The Construction of the Ahmadiyya Identity

a?il w a n / nV From Sufism to Ahmadiyyat The presence of Jama‘at-i Ahmadiyya has reinvigorated the debate on Islamic orthodoxy in South Asia’s Muslim mainstream. Assessing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s career has been made difficult by the polarized nature of the questions surrounding his reputation which oscillates between messianic saviour and antichrist, where one extreme represents pristine orthodoxy and the other a perverse infidelity beyond the pale of Islam. The pre-eminence of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad over his disciples, the esoteric ambiguity of his spiritual claims, the emphasis he placed on internal and external reform, and the exclusivity of his early followers are indicative of a medieval Sufi order. The advent of modernity, however, with the community’s lack of the isolation and the politics of colonial subjugation, influenced and shaped the development of an unexpected Ahmadi identity. The Ahmadi identity is not wholly based on Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s controversial claims, but also a result of the socio-political context of the early twentieth century South Asian environment from which it emerged. British rule in India initiated a reassessment of Muslim institutions and an evaluation of Muslim political autonomy leading up to the partition. Jama4at-i Ahmadiyya’s involvement in major political crises such as the conflict in Kashmir, the partition itself, and the Punjab disturbances of 1953 gradually led to the politicization Ahmadi Islam. As the notion of Ahmadiyyat became increasingly politicized the formation of the Ahmadi identity evolved, and the dichotomy between Ahmadiyyat and Islam widened. This thesis traces the development of the Ahmadi identity from its Sufi style beginnings to a formalized construct that has the potential to shed its Islamic origins altogether. As this process continually progresses, Ahmadiyyat may develop into a unique religious movement with a unique religious identity distinct from Islam. ProQuest Number: 10731394 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731394 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 [ Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the Construction of the Ahmadiyya Identity by Adil Hussain Khan Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. Department of the Study of Religions School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Abstract The presence of Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya has reinvigorated the debate on Islamic orthodoxy in South Asia’s Muslim mainstream. Assessing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s career has been made difficult by the polarized nature of the questions surrounding his reputation, which oscillate between messianic saviour and antichrist, where one extreme represents pristine orthodoxy and the other represents a perverse infidelity beyond the pale of Islam. The pre-eminence of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad over his disciples, the esoteric ambiguity of his spiritual claims, the emphasis that he placed on internal and external reform, and the exclusivity of his early community of followers are all indicative of a medieval Sufi order. However, the advent of modernity and the politics of colonial subjugation influenced and shaped the development of an unexpected Ahmadi identity which evolved in an increasingly globalized world. The Ahmadi identity is not wholly based on Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s controversial claims, but is also a result of the socio-political context of the early twentieth century South Asian environment from which it emerged. British rule in India initiated a reassessment of Muslim institutions and an evaluation of Muslim political autonomy leading up to the partition. Jama‘at-i Ahmadiyya’s involvement in major political crises, such as the conflict in Kashmir, the partition of India itself, and the Punjab disturbances of 1953, gradually led to the politicization of Ahmadi Islam. As the notion of Ahmadiyyat became increasingly politicized, the formation of the Ahmadi identity evolved, and the dichotomy between Ahmadiyyat and Islam widened. This study traces the development of the Ahmadiyya identity from its Sufi 3 style beginnings to a formalized construct that has the potential of shedding its Islamic origins altogether. As this process progresses, Ahmadiyyat may develop into a unique religious movement with a distinct religious identity that is separate from Islam. 4 Table o f C ontents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 10 1 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani before his Prophethood 37 1.1 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ’ s Family Background 3 7 1.2 Education and Spiritual Training 42 1.3 Transition from Scholar to Prophet 5 8 2 The Prophetic Claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 72 2.1 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s Primary and Secondary Claims 72 2.2 Jesus as the Promised Messiah 74 2.3 In the Footsteps of the Prophets 83 2.4 The Terminology of Prophethood and Revelation 94 2.5 Reconciling the Revelations of the Promised Messiah 100 3 Authority, KhilafaU and the Lahori-Qadiani Split 109 3.1 The Setting for the Split and its Circumstantial Context 109 3.2 Causes of the Split 111 3.3 Al-Wasiyyat (The Will) 125 3,4 Changes in the Ahmadi Belief System: From Theory to Practice 133 3.5 The Institutionalization of the Jama‘at 137 3.6 Beyond the Split: The Early Years 1914-1925 144 4 The Political Involvement of the Ahmadiyya Movement under Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad 154 4.1 The ‘Rangfla RasuV Incident: The ‘Playboy’ Prophet 155 4.2 Panic on the Streets of Srinagar: The Kashmir Riots 159 4.3 Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad’s Response and Jama‘at-i Ahmadiyya’s Political Involvement in the Kashmir Crisis 166 4.4 The Beginning of Opposition: The Majlis-i Ahrar 183 4.5 The All-India Kashmir Committee after Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad 187 4.6 Partition and Kashmir 192 4.7 Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad’s Continued Jihad in Kashmir 199 4.8 Implications of the Kashmir Crisis on the Ahmadi Identity 204 5 The Role of Persecution 220 5.1 The Beginnings of Persecution 220 5.2 Converting the Arabs 230 5.3 The Political Dimensions of Persecution 236 5.4 The Politics of Partition and the 1953 Riots 245 5.5 Between the Disturbances: 1953-1974 262 5.6 Constitutional Islam: 1974 and 1984 270 5.7 Unconventional Explanations: The Case of the Common Lineage 280 Conclusion 292 Appendix 304 Bibliography 305 6 Acknowledgements Several people have contributed to the completion of this thesis in various capacities. For his intellectual support, I would first like to thank my supervisor Professor Christopher Shackle, who helped me see this project through from its earliest stages. He was a steady source of guidance and encouragement throughout my PhD, and he helped me to develop my ideas and abilities in a way that I had previously not known. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by scholars like Professor Paul Gifford and Kate Crosby who offered support and advice from the early stages of this project. I would also like to thank Oliver Scharbrodt, David Azzopardi, James Alexander Kapalo, and Sarah Stewart for their stimulating discussions and input on the direction of my research. Matthew Nelson and Huma Chughtai provided valuable insight into Pakistani politics and the National Assembly. I am greatly indebted to Ataul Mujeeb Rashid, Imam of London’s Fazl Mosque, who patiently dealt with and responded to my endless questions on the subtleties of Ahmadi theology, especially during my first two years of study. Abdul Mannan Tahir and family were kind enough to extend their hospitality and to facilitate my research by putting me in contact with many notable Ahmad is. Abdul Mannan Tahir’s relatives guided me through Rabwah and Qadian, and helped me to make the most of my visits, which would have otherwise been difficult on my own. Sayyid Mir Mahmud Ahmad Nasir, principle of the Ahmadi Seminary in Rabwah, was exceptionally kind and allowed me to have access to the resources and faculty members at the seminary in Rabwah. Dost Muhammad Shahid answered several 7 questions through correspondence and was kind enough to point me towards the appropriate direction regarding the historical aspects of my research. Although they were brief, our conversations at his office in Rabwah proved to be very beneficial. I am grateful for the help of Dr. Navidul Haq Khan and family, whose enthusiastic devotion to Jama‘at-i Ahmadiyya was something that 1 will not easily forget. Siraj and Sabah in particular were eager to offer moral support and were keen to help me find Ahmadi literature. I would also like to thank Sabahussalaam Smith, Pasha Dougela, and Syed Tayyeb Ahmad Shah for their long conversations, which often challenged my developing ideas and enabled me to pursue new avenues of research. Waqar Jamil, Tariq Sami, Dave Bullers, David Stripling, and Ray Mynatt were helpful in the beginning of this project. The family of Jamshed and Sharaf Tirmizi warmly welcomed me into their home in Lahore, graciously helped me find my way around, and made my stay in Pakistan especially comfortable. Funding from the Additional Award for Fieldwork from SOAS and the University of London Central Research Fund made trips possible to India and Pakistan during the spring of 2006. This enabled me to visit the two Ahmadi centres of Qadian and Rabwah, which offered experiences that were crucial to the writing of this dissertation.

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