Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – the founder of the Ahmadiya - was born in the late 1830s in the Punjabi village of Qadian (India). In 1889 he founded the Ahmadiya by preceving the first bai`at (oath). Shortly after he claimed to be the masih mau`ud (promised messiah) and the mahdi mau`ud (the promised His statement to be the new prophet was rejected by the majority of Muslims. This conflict culminated 1974 in the expulsion of the Ahmadiya from the Umma (islamic community)  followed by several discriminating laws against them in the next decades.

Maulana Hakim Nuruddin was elected to the post of the first Khalifatul-Masih (successor of Messiah) on 27^th May 1908 – the day after death of the founder. Nuruddin enjoys a good reputation not only because of being one of the first followers of Ghulam Ahmad and later on the first Khalifa but also because of his skills in physics, writing and theology. After his death 1914 didthe community split into two factions: The Ahmadiya Muslim Jamaat (AMJ) and the Ahmadiya Anjuman-i Ishat-i Islami Lahori (AAIIL).

April 2003, after the death of the fourth Khalifa- Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was elected as the Khalifatul Masih V (successor of the Promised Messiah). As the present head of the Ahmadiya he lives now in London, but born and raised in Rabwah (Pakistan) he also worked for AMJ in Ghana and later on in Pakistan holding high offices like that of the Nazir A`la (chief executive director) and the local Amir.

View of the White Minarett in Qadian, which is also the symbol of the Ahmadiya. During the partition of India in 1947 almost all Ahmadis migrated to Pakistan. Only about 300 of them stayed protecting the heritage of the founder. In our days 3-4000 are said to live in the birth place of Ghulam Ahmad. Although the present headquarter of the AMJ is in London, Qadian is still the spirituell centre of the Ahmadis.

The tomb of the father of Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian.

An Ahmadi occupied with cleaning a a tombstone in Qadian.

The tomb of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian.

View from the backside of the Behishti Maqbara (celestial cemetery) of the Ahmadiya in Qadian. Because of the request of numerous Ahmadis to be burried here, it is planned to extend graveyard.

Qadian: Ahmadis occupied with printing the numerous books, journals and newspapers published by the movement for its own members as well as expected converts.

The present Amir (head) of the Indian Ahmadiya – Mirza Wazim Ahmad.

Bookshop in Qadian in which publications of the Ahmadiya in various languages like Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu are sold.

Entrance to the Ahmadiya guesthouse in Rabwah/Pakistan. Here members of the movement as well as interested persons are welcomed to stay free of charge.

In this section of the guesthouse guests are accomodated.

Front of the Taleem-I Islami (TI) in Rabwah (Pakistan). The college is popular in the area due to the quality of education. Main subjects are studies of the Quran, hadith (traditions) and the commantaries of Ghulam Ahmad. Additional subjects of the curriculum are sciences and languages as well as studies non-muslim religions as a preperation for their future missionary work. Also present in Rabwah is the Jamia-Nusrat College for women. These two institutions contribute to the high educational standard of the Ahmadis in Pakistan.

The director of the TI College in Rabwah – Mahmood an-Nazeer.

The misssionary centre of the Ahmadiya in Delhi. Like it there are many others around the world.

View of the interior of the missionary centre. Running on the TV is MTA – Muslim Television Ahmadiya which is transmitted all over the world.