Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a religious organization, international in its scope, with branches in over 189 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. This is the most dynamic denomination of Islam in modern history, with worldwide membership exceeding tens of millions.

The Ahmadiyya Community was established in 1889 by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) in a small and remote village, Qadian, in the Punjab, India. He claimed to be the expected reformer of the latter days, the Awaited One of the world community of religions (The Mahdi and Messiah). The Community he started is an embodiment of the benevolent message of Islam -- peace, universal brotherhood, and submission to the Will of God -- in its pristine purity. Hadhrat Ahmad proclaimed Islam as the religion of man: "The religion of the people of the right path" (98:6)

With this conviction, the Ahmadiyya Community, within a century, has reached the corners of the Earth. Wherever the Community is established, it endeavors to exert a constructive influence of Islam through social projects, educational institutes, health services, Islamic publications and construction of mosques, despite being bitterly persecuted in some countries. Ahmadi Muslims have earned the distinction of being a law-abiding, peaceful, persevering and benevolent community.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam was created under divine guidance with the objective to rejuvenate Islamic moral and spiritual values. It encourages interfaith dialogue, and diligently defends Islam and tries to correct misunderstandings about Islam in the West. It advocates peace, tolerance, love and understanding among followers of different faiths. It firmly believes in and acts upon the Qur'anic teaching: "There is no compulsion in religion." (2:257) It strongly rejects violence and terrorism in any form and for any reason.

The Community offers a clear presentation of Islamic wisdom, philosophy, morals and spirituality as derived from the Holy Qur'an and the practice (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Some Ahmadis', like late Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (who served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan; President of the 17th General Assembly of U.N.O.; President and Judge of the International Court of Justice, at the Hague), and Dr. Abdus Salam (the Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1979), have also been recognized by the world community for their outstanding services and achievements.

After the demise of its founder, the Ahmadiyya Community has been headed by his elected successors -- Khalifas. The present Head of the Movement, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, was elected in 2003. His official title is Khalifatul Massih V.

The Man Who Bought a Resurrection

source: TIME

When David Jeselsohn, a Swiss-Israeli collector, bought this ancient tablet from a Jordanian antiquities dealer, he was unaware of its significance

David Jeselsohn has been an avid collector of Mediterranean antiquities all his life. But 10 years ago, his curiosity was aroused by a mysterious stone tablet with ancient Hebrew writing that appeared in London, offered by a reputable Jordanian dealer. Jeselson bought it and then, distracted by more collecting, forgot it. Today, however, some scholars say that the fractured, three-foot-long sandstone tablet challenges the uniqueness of the idea of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The controversial tablet, dubbed "Gabriel's Revelation," dates back to several decades before Jesus's birth and announces the raising of the Messiah after three days in the grave. If correct, this places the concept of a Messiah's resurrection firmly within Jewish traditions of the day. These controversial speculations could have come out years earlier, but as the Swiss-Israeli collector sheepishly told TIME in Jerusalem, ""It's my fault that it took so long to be examined."

After the purchase, Jeselsohn stashed the tablet in his Zurich home and moved on to other collectibles. Then, three years ago, he invited an Israeli scholar, Ada Yardeni, to Zurich to examine writings on ancient pottery shells. The expert's eye, however, was drawn instead to the tablet with its 87 lines of Hebrew script. "She was fascinated" says Jeselsohn. "Yardeni said said the writing was just like on the Dead Sea Scrolls."
The original dealer was vague about the tablet's origin. But Jeselsohn, who is also an expert on East Mediterranean antiquities, says that the ink writing could only have survived for 2,000 years if it were kept in an extremely dry climate, possibly along the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea. Most likely, says Jeselsohn, the tablet was considered sacred and displayed upright in a public area such as a synagogue.

The controversy arose after Prof. Israel Knohl, a Hebrew University scholar of Talmudic and Biblical languages, translated the tablet, which is written in the form of an end-of-the-world prediction by the angel Gabriel. What may make the tablet unique is its 80th line, which begins with the words "In three days," and includes some form of the verb "to live." Knohl, who was not involved in the first research on the artifact, claims that it refers to a historic first-century Jewish rebel named Simon who was killed by the Romans in 4 B.C., and should read "In three days, you shall live. I Gabriel command you." If so, Jesus-era Judaism had begun to explore the idea of the three-day resurrection before Jesus was born. As Knohl told a conference of Biblical experts on Tuesday in Jerusalem, "Earlier scholars say Judaism was unfamiliar with the concept of a Messiah who suffered, died and rose, but this inscription changes that." He adds: "Gabriel is speaking to someone and says: 'By three days, you'll come back to life.'" Still, some scholars at the conference privately said that Knohl, in his zeal to make a biblical breakthrough, was reading too much into the vague and practically illegible lines of the tablet.

Knohl's reading of the tablet undermines one of the strongest literary arguments employed by Christians over centuries to support the historicity of the Resurrection: the specificity and novelty of the idea that the Messiah would die on a Friday and rise on a Sunday. How does Jeselsohn feel about being the owner of a priceless object that could lead to the reinterpretation of early Christian beliefs? "I'm proud," he replies. "Knohl's idea of a rising Messiah in Judaism, one who predates Christianity, may be correct. All the elements are there [in the tablet]. But I'm perhaps more cautious than he is." Jeselsohn says that while the discovery may question "the uniqueness" of Jesus' Resurrection, "Nonetheless, it gives credibility to the belief that [Jews at that time] were expecting a Messiah" — one who would rise from the grave.

Ancient stone tablet may prove resurrection predated Jesus Christ

courtesy: The Tech Herald
by Rich Bowden

Image: Resurrection of Lazarus. Painting by Bonnat. Credit: Public Domain

Archaeologists and biblical scholars are disputing the interpretation of a stone tablet dating from the 1st century BC which appears to show the concept of resurrection was in Jewish tradition decades before the birth of Jesus Christ.

The tablet was found in the collection of a Zurich collector who claims he bought the artifact from a Jordanian seller.

The three-foot-high mysterious stone tablet, which has been written on rather than carved, is known as the Angel Gabriel’s Vision of Revelation however its poor state of repair -- some letters and even whole words are missing -- has experts arguing over the meaning of parts of its text. Some scholars are suggesting the poor legibility of the tablet means the text is being interpreted by some more than can be accepted.

The UK's Times reports that a previous paper published by scholars Ada Yardeni and Binyamin Elitzur concluded that the most controversial lines were indecipherable however a more recent study by Israel Knohl, biblical studies professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, has concluded the key line 80 of the text as Gabriel telling a historic Jewish rebel named Simon, who was killed by the Romans in 4 BC: "In three days you shall live, I Gabriel, command you."

Knohl claims his interpretation shows that resurrection predates the birth of Jesus Christ. At Easter Christians celebrate the rising from the dead of Jesus Christ, three days after his death.

"This sheds new light on the messianic activity of Jesus," Knohl said to Reuters news agency. "It proves that the concept of the messiah was already there before Jesus," added Knohl, who published his theory in the Chicago-based Journal of Religion in April. Knohl has long contended that the concept of a slain Messiah who was resurrected is based in Jewish writings and has argued the case in his book"The Messiah Before Jesus" (University of California Press, 2000). He says this discovery confirms his belief.

The scholar presented his theory before a conference of international experts this week to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other experts have said they will be making their own theories public after analysing the tablet, with a suggestion this may differ from Knohl's conclusion.

Owner of the stone tablet Swiss-Israeli David Jeselsohn said he was unsure of Knohl's interpretation but believed this did not detract from the Christian tradition of Christ resurrected.

"I am more cautious than Knohl. He has his idea that the Messiah and Judaism predated Christianity. The whole thing is fascinating. Some people say it may take away from the uniqueness of Jesus’ resurrected but I believe it gives credibility to the story that the followers were expecting a messiah," he said.