Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 5
5 the Movement has been spreading still faster. At the present moment regular missions are working in England, Germany, the United States of America, West Africa, the Gold Coast, Egypt, Persia, Bokhara, Mauritius, and Australia; and outside India, Ahmadiyya Communities are to be found in Afghanistan, Bok- hara, Persia, Mesopotamia, the Hedjaz, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Natal, Gold Coast, Sierra Leon, Ni- geria, Ceylon, Burma, Straits Settlements, the Philippines, Mauritius, Australia, France, England, Holland, the United States of America, Trinidad and Costa Rica. One English journal and five vernacular newspapers and jour- nals are issued from the headquarters of the Movement, one Bengali journal is issued from Bengal, an English and a Tamil newspaper are issued from Ceylon, a French newspaper is issued from Mauritius, and a quarterly magazine is issued from the United States. A journal will shortly be issued from England. The members of the Movement number about a million, and comprise men from all nations and all religions, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians, and men belonging to dif- ferent sects of Islam have all joined and continue to join the Movement. The mission in the United States of America was started only three years ago, and within this short period over a thousand persons have joined the Movement in A merica. The Relation of the to Islam The stands towards Islam in the same relationship which was occupied by Christianity in its early days Towards Judaism. As I have already indicated, one of the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on whom be peace) was that he was the Promised Messiah. Keeping this in mind one can easily un- derstand that Ahmadiyyat is Islam itself, and not a mere offshoot of Islam, as Christianity was not an offshoot of Judaism,