From Sufism to Ahmadiyya: A Muslim Minority Movement in South Asia

254 Pages·2015·1.77 MB·English

by  Adil Hussain Khan

FROM SUFISM TO AHMADIYYA

FROM SUFISM TO AHMADIYYA
A MusliM Minority MoveMent
in south AsiA
Adil Hussain Khan
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
© 2015 by Adil Hussain Khan
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-253-01523-5 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-01529-7 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 20 19 18 17 16 15
For my parents

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
A Note on Transliteration and Translation xi
Introduction 1
1 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani before Prophethood 21
2 The Prophetic Claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 42
3 Authority, Khilāfat, and the Lahori-Qadiani Split 64
4 Politics and the Ahmadiyya Movement under
Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad 91
5 Religion and Politics after Partition:
The Ahmadi Jihad for Kashmir 111
6 Early Opposition and the Roots of Ahmadi Persecution 128
7 Persecution in Pakistan and Politicization of Ahmadi Identity 144
Conclusion 167
Appendix: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s Family Tree 183
Glossary 185
Notes 189
Bibliography 221
Index 233

Acknowledgments
M
Any people hAve contributed to the publication of this book in various
capacities. I am deeply indebted to Professor Christopher Shackle, whose sup-
port and guidance shaped this project from its earliest stages. I would also like to
thank Professors Paul Gifford, Kate Crosby, Oliver Scharbrodt, David Azzopardi,
James Alexander Kapalo, and Sarah Stewart for their stimulating discussions and
input in the direction of my research. Dr. Matthew Nelson and Huma Chughtai
provided valuable insights into Pakistani politics and the National Assembly de-
bates. Professors Ian Talbot and Avril A. Powell provided constructive feedback
on earlier drafts of this project, from which I benefited greatly. I would also like
to thank the editorial staff at Indiana University Press, who provided numerous
suggestions for improvement and saw this project through to its completion.
The imam of London’s Fazl mosque, Maulana Ataul Mujeeb Rashid, patient-
ly dealt with and responded to endless questions on the subtleties of Ahmadi
theology, especially during my first two years of research. Maulana Abdul Man-
nan Tahir and family were kind enough to extend their hospitality to me on a
number of occasions; they also put me in touch with many notable Ahmadis in
Britain, India, and Pakistan. The extended family members of Abdul Mannan
Tahir guided me through Rabwah and Qadian upon my arrival and helped me
make the most of my visits, which would have otherwise been far less productive
had I been on my own. Maulana Sayyid Mir Mahmud Ahmad Nasir, principal of
the Ahmadi seminary in Rabwah, was exceptionally kind and provided access to
seminary resources in addition to granting me permission to speak freely with
faculty members in Rabwah. The late Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid gra-
ciously answered several questions both in person and through correspondence
and pointed me in the appropriate direction regarding historical aspects of my
research, even when our trajectories differed. I am also very grateful for the help
of Dr. Navidul Haq Khan and family, whose faithful devotion to Jama῾at-i Ah-
madiyya left a lasting impression in my mind. Siraj and Sabah were particularly
helpful and always eager to offer assistance by enthusiastically sifting through
Ahmadi literature with me.
I must also thank Sabahussalaam Smith, Pasha Dougela, Tariq Sami, Syed
Tayyeb Ahmad Shah, Waqar Jamil, and Ray Mynatt for their long conversations,
which often challenged my developing ideas and enabled me to pursue new av-
enues of research, especially at the beginning of this project. The family of Jam-
shed and Sharaf Tirmizi warmly welcomed me into their home in Lahore, which
ix