The Ahmadi caliphate is starkly different from that other one that tends to consume all of the news headlines. The Ahmadiyya, led by an elected caliph and a consultative council, or shura, encourages the separation of mosque and state and urges all Muslims to be patriotic and loyal to their nation of residence.
“What they’ve tried hasn’t worked,” said Bhatti, referring to Muslim leaders the world over. “What we have has worked” in Muslim communities around the world.
This message, paired with its founding narrative, has made the Ahmadiyya community anathema among many of their coreligionists. Ahmadis have been persecuted throughout the Muslim world for more than a century, and in Pakistan they are typically treated as second-class citizens. The murder last March of Glasgow shopkeeper and Ahmadi Muslim Asad Shah at the hands of another Muslim was a chilling reminder of that history.
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