Ahmadiyyat in America — Page 2
Cover: Masjid Baitul H ameed. Los Angeles. CA USA. Compiled By. · Mubashar Ahmad Nasir A Jamil under the Supe rvision of M ir za Muzafar Ahmad, Amir Ahmadiyya Movem ent in Islam, USA. Layout design, typography & production services: Courtesy of: Nasir A. Jamil 666 Gairloch Pl Bel Air, MD 2IO15. (4 /0)83 8-9483 Published By: Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam 2141 Leroy Place. N. W. Washington DC 20008 Phone: (202)232-3737 Jul 1992. INTRODUCTION. . -~. . . . . , ,. ,. , r ~-- he Ahmadiyya Mus l im Commu- ni ty was f ounded by Hazrat Mirza Ghu l am Ahmad on March 23, 18 89. He claimed to be the Mehdi 'W'll'·~':. ' ·yn~ i a nd the Messiah of the age in fu lfil lment of the prophecies of t he Holy Ou ran and indeed as foretold in scr i pt ure s of other prin ci p le relig i ons. In purs uan ce of a divi ne command he raised his lonely vo ice from a t in y, unknown and isolated vi l la ge of Qadian, : Ind ia, cut off from the rest of the wor ld. Among thousands of hi s miracles and prophecies was one in wh i ch God gave him glad tidi n gs: " I sha ll cause thy message to reach the corners of the ear th. " Despite desperate opposition , tria ls and triubu- lat i ons, the Commun it y's progress has re- mained uniterrupted and is today moving from strength to strength under the dynamic lead- ership of its present supreme Head , Hazra t Mi rza Tahir Ahmad , the four th elected suc- cessor of th e fo unde r. h mad i yyat is described in the Encyclopedia of Amer i cana as foll o ws : "Ano ther mo dernist reformist sect (of Islam) is the Ahmadiyah, which also main- tains missionary centers in the United States as wel l as Britain. It is so-called after Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ( d. 1908), a nat ive of Oadian , in the Punjab. Ahmad. . . t aug ht that Christ w as taken down fr om the cross while s ti ll ali ve and fi nally made his way into northern I ndia , w here he spen t his last da ys. Ahmad cons i dered himself as the person in wh om the double mission of the expected Chr i stian Mess i ah and Mos l em Mahdi were united. He expounded the ho ly war (jihad) as striving after righ teous- ness, a st rugg le in w hich weapons are spr it ual rat h er t han ph ysica l. " Encyclopedia Ameri- cana, Vol. 19 : ' Muslim Sects '.