On Saturday evening, after Maghrib at the Morden Islamic Centre, I spoke publicly for the first time about my reversion to Islam almost five years ago. My talk was partly based on the book I’ve been working on about my experiences as a Qadiani and my movement into and through Islam, called “A Fracture in Belief”.
I had prepared a lengthy presentation and spent Saturday applying some final touches and finding some appropriate props, or “exhibits” if you prefer.
Before we left for the Morden Islamic Centre, which is very near the Bait-ul-Futuh, the new centre of the Ahmadiyya, there was a torrential downpour in London. We’re talking monsoon rain. Lightning, thunder and flash flooding in several stations caused all traffic to come to a crawl. Our own road was flooded. So we were delayed significantly, but we managed to catch an overground train, also delayed, but by the time we got to central London, the tubes were OK and we were eventually only a few minutes late.
We were greeted by a large group of brothers who were concerned about our security. As you know, the Ahmadiyya routinely issue threats towards me, some of which have been reported to the police. That’s another story and is an unwelcome side-effect to speaking up against cults. I was not going to let their silly games affect me and so the talk went ahead, alhamdulillah, as planned. It was heartwarming to be received with such grace, concern and love. The atmosphere around genuine Muslims is always in stark contrast to the atmosphere I experienced around office-bearing, over-bearing Qadianis.
I do find it very interesting that in Muslim circles, we always talk about calling Qadianis to Islam with respect and beautiful preaching. Whilst we don’t always succeed in keeping our cool, we never resort to the shameful, gangster tactics of the Ahmadiyya or sink to their criminal depths. Certainly not in my experience or in my circles. On the other hand, whilst the Ahmadiyya do over-play the persecution card massively, no Muslim should ever condone persecution of the Ahmadiyya.
The talk was around an hour, but I managed to present only two thirds of it. People listened respectfully, with interest and the rooms were completely packed, overflowing into the street, which I’m assured represented a way above-average turn out. I can only thank all the brothers and sisters who attended and sat through my talk in the humid heat of Saturday evening.
There were gasps, nervous laughs and cries of disbelief at some of the material I presented. Particularly the blasphemies against Allah and against Jesus, who Muslims know as Isa (as). You see, what many Christians don’t realise is that we Muslims love all the prophets and that any attack on Jesus hurts and offends us deeply. So Christians should be wary of Qadianism, because Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be superior to Jesus. No Christian can accept that and neither can any Muslim.
As for everyone else in the West who might be fooled into thinking that the Ahmadiyya represents the acceptable face of Islam, well I think it’s only fair to say that they should be as wary of the Ahmadiyya as they would be of any other personality cult. And Ahmadiyya is most definitely a cult. One day, I will present an analysis of the Ahmadiyya against Lifton’s criteria, insha’Allah.
Clearly the Qadianis now have a stronghold in Merton due to their impressive temple and I sincerely wish them all the best. However, we need Muslims to be educated on the fitnah of Qadianism and we need our host community to understand that Ahmadiyya is not Islam and is therefore not representative of the mainstream in any way. Sure, the West might like their cuddly pronouncements and their facile “Love for All, Hatred for None” slogan, but the Nazis having “Arbeit Macht Frei” over the gates of Auschwitz didn’t mean that work would actually make the inmates of that wretched place free, did it?
The brothers finally drove me all the way home. They were a wonderful bunch, full of love, full of respect, full of kindness, may Allah (SWT) bless them.
Since the talk, I have been contacted by another mosque asking me to speak at a very large mosque and I’m considering it. As for my talk at the Morden Islamic Centre, it should be made available on video soon insha’Allah. It was my first effort, so I expect to refine it as I re-present it, hopefully I’ll be able to deliver the full version and talk about how great it is to be a Muslim and engaged with the issues of the world instead of pretending they don’t exist.
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