The story of a voice reaching from a small town to millions: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Will religions continue to exist? I think this question can find more meaningful answers when addressed with the question, "will faith continue to exist?" Faith has many forms, and one of these forms is related to existence and the belief in God. I believe that the belief in God will continue to exist. Therefore, I foresee that religions will also continue to live on and that even new religions will join us.

Because it was not long ago, just at the beginning of the last century, that many religions and many people with divine claims joined us. Today, I want to briefly discuss one of these people: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Mirza was born in 1835 in the town of Qadian, India. The name of the religion/movement actually comes from here. He spent his childhood and youth in this town. After a short career as a civil servant, Mirza, who wrote Islamic articles in local newspapers and made calls to Muslims in this direction, managed to attract attention in a short time. Specifically, in those years, India was under British colonial rule, and in this colonial order, both Muslims and Hindus were subjected to heavy oppression. It was under these conditions that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad began to emerge as a religious leader.

Those who began to gather around Mirza were first referred to as "Mirzaiyya" and "Mirzaiyyat." However, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad did not give a name to his movement for a long time. On the other hand, as the years passed, he began to explain his claims. First, he said he was a "mujaddid," an Islamic term meaning a person who revives religion. Before long, he announced that he was the Messiah and the Mahdi. Of course, according to Mirza, all of this was happening by God's command, and God was sending him revelations. In a sermon during an Eid prayer, Mirza explained this situation as follows: "I received this book through inspiration from the Lord of the servants, and on an Eid day, I read it to those present with the concurrence of Gabriel. Without a doubt, these are verses. It is impossible for a human to speak like me."

After this sermon, a new link was added to Mirza's claims, and he appeared as a Prophet. In the journey from the community to his prophethood, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad increased the number of his followers over the years. Now, millions are following his path, his words, and his writings. On the other hand, in later years, he stated that he did not bring a new religion and that his Prophethood could be seen as a reflection of the Prophet of Islam. Furthermore, what he said was not limited to this; Mirza Ghulam Ahmad also expanded his target audience.

Specifically, he is the expected savior not only for Muslims but also for Hindus and Christians. Let us hear it from his own words: "My coming in this age is not for Muslims alone. The Almighty God wanted to ensure the renewal of three communities—Hindus, Muslims, and Christians—through me. I am the Promised Messiah for Muslims and Christians. I was sent as an Avatar for Hindus. It has been more than twenty years since I said that I appeared with the character of Jesus, son of Mary. Now, in the same way, I have come with the character of Raja Krishna, the greatest avatar of Hinduism, and I am spiritually the same man."

When Mirza Ghulam passed away in 1908, he left behind hundreds of thousands of followers. Over time, this number reached millions. Thousands of his followers, especially in Pakistan, tried to spread the teachings of Mirza Ghulam in dozens of countries. These efforts are still continuing today. As the religion/movement in question grew stronger over the years, it also took on different schools of thought within itself. The major branch of the movement, the Qadiani Ahmadis, stated that Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet and the caliph of the world, and declared those who did not believe in him as infidels. The Lahore Ahmadis, as the "Muslim" branch of the movement, expressed that he was not a prophet but a mujaddid or Mahdi.

The story of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the story of a name born in a town in India, kept alive today with millions of followers in dozens of countries, and seen by some as a prophet. This is a very familiar story in terms of the Sacred Leaves of the calendar; it is not foreign to the pages of history. Indeed, every era, period, and culture creates and sustains its own story, savior, prophet, and sacred entity, and leaves this to the next generation as if it were a legacy. Because humans are creatures that believe, and more importantly, that need to believe. When this is the case, not only leaders but also those who want to be followers enter into a search for faith.