashar Dar Sahib of Ahmadiyya News in 2006 wherein as the Mujaddid of the new Century of Islamic Hijri, he explained his position on Ahmadiyya Khilafat.  

Ahmadiyya News: What is your opinion towards the Khulafa of the Jama'at Ahmadiyya. Their ability and approach towards achieving the ultimate victory of Islam and Ahmadiyyat as prophesied by the Promised Messiah a.s.?

Munir Ahmad Azim:

I believe in the Khalifas of Jamaat Ahmadiyya like I said above: Hazrat Moulvi Hakim Nooruddin, Hazrat Mousleh Ma'oud Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, and also Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Although they were not directly divinely appointed by God Almighty, Allah was their help as long as they were on the right path and preaching the true teachings of Islam. Allah gave them true dreams and revelations to help them in their task, because they were righteous in their devotion to help the cause of Allah Ta'ala and Allah blessed them with great knowledge and Insight.