A torrential downpour is perhaps the only fitting analogy to describe what was about to unfold—a rain of news coverage, not confined to the boundaries of a single nation but spreading across the globe. Soon, the capital of the Empire would echo with the mention of the “Khalifatul Masih,” as the news rippled through the populace.
The anticipation
If you had opened the newspaper in August 1924, you would have come across an interesting advertisement:
“Are you Christian? Greatest living Teacher of the East in London. Do you wish to meet the Master. Write to, Private Secretary, His Holiness the Khalifatul Masih, 6 Chesham Place, Belgravia, London, S.W.” (The Nuneaton Chronicle, 15 August 1924, p. 1)
So then, asks the common person, who is this Khaifatul Masih? Let us answer that question by taking a historical perspective and imagining ourselves in August 1924.
London was providing countrywide coverage about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and its leader, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihra, including details on his arrival and the Community itself. Some newspapers, such as The Daily Telegraph and The Birmingham Gazette, provided additional information on Huzoor’sra relations to the Mughal Emperors. These newspapers showed great interest in Huzoorra and the Jamaat, as reflected by their headlines. We will now take advantage of those newspapers to provide a glimpse of how Huzoorra was welcomed in London.
Who is the Khalifatul Masih?
The Daily News wrote:
“The Khalifa-tul-Masih, who is staying at Chesham-place, was seen by a ‘Daily News’ representative last night. He is a strikingly handsome man of 35, with an ivory complexion and a long, black beard. He is of British-Indian nationality, and was wearing a white turban and the ordinary dress of the Punjabi.” (The Daily News, 23 August 1924, p. 3)
The Guardian reported:
“His Holiness Khalifatul Masih Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad[ra], the head of the Ahmadia movement in Islam, is expected to arrive in London at the beginning of next week. His followers number over 500,000, and his movement is building a mosque in Berlin. It also has a large following in America. He will be accompanied by twelve Oriental scholars.
“The head of the Ahmadia movement has been invited to represent his views on Islam at the conference of ‘Living Religions in the Empire,’ which takes place at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley from September 22 to October 6, No. 6, Chesham Place, Belgravia, has been taken for him.
“The followers of the Ahmadia movement claim to be intensely loyal to Britain, and they have rejected any idea of the Turkish Khaliphate. The headquarters of the movement in London is the Mosque, 63, Melrose Road, Southfields.” (The Guardian, 13 August 1924, p. 10)
The Freeman’s Journal gave additional information regarding the Community’s background, stating, “Its Founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Khan[as], died in 1908, and claimed to be the Messiah and the Mahdi.” It further stated that the members of the Community “are earnest missionaries, and they stand for Islamic reform as well as for loyalty to any Government under which they enjoy religious freedom. There is a London branch of the movement, and services are regularly held at its mosque on Melrose Road, Southfields, S.W.” (The Freeman’s Journal, 20 August 1924, p. 8)
One of the most talked about aspects of Huzoor’sra visit was the Conference on Some Living Religions Within the Empire held at the Imperial Institute. Hazrat Khalifatul Masihra was among the esteemed lecturers and his participation was highly anticipated. The conference was largely associated with the Khalifatul Masih, but we will delve deeper into this later. Right now, you are reading The Northern Whig and Belfast Post, The Western Daily Press, the Evening Standard and Aberdeen Press and Journal excitingly announce the expected arrival of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra and his participation in the Conference:
“It is the intention of his Holiness to convene a preliminary meeting of religious thinkers prior to the Wembley conference. In this way, he hopes to ascertain which aspect of Islam should be presented to the West. The Khalifa will remain in England for about nine weeks.” (Aberdeen Press and Journal, 25 August 1924, 6)
Islam in London
The attention given to the Khalifatul Masih intrigued the curious minds of Londoners. They were eager to know more about the meanings behind the terms Khalifa, Mahdi and who the Messiah was. People were intrigued, what made others believe in him, and who this oriental scholar from a faraway land was? The North Mail and Newcastle Chronicle and the Belfast Telegraph give us the answers, as presented below:
“Islam in London
“The Khalifat-ul-Masih — his Arabic title means ‘Successor of the Messiah’ — who is in London at present for the purpose of attending the Conference of Religions of the Empire at Wembley, possesses the personal name of Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmed, and is the son and second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Khan, who was the Founder of what has been called, from his final name, the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam.
“The movement is regarded by Moslems as a heresy, but it numbers half a million followers in India, where its Founder was born in 1839 [sic., 1835].
“The originator of the sect gave himself out as a Mahdi, which is an Arabic word meaning ‘guided,’ and is applied to persons supposed to be inspired by God. He declared himself be the successor of both Muhammad and Christ, come to earth as the last of the Prophets, and the doctrines associated with his name were finally promulgated in 1891.-’A Londoner’s Diary’ (Evening Standard.)” (North Mail and Newcastle Chronicle, 27 August 1924, p. 9)
The Belfast Telegraph wrote under the heading “Promised Messiah: Moslem Religion’s Head – Son’s Arrival in London”:
“The Calif Ul Masih (Caliph of Messiah), head of the Ahmadia sect of Moslems, who has come to London with twelve holy men to be present at the Conference on Living Religions, was ‘at home’ yesterday afternoon in a house in Chesham Place. He is the son of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is regarded by his followers as the Promised Messiah. He wore a white turban and sat in an armchair with a gilded back. His followers all wore green turbans—the colour of intellectual spirituality-with the exception of his brother, who was entitled to wear a grey one.
“The Calif will read a paper on Islam at the conference at the Imperial Institute. His family traces its descent from the Moghul and Persian Royal houses, and settled in India a few generations ago.
“His father claims to have had manifestations that he was destined to give the world religious guidance. [Before his claim to messiahship, while he was employed in Sialkot,] one night he awoke and heard a faint ticking, from which he concluded that the roof was about to fall. He aroused his companions [i.e., other housemates], but, thinking that this was only a fancy of his, they went again to sleep. He aroused them once more, but they refused to listen to him. A third time he heard the same sound, and he felt that the roof was only waiting for him to leave the room before it fell. He then forced his [housemates] to leave the room. As soon as he stepped out, the roof fell in.
“The Calif’s engagements include a visit to Brighton today, to inspect the monument on the downs near Patcham to the Indian soldiers who died in the Great War and the memorial gateway at the Royal Pavilion, which is the offering of the Indian people to the town in acknowledgement of its help to their men. After that, he will make a pilgrimage to Glastonbury.” (Belfast Telegraph, 29 August 1924, p. 5)
Moving on from the newspapers – for the time being – let us get in touch with Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira and Hazrat Bhai Abdur Rahman Qadianira – through their reports and diaries of the travel. As London was waiting, where was the entourage, and what were Huzoor’sra engagements at the time?
A telegram, dated 16 August 1924, was sent to London, upon reaching the Brindisi port of Italy, informing them of the arrival on 22 August. (Safar-e-Europe, p. 123)
These words were repeated in London more than a week before the arrival, as per the telegram sent earlier. The Daily Mirror announced “Visitors in Turbans: Picturesque Orientals to Visit Wembley with Indian Religious Leader”. They made a descriptive note of Huzoorra, his entourage and the Jamaat. A day prior to Huzoor’sra arrival, The Daily Mirror and Westminster Gazette gave the exact time and place: “Prayers will be offered at Victoria Station at 3.20 p.m. tomorrow.” (The Daily Mirror, 21 August 1924, p. 3)
And so, the anticipated time comes. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, Khalifatul Masih, arrives at the London Victoria Station.
The Review of Religions reported:
“A further cable has been received that His Holiness[ra] and party reached London on the 22nd of August and Sir Francis Younghusband and other members of the Executive Committee, Religious Conference, London, as well as many representatives of English papers and a large number of Muslims both Englishmen and Indians came to receive him at the station.” (The Review of Religions, Vol. 23, September 1924, p. 332)
Arrival
It is currently 3:20 pm and the train has not arrived yet. A platform full of reporters, but nothing is happening. The reason is a delay, but the people present are unaware. After some time, they began leaving. If you were in Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim Nayyar’sra shoes, standing on that platform with dozens of people who were about to leave, what would you do? Nayyar Sahibra narrates:
“On 22 August 1924, Huzoorra arrived at the Victoria Station at 6 pm, instead of the expected time of 3:20 pm, and this caused disappointment to the huge crowd, which consisted of spectators and press correspondents belonging to the illustrated and non-illustrated newspapers, and cinema films as well, however, I arranged tea for a bulk of that crowd. In this way, the wait continued until the evening train. Alhamdulillah, this method proved to be fruitful and we succeeded in presenting a warm welcome to our Imam. Upon his arrival in London, my humble self requested Huzoorra:
“‘Your Holiness! I request you to pray for this benighted country.’
“In other words, ‘Huzoorra, kindly pray for this ignorant country that may Allah the Almighty enlighten them with the nur [divine light] of Islam.’ After this, Huzoorra raised his hands and led the entourage in silent prayer. In this way, the programme of London commenced, of which the main events were as follows:
“22 August: Prayer in front of St Paul’s Cathedral, at Ludgate Hill and Ludgate, and Stay at 6 Chesham Place.” (Al Fazl, 28 December 1939, p. 66)
Hazrat Yaqub Ali Irfanira narrates:
“We departed from Paris at 10 am and, at around 3 pm, boarded the ship from Calais and crossed the English Channel. Though, normally it is a journey of one hour, due to the strong winds, there was turbulence, and many of the passengers were vomiting. After reaching there at 4 pm, we boarded another rail and reached London Victoria Station at 6 pm. A telegram was earlier sent to London, stating that we would reach there at 3:20 pm. At that time, around 250-300 people were present there to receive Hazrat [Musleh-e-Maudra], including the editors and photographers of prominent London newspapers and other dignitaries. They waited until 5 pm and then left. However, a group of people were still present there. Upon reaching the station, Hazratra led the Jamaat members in silent prayer. Photographers captured this scene, which has been published in the London newspapers.
“Prayer at the Ludgate
“From there, he [Huzoorra] visited Ludgate along with his entourage and in the courtyard near the entrance of the famous Saint Paul’s Cathedral, he prayed for the victory of Islam and Kasr-e-Saleeb. The people of London had never witnessed such a scene before, thus, people gathered around in huge numbers. After leading a long du‘a, Hazratra proceeded to 6 Chesham Place with his entourage and led a silent prayer before entering the residence.
“The correspondents and photographers of various newspapers are visiting and his photographs while offering prayer are being published in the newspapers.” (Al Fazl, 23 September 1924, p. 5)
Ludgate Hill
From Victoria Station, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra travelled straight to Ludgate Hill where he offered prayers. At Ludgate Circus, Huzoorra visited the office of Thomas Cook & Son several times during his stay. This travel company provided all facilities, including currency exchange, sending and receiving mail, and arrangements for Huzoor’sra return journey. Numerous newspapers also covered his visit to Ludgate Hill, The Times writes under the heading, the Ahmadiyya Movement:
“The Khalifa-ul-Massih Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, head of the Ahmadia movement in Islam, who is attending the forthcoming Conference of Living Religions of the Empire at the Imperial Institute, arrived in London yesterday.
“His Holiness is to explain the tenets of the religion founded by his father, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad[as] Khan, who claimed to be both the Messiah and the Mahdi. The Ahmadia movement has an English mission, established at Southfields.
“On their arrival at Victoria, the Khalifa and his followers drove to Ludgate Circus, where they offered prayer in conformity with a reference in the Islamic traditions to prayer at Bab-ul-lud—an Arabic name curiously near to our London Gate of Lud.” (The Times, 23 August 1924)
A picturesque scene
We see a rise in photojournalism after the Great War and the Wembley Exhibition had drawn in all the photo agencies. There was a buzz and photos accompanied many news stories, highlighting Huzoor’sra engagements. Just taking a look at local newspapers, we see that The Telegraph-Herald, the Sunday Pictorial, Reynolds’s News, the Westminster Gazette, The Daily Mirror and The Star London just to mention a few.
International presence and photographs
The news of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih’sra arrival was not limited to any border or single country, reaching every corner of the world. The Washington-based The Spokesman-Review published a photograph of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra twice, capturing the silent prayer at Victoria Station. The Lawrence Daily Journal-World, published a photograph of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra in its 19 September 1924 issue.
The Morning Leader of Regina also published a photograph of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra while performing silent prayer, with the following caption:
“When Khalifa-tul-Masih II arrived in London from India with his 12 secretaries, their first act was to stop in busy Victoria Station and pray. Khalifa-tul-Masih II is in the centre of the group above and has a cane on his arm.” (The Morning Leader, 19 September 1924, p. 12)
A German newspaper, Bergische Post, published the same photograph, with the following caption:
[Translation]
“The arrival of His Holiness the Khalifatul Masih II, the leader of the Ahmadia sect of the Muslims, with his chosen ones. The first action they take is a silent prayer in their peculiar pose. The global group of representatives of all religions in London brings together 45 registered speakers from the countless representatives of the most diverse religious movements in the British Empire. Of the 460 million inhabitants, only 80 million are Christians.” (Bergische Post, 12 September 1924, p. 12)
Other German newspapers, such as Ratinger Zeitung and Zeitbilder, published the same photograph, while the Berliner Tageblatt und Handels-Zeitung, Morgen-Ausgabe, dated 31 August 1924, wrote an article on Huzoor’sra arrival to London Victoria.
The Paris Times reported:
“His Holiness the Khalifat-ul-Masih, who is the head of the great Ahmadia sect of Moslems, has arrived in London for a conference on living religions, which is to be held at the Imperial Institute next month. The Ahmadia movement has its headquarters at Qadian, in the Punjab, and this is its leader’s first Personal experience of Western civilisation. He has come with a deputation of the peaceful Moslem element in the British Empire, including Zulfiqar Ali Khan, who is the brother of Mohamed Ali and Shaukat Ali, the extremist leaders of Caliphate agitation among Indian Moslems.” (The Paris Times, 29 August 1924, p. 5)
In addition to an Argentinian magazine, an Egyptian periodical, The Sphinx, also reported on Huzoor’sra arrival in its 6 September 1924 issue.
Conclusion
With Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra arrival in London, a new chapter begins. As reported by the Evening Telegraph and Post of Dundee on 25 August 1924:
“The Khalifa explained the object of his mission westward. ‘I will remain in this country for about nine weeks,’ he stated. ‘I left Qadian (Punjab) on July 12.’” The next nine weeks were full of several engagements, including meetings, receptions and lectures.