Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

"Ahmadi Religion" redirects here. For other uses, see Ahmadi (disambiguation).

This article is about the new religious movement based on Twelver Shia Islam. For the religious movement based on Sunni Islam, see Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (Arabic: دين السلام والنور الأحمدي), also known simply as the Ahmadi Religion or AROPL, is a millenarian syncretic new religious movement derived from the Twelver branch of Shia Islam.^[1] The leader and founder of the new religious movement is Abdullah Hashem, an Egyptian-American who claims to be the Qāʾim Āl-Muḥammad (lit. 'the one who shall rise of the family of Muhammad') and to have been appointed by name in the will of the prophet Muhammad following the legacy of Ahmed al-Hasan, an Iraqi leader who claimed to be the prophesied Yamani.^[6]

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

Founder
Abdullah Hashem
Scriptures
The Goal of the Wise (2022) The Mahdi's Manifesto (2024) The Divine Jurisprudence (2025)
Website
theahmadireligion.org

The Ahmadi Religion is registered with various international organizations and governmental databases, including the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Adherents of the Ahmadi Religion have faced persecution globally and face ongoing challenges for religious freedom.^[7]

History

Statue of Ahmed al-Hasan at the AROPL headquarter in the UK

Ahmed al-Hasan, a Shia Muslim from Basra, Iraq, claimed to be the Yamani in the early 2000s. He adopted the epithet "Ahmed al-Hassan al-Yamani". He went into hiding in 2007 following the January 2007 Battle of Najaf.^[4][8] AROPL considers al-Hasan to be the prophesied Yamani^[9] and the first of twelve Mahdis appointed in the will of the prophet Muhammad.^[10] A group known as the "White Banners" or "Office of Najaf" emerged, sharing messages attributed to him that some followers rejected as inauthentic. This led to a division, with Egyptian-American disciple Abdullah Hashem spearheading a "Black Banners" faction based in the United Kingdom that accused the White Banners of fabricating messages under Iraqi government influence. The White Banners proceeded to excommunicate Abdullah Hashem in 2015 and again in 2023. While both groups venerate al-Hasan, they interpret his role differently. AROPL has the largest international following, while the White Banners remains primarily an Iraqi-based faction.^[1]

Abdullah Hashem giving a sermon to his followers in 2025

In 2015, Abdullah Hashem announced that he was the Qāʾim Āl-Muḥammad, succeeding Ahmed al-Hasan.^[11] He and his followers linked the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to a widely circulated Shīa prophecy predicting the emergence of Imam al-Mahdī after the death of a King of Hejaz named "Abdullah".^[1][12] They further interpreted King Fahd's name and eye condition as aligning with these prophetic descriptions. Hashem, who was aged 32 in 2015 and of Egyptian descent, also connected his identity to prophecies about the Mahdi emerging from Egypt. The AROPL believes that the ancient Egyptian religion was originally aligned with Islamic monotheism. Citing Muhammad's "will", which allegedly mentions figures named Ahmed and Abdullah, AROPL asserts this refers to both Ahmed al-Hasan and Abdullah Hashem. The group claims al-Hasan personally identified Hashem as the Qāʾim of the family of Muhammad, meeting three prophesied criteria: being named in the last will, possessing exceptional knowledge, and advocating for God's supremacy over human rule. These same criteria, they argue, validated al-Hasan's role as the prophesied Yamani.^[1]

Beliefs and doctrines

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light preaches tolerance and contains features of religious syncretism. Some beliefs and doctrines of the faith are:^[13]

• There are seven covenants, including six historical covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, and the current covenant with Ahmed al-Hasan.
• Belief in the transmigration of the soul or reincarnation.
• Ramadan is considered to be identical to December, since the Hijri months are considered identical to the solar Gregorian months.
• The actual Ka'aba is located in Petra, Jordan, rather than in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
• Friday prayer is not obligatory.
• Alcohol is allowed if consumed in moderation.
• Religious head coverings (such as hijabs) are not mandatory.
• LGBTQ people are tolerated, and are allowed to join the religion.^[14]

Abdullah Hashem's The Goal of the Wise (translated into English in 2022)^[15] presents a theological framework that blends elements of Twelver Shīaism, Islamic esotericism, Christian Gnosticism, Western mysticism, and conspirituality narratives. His teachings follow a dispensationalist model, where human history unfolds through six divine covenants, culminating in a seventh initiated by Ahmed al-Hasan, leading to the emergence of the Qāʾim.^[1]

Hashem offers unconventional religious interpretations, suggesting that Adam's "original sin" involved a past incarnation of Fatimah, Jesus survived the crucifixion by exchanging souls with Simon of Cyrene, and Mani was the offspring of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. His beliefs incorporate reincarnation, soul transmigration, and the Raj’a (Great Return), where present-day believers are seen as reincarnations of past prophets and messengers.^[1]

His cosmology includes Samarat, a Purgatory-like transitional realm between incarnations, an Earth-based Heaven, and a Sun-based Hell, with an even worse fate for the most corrupt souls. He dismisses evolutionary theory, instead proposing that pre-Adamic extraterrestrial beings once inhabited Earth. Hashem also claims that Iblis (Satan) was responsible for creating human bodies, while the family of Muhammad shaped their souls.^[1]

Incorporating conspiracy beliefs, Hashem asserts that figures like Zeus, Confucius, and Alexander the Great were divine messengers. He also claims that U.S. President George Washington was actually Adam Weishaupt, the founder of the Illuminati, and suggests that U.S. President George W. Bush is linked to the British occultist Aleister Crowley. Additionally, he attributes supernatural powers to the Qāʾim, stating that he possesses the ring of King Solomon and commands the jinns. Hashem further ties astrology to personal destinies, associating himself with the planet Mars and linking Iblis to the star Sirius.^[1]

Regional leaders

In the United States, AROPL is registered as an organization in Reno, Nevada. It is also registered in the United Kingdom, where it is headquartered at Crewe near Manchester.^[16][17] Regional leaders of the Ahmadi Religion are known as "bishops". They currently live in exile due to persecution, and include:

• Hamidreza Saghari, Bishop of Iran and Afghanistan^{[18][better source needed]}
• Kashfullah Amaluddin Ahl Al-Mahdi, Bishop of Malaysia and Indonesia^[19][20]

Persecution

See also: Sectarian violence among Muslims

Believers in the religion have been labelled as heretical and targeted by fundamentalists and state authorities in multiple countries due to its liberal teachings—such as the belief that the hijab is not mandatory and its inclusive stance toward the LGBTQ+ community.^[21]

In Kenya and Somalia two individuals were murdered by the authorities for speaking about their beliefs publicly.^[22][23]

in Egypt the believers were kidnapped and brutally tortured by the authorities and kept in underground cells for long periods of time.^[24][25]

The religious group has been persecuted by police and government authorities in Algeria,^[26][27][28] Azerbaijan,^[29] Iraq,^[30] Iran,^[31] Jordan,^[32] Malaysia,^[33][34] Sweden,^[35] and Thailand.^[36]

On 24 May 2023, 104 AROPL members seeking asylum at Kapıkule on the Bulgaria–Turkey border^[37][38] were detained and violently harassed by Turkish authorities.^[39][40]

In July 2023, eight AROPL members in Malaysia were arrested by police at an LGBTQ gathering.^[41] Datuk Dr. Nooh Gadot, Chairman of the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia (MKI), announced during the committee's meetings from June 26 to 28 in 2023 that AROPL is considered a deviant sect and does not align with orthodox Islamic doctrine.^[42][43]

In April 2024, Amnesty International appealed over the crackdown on AROPL followers in Egypt. Amnesty International has condemned the Egyptian authorities for detaining and causing enforced disappearances of AROPL members. Several followers have disappeared since early March 2025, raising human rights concerns about freedom of religion in Egypt. Amnesty emphasizes that Egyptian authorities are legally obligated to uphold and safeguard the right to freedom of religion for all individuals within the country.^[44]

Official scriptures

In 2022, AROPL published the official gospel of the religion, titled The Goal of the Wise (Arabic: غاية الحكيم). The book, which has 40 "doors" or chapters, has been translated into Arabic, Urdu, Malay, Spanish, French, German, Turkish, Azeri, and Persian.

On 19 May 2025, the Goal of the Wise was awarded the 2025 Best International Book Award in the category of Religion and Spirituality at the International Book Fair in Turin, Italy.^[45]

• Hashem, Abdullah (2022). The Goal of the Wise: The Gospel of the Riser of the family of Mohammed Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq. The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. ISBN 978-1-7392629-0-7. (in English, Arabic, Malay, Turkish, Azerbaijani, French, Spanish, German, Persian, and Urdu)
• Hashem, Abdullah (2024). The Mahdi's Manifesto. The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. (in English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam, Hausa, Yoruba, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Malay, Thai, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, German, Spanish, French, and Romanian)
• Hashem, Abdullah (2025). The Divine Jurisprudence. The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. (in English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam, Hausa, Yoruba, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Malay, Thai, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, German, Spanish, French, and Romanian)

Controversies and issues

Prior to May 2023, Swedish authorities allege that AROPL ran three fraudulent companies and created fake jobs to allow 70 AROPL members to receive residence status. One of these businesses was identified as a restaurant in central Örebro.^[46]

Conversely Human Rights Without Frontiers alleges that in 2019, the Ahmadi organization and members began facing a sustained campaign of harassment from the Swedish Police Authority, who coordinated with the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Tax Agency, and the Swedish Enforcement Authority. This campaign led to multiple police raids in which it is claimed that no illegal activity was found, no interviews were conducted and no formal charges followed.^[47]