Intro
A large percentage of Ahmadees (at least those in India and Pakistan) are descended from someone who converted to the Ahmadiyya Movement during Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s life. These early converts are very much respected in the Ahmadiyya Movement and are generally considered pious and saintly. Their descendants are usually very proud of them and the Ahmadiyya Movement makes sure (by various means) that the families of these early converts take pride in them. It would be very difficult for an Ahmadee to believe that such a pious
and respected ancestor was wrong in his judgment of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Therefore, even if an Ahmadee is presented with proofs of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s falsehood, he/she does not open his/her mind to this possibility because that would mean believing that his/her early convert ancestor was befooled.

Even if an Ahmadee begins to see wrong in the Ahmadiyya Movement, he/she has to deal with certain psychological phenomenon that may prevent him/her from concluding that the Ahmadiyya Movement is false. This has already been discussed, in the section devoted to the theory of cognitive dissonance, so I will discuss it no further.

“The Dread of Darkness and Damnation”, it is difficult for Ahmadees to deny Mirza Ghulam Ahmad since they believe him to be a prophet and think that rejecting him will lead to spiritual darkness and damnation.

The cult-like and clan-like nature of the Ahmadiyya Movement and attachment to the Ahmadiyya social network. Although I discussed this earlier as well, in the context of pioneer converts, I will discuss this some more here because this reason has become stronger since the time of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadiyya community functions with a sort of tribal or clannish culture. The characteristics of the Ahmadiyya Movement listed below
cause its members to be highly dependent on interaction within, and approval of, the Ahmadiyya community and unable or unwilling to move out of the community. These characteristics impede rational inquiry and control hearts and minds, thus effectively holding member loyalty.

ο The Ahmadiyya Movement functions under the khaleefah’s autocratic rule and has a strong authoritarian structure; there is strict regimentation; criticism and deviant behavior are punished and/or condemned; independent and creative thinking is discouraged. (This is a characteristic typical of cults and fascist organizations.)

ο The Movement engenders among its members a personal emotional attachment with, adoration for, and devotion to the leader, i.e., the khaleefah. The khaleefah personally fosters this through private audiences. (This was true till the fourth khaleefah but I do not know how the system has been working under the fifth khaleefah.)

ο The Ahmadiyya community is isolated from the rest of the Muslim world (and also, in general, the rest of the world) in terms of social connections. Two of the major devices that create this isolation are the Ahmadiyya Movement’s prohibition for its members to perform congregational prayer with non-Ahmadee Muslims and the prohibition against marriage with non-Ahmadee Muslims.

ο The Movement demands heavy involvement in Ahmadiyya community activities; there is pressure to serve the Movement and guilt induced for not being more involved. (This is a characteristic typical of cults.)

• Lack of attractive alternatives to the Ahmadiyya Movement.

Even if an Ahmadee considers leaving the Ahmadiyya Movement, he/she may hesitate due to not being able to find a place to go to. That is, he/she may not find a satisfying version of Islaam in non-Ahmadee Muslim circles and may not want to abandon Islaam altogether. Even if he/she is bold enough to entertain the thought that Islaam might be false, he/she may not know of an acceptable alternative to Islaam.

See—Nuzhat Haneef, pages 368-369

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