A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat
16 August 1982: During his tour of Europe, on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh addressed a press conference in Hamburg and then travelled to Frankfurt. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 816)
17 August 1899: On this day, the Promised Messiahas received a letter from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, in which the author asked him to write on oath that he was the Messiah who was prophesied in the Holy Quran and books of Hadith. The Promised Messiahas took paper and pen and wrote down the requested wording. (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 2, pp. 44-45)
17 August 1980: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh arrived in Amsterdam from London. Huzoorrh left London for Nigeria on the first leg of his tour of Africa via Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On the way, Huzoorrh stopped at the airport in Amsterdam for a while. Prime Minister Dries van Agt was also present at the airport. When he learnt of the presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh at the airport, he sent a message that he had yet to hold a press conference, after which he would come and meet Huzoorrh himself. So soon after, he and his staff came to the VIP lounge where Huzoorrh was and expressed his wish to Huzoorrh that he would also like to meet him the next time he visited the Netherlands. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3, pp. 617-618)
18 August 1928: Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Sahib arrived in Chicago on this day as an Ahmadi missionary. There he faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning.
For more details of his difficulties and success, see: “Pioneer Missionaries: Part 2 – Serving till their last days” at alhakam.org (16 September 2022, p. 9).
18 August 1982: On this day, Walter Wallmann, the mayor of Frankfurt, had a meeting with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh and discussed issues of mutual interest. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 816)
19 August 1962: On this day, Hazrat Nawab Amatul Hafeez Begumra, daughter of the Promised Messiahas, arrived in Hamburg, Germany, during her visit to Europe. At the airport, she was welcomed by Ahmadis living in West Germany. Her visit was prominently featured in major German newspapers.
In relation to her visit, Chaudhry Abdul Latif Sahib, a missionary at the time, remarked that this visit catalysed significant discussions about Islam in the German press. He said that the Christian objection that Islam does not give any status to women was widely refuted.
He further elaborated, “I specifically emphasised [to the media] that Hazrat Begum Sahibara laying the foundation stone for the mosque being constructed in Zurich stands as a testament to the elevated status of women in Islam.” (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 21, pp. 451-455)
19 August 1982: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh addressed a press conference in Frankfurt during his tour. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 816)
19 August 2001: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh inaugurated the Bait-ur-Rahim Mosque, along with its adjoining Mission House in the city of Hasselt, Belgium. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 907)
20 August 1904: On this day, the Promised Messiahas departed on his journey to Lahore, where he delivered the historic lecture, known as Lecture Lahore. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 2, p. 349)
20 August 2010: During his Friday Sermon on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa mentioned Dr Najam-ul-Hassan Sahib of Karachi and Habib-ur-Rahman Sahib of Sanghar, Pakistan, who were martyred on 16 and 19 August 2010, respectively. (Al Fazl International, 10 September 2010, p. 5)
21 August 1949: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra addressed a reception held in his honour at the York House in Quetta, Pakistan. In addition to the local Ahmadis, around 600 non-Ahmadi dignitaries were also in attendance. The topic of his address was “Islam aur Maujooda Maghribi Nazriay” i.e., Islam and contemporary Western ideologies, where he shed light on the wisdom behind Islamic teachings, such as salat, fasting, divorce, polygamy and the prohibition of alcohol and gambling.
For more details, see “The West is recognising the wisdom of Islamic teachings: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s address at a reception in Quetta, Pakistan, 1949” at alhakam.org (16 December 2022).
21 August 2017: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa inaugurated the Baitus Samad Mosque in Giessen, Germany. (“New Ahmadiyya Mosque opened in Giessen by Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)
22 August 1955: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra addressed a reception at the Grosvenor Hotel in London, which was organised in his honour by Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK. The Civil and Military Gazette published reports on this event in its 25 August and 31 August 1955 issues.
For more details, see “‘Turn towards God instead of materialism to attain world peace’: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s address at a reception in London, 1955”, at alhakam.org (25 August 2023).
22 August 1980: During his tour of Nigeria, on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh addressed a tarbiyati class of Ahmadi youth, where 1500 people were present. On this fifth day of his tour, Huzoorrh also laid the foundation stone of the Ahmadiyya Hall in Missionary Training College, inaugurated the newly-built mosque in Alaro and also laid the foundation stone of the Laboratory Block at the Ahmadiyya Hospital in Ojokore, Nigeria. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3, p. 619)
22 August 1986: On this day, during his Friday Sermon, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh spoke about the Shuddhi movement in India. Huzoorrh reiterated that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat could never ignore any such attack against Islam at any cost; wherever this attack happens, wherever Islam is seen with an evil eye, then the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat’s khuddam and ansar would always be needed to fight this spiritual battle of the hearts and minds on the front line. If it is needed, the Ahmadi women will also come out to defend Islam. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 5, p. 561)
For the history of Jamaat’s efforts in response to Shuddhi movement, see “Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s response to the Shuddhi movement and the Jamaat’s relentless services for Islam” at alhakam.org (17 December 2021, pp. 18-20)
22 August 1997: During his Friday Sermon, delivered on this day in Berlin, Germany, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh said in the context of the continuous progress of the Jamaat that if we are moving towards God, no one’s anger or wrath can harm us. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 16, p. 619)
