Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadi Muslims are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (not to be confused with the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam), an Islamic sect created in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the Messiah and Mahdi prophesised in the Holy Quran and the hadith and all the books of other major and minor religions. The movement has met with great resistance as it differs from the common belief amongst most Muslims that Muhammad was the last prophet of God. Ahmadis counter that Muhammad was the last law-bearing prophet and that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad did not create a new religion, but revived and rejuvenated Islam.
Figures for the total numbers of adherents vary greatly between different sources. Figures range from around 10 million (In 1980), to over 200 million (In 2003) members, in over 176 countries.
The supreme head is Mirza Masroor Ahmad, given the title Khalifatul Masih Khamis (Khamis = fifth).
On January 9, 2004, Bangladesh banned books published by Ahmadis. According to the consensus of Islamic scholars Ahmadis are considered 'kafir's' because they seem to contradict some of the basic Islamic tenets of faith.
