ahmadiyyafactcheckblog

Intro
Per MGA, the quran uses harsh words towards stupid people. So why do Ahmadi’s cry on social media when we call them stupid? It’s very ironic. Nonetheless, Ahmadi’s classically don’t even acknowledge our counter-arguments on a variety of issues. The problem here is that Ahmadi’s have been taught to be stubborn and never open minded. Its a desi-type problem, since they are raised in a world where critical thinking is never used. We have already responded to this one-liner here: https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2018/03/25/ahmadis-are-academically-dishonest-and-on-purpose/

I recently came across yet another brainwashed-idiot of an Ahmadi from Rabwah. He didn’t know about Sir Syed and how Sir Syed invented the argument that Esa (As) was dead and never returning. He won’t admit to anything…he tried to disagree later on, however, he forget that even Ahmadiyya literature tells us that Sir Syed influenced Noorudin and Abdul Karim. Nonetheless, he goes on to present some other references in terms of the end of prophethood. He quotes from B.A. Rafiq’s book on Ahmadiyya, which can be found here: https://www.alislam.org/library/book/truth-about-ahmadiyyat/finality-of-prophethood/.  However, he doesn’t know that BA Rafiq took this from Mirza Basheer-uddin Mahmud Ahmad and his line of argumentation after the split.
Continue reading “Ahmadi’s are totally brainwashed by their clerics, to the point that they never even double check sources” →

Intro
We have written over and over that Ahmadis suffer from being systematically brainwashed.  The villager-type-Ahmadis are the worst, they are ready to die for Ahmadiyya immediately. This is what we are dealing with in terms of Ahmadiyya. Most people who have entered in this Ahmadiyya-Awareness game don’t fully realize the stupidity of Ahmadiyya, nor do they seem to care, we however, understand it very well and out goal is make the world aware of the dangers of the Ahmadiyya movement, aka the Mirza family. In the below, we have posted a scan in terms of #Ahmadiyya use of homeopathy, the Ahmadiyya belief on this is sooooo fanatical, they attack an Ahmadi (@kashifmd) publicly on twitter when he criticized the use of homeopathy. This happened again in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, see the scan in the below.

The tweet

Continue reading “Ahmadis are sooooo brainwashed, they think their Khalifa’s medicines will work during a nuclear fallout” →

Intro
Ahmadis are working around the clock…they educate their children only so that they may grow older and pay chanda to Ahmadiyya, they volunteer so that the Mirza family gets free labor at their masjids, they learn western education only so that Ahmadiyya may benefit, they go to work, only so that Ahmadiyya may benefit.  These people are all sick and twisted and in reality they worship the Mirza family, not any god.

In the video posted below, this Ahmadi mullah, Mubashir Ahmad Kahloon (Head of Dar Al-Ifta Rabwah, Pakistan) is giving a speech, this is an exerpt from Jalsa Salana Qadian 2015, 5th Speech of Day 1.  He basically lies and tells Ahmadis some colossal lies.  Muslims will not be asked any of the questions that he presents, its a total lie.  However, he is following the orders of the Mirza family, and the standing order is to squeeze all the money out of Ahmadis and make them work for free and sell Ahmadiyya.  Sell sell sell!!!!!

The video

Intro
It seems that the only a few famous Jazz players to convert to Ahmadiyya were Yusuf Lateef, Ahmad Jamal (in the 1950’s) and Sahib Shihab converted to Qadianism (which is also confirmed by Usman Barry, he saw in an Ahmadiyya temple in Denmark, see Bowen too).

He then makes a mistake that after Art Blakely converted to Islam and moved to New York (mid-to-late 1940’s), he formed in New York, “The Jazz Messengers”, a seventeen-piece band composed entirely of Qadiani converts. Dannin never mentioned any of this. Dannin briefly mentions Yusuf Lateef (aka Bill Evans) who converted to Ahmadiyya/Qadianism. Bowen then errs and says that Talib Dawud converted to Ahmadiyya (See Turner, page 139, 1st edition) claims that a Qadiani-Ahmadi named Muzaffar Ahmad Zafar told him on the phone) in Philadelphia under Sheikh Nasir Ahmad in Philadelphia (See Dannin, 58; Essien-Udom, 313). However, this is impossible since Sheikh Nasir Ahmad was fiercely anti-Qadiani and even started the Schism in Pittsburgh in 1934 and in Cleveland (via Wali Akram). Turner (see pages 138-140) made even a bigger mistake and alleged that even Talib Dawud, Art Blakely, Ford Daleel, Nuh Alahi (Turner alleges that he became a Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Community in the Los Angeles area), McCoy Tyner, Sahib Shihab and Dakota Stanton, Turner based this info on a video interview of Imam Warith Deen (see “A conversation with Imam Warith Deen Muhammad at Duke University, 1992). However, Imam Warith Deen shouldn’t be taken as a credible witness, since he has lied about the person of Master Fard Muhammad and spread lies about him being a Lahori-Ahmadi in 1931 and in the USA on an undercover assignment. Turner also quoted Simpkins and his academic work on Ahmadiyya and FBI files about Malclom X, Simpkins (via Turner) alleged that Art Blakely, Talib Dawud, Yusuf Lateef (aka Bill Evans), Ahmad Jamal and Sahib Shihab helped to raise money and bring more Ahmadiyya Maulvi’s to the USA. Turner also mentions Muhammad Sadiq, (A Jazz Trombone player)(we need more research on this), who seems to have been Ahmadi and even rose to be a President of Ahmadi communities in New York and New Jersey.

Talib Ahmad Dawood (formerly Alfonso Nelson Rainey, born January 26, 1923, on Antigua; died 9 July 1999, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter. Dawud came from Antigua and Barbuda, taking lessons from his father, a trumpeter who played in marching bands; his mother was a singer who accompanied herself on piano. Dawud also learned banjo and pipe organ. He had his further education in the United States at a high school and music school he experienced in the United States, came as the end of the 1930s to New York. Talib Dawud was an eighteen-year old Antiguan named Alfonso Nelson Rainey when he arrived in New York with “the clothes on his back and a trunk full of books.” He entered the Julliard School of Music in New York in the early 1940’s to study brass instruments while supporting himself with work in the renowned Barrymore household. Early in his musical career he called himself “Barrymore” Rainey and played with the Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong orchestras. His most important musical association, however, came with the Dizzy Gillespie big bands on the eve of the “be-bop revolution.” Because of the support of the Barrymore Foundation, he first took the stage name Barrymore Rainey. After studying at the Juilliard School in 1940, he played with Tiny Bradshaw, Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, Roy Eldridge with further swing orchestras (See Dannin).

In the second half of the 1940s and again in 1956 he was a member of the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, performing with in 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival. He wrote numerous articles in the African American Chicago daily New Crusader on the controversy between Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X.

In 1949, meanwhile, Nasir Ahmad, along with his protégé Talib Dawud, led a small number of AAUAA members in creating an organization called the International Muslim Brotherhood (IMB) to teach Islam in Philadelphia, and, perhaps, Harlem (See Bowen).

The band’s young tenor saxophonist, Bill Evans, followed him, taking the name Yusef Lateef, as did Lyn Hope, who became Hajj Rashid after making pilgrimage to Mecca in 1958. The drummer, Kenny Clarke, changed his name to Liaqat Ali Salaam, and Oliver Mesheux became Mustafa Dalil. Abdul Karim (from Chicago) is the father of Amatus Sami-Karim (she is the wife of Mahershala Ali), he alleges that Talib Dawood was an Ahmadi and may have quit later.

Via Dannin, Despite Gillespie’s iconoclasm, many converts understood their new religion as a serious spiritual and intellectual quest, learning Arabic to study the Quran, attending Friday prayers, and observing the dietary laws, including the Ramadan fast. Some, like Talib Dawud, quit playing music altogether to study Islam full-time. His first wife, Sayida Faisal, was a young Ex-Ahmadi from Cleveland. Her father belonged to the faction of converts who had remained with Wali Akram after he split with the Ahmadiyya Movement in 1936. By 1940, she stood out as one of the most desirable young women in the movement. Talib himself was a rising star who had eagerly absorbed the teachings of Islam. The African American matchmakers suggested Sayida as a good partner, and he went to Cleveland, where they soon married. Several years later in New York he took a second wife, the jazz singer Dakota Staton, who was not Muslim. He managed her promising career while simultaneously working with Sayida to spread the faith. But this polygamous arrangement soon collapsed when Sayida returned to Cleveland with their children. Talib later divorced both women and moved to London in 1956.

Talib Dawud and Sheik Daoud were key figures for the early Islamic revival in America. The Muslim Brotherhood USA and the Islamic Mission to America viewed the anticolonial struggles in North Africa and the Middle East as modern examples of jihad that indicated the reawakening of Islam as a global force.

Continue reading “Talib Ahmad Dawood (aka Alfonso Nelson Rainey) and his connections to Ahmadiyya” →

Intro
A few years ago, while interviewing on a podcast, Qasim Rashid was asked about Palestinians and he quickly called them bad for persecuting Ahmadi’s. The clip is on tik tok too and twitter on multiple accounts, on my account too. In this video, we discuss Qasim Rashid’s bid for congress in illinois’ 11th congressional district. We also discuss the role of Karim Khan (a Qadiani) with the International Criminal Court and how he is helping the UK+NATO hide their genocide of the Palestinian people. Asif Mahmood is another Qadiani-Ahmadi politician out of California’s 40th Congressional District.

Fact 1-–Qasim Rashid tweeting history has been absent of Palestine, he has only tweeted in a negative way. He only recently started tweeting about a ceasefire, and that too only because his Khalifa told him to do so. He claimed that Ahmadi’s are being persecuted in Palestine and in contrast, enjoy religious freedom in Israel. He also told the world that if Palestinians leave Islam, this is the solution.

Fact 2—Qasim Rashid uses Zionist talking points vs. Palestine.

Fact 3—Qasim Rashid supports collective punishment of Palestinians.

Fact 4––Qasim Rashid praises Israel and criticizes Palestinians.

Fact 5—Qasim Rashid calls Muslim Imam’s/Scholar’s as terrorists.

Over the past 10 years, Qasim Rashid was a darling of Foxnews, appearing more than 50 times. He only moved to Chicago after he lost his election bids in Virginia. This is a concerted effort by the Ahmadiyya Movement to get one of their own elected to public office. If he is elected, he will push the Ahmadiyya Agenda and get more asylum visa’s for #Qadianis. Like many politicians, Qasim Rashid has mastered the art of lying and is trying to convince the Muslims of Illinois’s 11th congressional district that he is a Muslim. In 2017, he was called about by Ali Rizvi about MGA’s takfiri comments (wherein MGA called his deniers as Kafirs), and the lies told by Qasim Rashid. In 2016, he attacked the famous Ex-Ahmadi, Nabeel Qureshi. In 2017, a group of Ex-Ahmadi’s made this video wherein they exposed the lies of Qasim Rashid. Also in 2017, Qasim Rashid stated that anyone who calls Ahmadi’s as non-Muslims are terrorists (see the scan in the below) he even attacked Professor Johnathan Brown. In 2022, Qasim Rashid claims that in sharia (islamic law), an abortion is allowed if a fetus is non viable, however, he gives no Quranic references. Also in 2022, he was ordered by his Khalifa to attack victims, Afzal Upal and Nida Al-Nasser. This proves that he is brainwashed follower of his Khalifa. In fact, Afzal Upal proved that the writings of Qasim Rashid contradict his Khalifa.

Continue reading “Qasim Rashid said Palestinians in Gaza were guilty of persecuting Ahmadi’s—illinois’ 11th congressional district” →

Intro
In this debate, Tahir Nasser alleged that Adam (as) was born of a virgin (MGA said he was born a twin, Tahir Nasser didn’t mention that). These Christians had no idea how weird the Ahmadiyya beliefs are. At 3:10:52, Tahir Nasser says that Adam (as) was born just like Eisa (as), a virgin birth. At 1:12:19, the Christians laughed at Ahmadi’s for this belief. These silly Christians don’t even know that Ahmadi’s accuse Maryam (as) of being a hermaphrodite (astagfarullah). MGA also didn’t see her alleged marriage with Joseph Najjar as legitimate. In this clip, Apostate Prophet talks about how Ahmadi’s aren’t connected with Islam, their ideology is totally different. This is interesting because Nabeel Qureshi was adamant about Ahmadi’s being Muslim and it seemed that David Wood agreed 10 years ago. Tahir Nasser even said that Allah has created multiple universes.

David Wood was there too and he explained how he was able to get Nabeel Qureshi to quit Ahmadiyya (24:25 time stamp). David Wood said he probed Nabeel Qureshi as to why he was so confident in his beliefs and Nabeel responded that it was because of his dad and how his dad had never lost a debate. Thus, David Wood made a plan to have his friends debate Nabeel’s dad, which they did. Nabeel’s dad was brainwashed by Ahmadiyya beliefs and thus, his arguments were terrible. David Wood’s friend caught him and embarrassed him on “The Shroud of Turin”, this caused Nabeel Qureshi to crack and leave Ahmadiyya. At this point in time, Nabeel and his dad didn’t know that David Wood was an axe murderer and tried to kill his own dad. David Wood also mentioned how Nabeel Qureshi was using silly arguments from “Jesus in India” (See page 13), wherein MGA and his team argued that since Allah made all the planets and stars spherical, this somehow refutes the doctrine of the Trinity. Nabeel even argued the opposite of this after he converted to Christianity, he argued that since God made the heart a triangle, thus, the trinity was confirmed!

Continue reading “Christians beat the Qadiani’s again and Tahir Nasser” →

Intro
Qasim Rashid is a fake Muslim, a $3 bill, a person who hates Muslim’s, since 2 billion Muslim’s rejected his Messiah. In the below, Muslims have collected evidences which prove that Qasim Rashid is a fake progressive. Nevertheless, he is running for the democrat seat in Illinois’ 11th congressional district vs. the incumbent Democrat Bill Foster.

Over the past 10 years, Qasim Rashid was a darling of Foxnews, appearing more than 50 times. He only moved to Chicago after he lost his election bids in Virginia. This is a concerted effort by the Ahmadiyya Movement to get one of their own elected to public office. If he is elected, he will push the Ahmadiyya Agenda and get more asylum visa’s for #Qadianis. Like many politicians, Qasim Rashid has mastered the art of lying and is trying to convince the Muslims of Illinois’s 11th congressional district that he is a Muslim. In 2017, he was called about by Ali Rizvi about MGA’s takfiri comments (wherein MGA called his deniers as Kafirs), and the lies told by Qasim Rashid. In 2016, he attacked the famous Ex-Ahmadi, Nabeel Qureshi. In 2017, a group of Ex-Ahmadi’s made this video wherein they exposed the lies of Qasim Rashid. Also in 2017, Qasim Rashid stated that anyone who calls Ahmadi’s as non-Muslims are terrorists (see the scan in the below) he even attacked Professor Johnathan Brown. In 2022, Qasim Rashid claims that in sharia (islamic law), an abortion is allowed if a fetus is non viable, however, he gives no Quranic references. Also in 2022, he was ordered by his Khalifa to attack victims, Afzal Upal and Nida Al-Nasser. This proves that he is brainwashed follower of his Khalifa. In fact, Afzal Upal proved that the writings of Qasim Rashid contradict his Khalifa.

Fact 1-–Qasim Rashid tweeting history has been absent of Palestine, he has only tweeted in a negative way. He only recently started tweeting about a ceasefire, and that too only because his Khalifa told him to do so. He claimed that Ahmadi’s are being persecuted in Palestine and in contrast, enjoy religious freedom in Israel. He also told the world that if Palestinians leave Islam, this is the solution.

Fact 2—Qasim Rashid uses Zionist talking points vs. Palestine.

Fact 3—Qasim Rashid supports collective punishment of Palestinians.

Fact 4––Qasim Rashid praises Israel and criticizes Palestinians.

Fact 5—Qasim Rashid calls Muslim Imam’s/Scholar’s as terrorists.

Continue reading “Qasim Rashid is secretly Pro-Israel, he wants #Palestinians to leave Islam and become #Qadiani—-Illinois’s 11th congressional district” →

Intro
We are deeply troubled by the candidacy of Qasim Rashid for the Democratic nomination for Illinois’s 11th congressional district for 2024. Qasim Rashid claims to be a human rights lawyer and a champion of justice, but his record shows otherwise. Qasim Rashid is working directly for his Khalifa (Mirza Masroor Ahmad), these people believe that #palestinians are being divinely punished for rejecting MGA.

Qasim Rashid has a history of making inflammatory and divisive statements against the majority of Muslims who do not belong to his cult, the Ahmadiyya. He has characterized mainstream beliefs of non-Ahmadiyya Muslims as extrem[ism], attacked the late Imam WD Mohammad, labeled Hamza Yusuf as intolerant, and called Abul a’la Maududi as father of modern day terrorism. Until recently, he has discussed the Israel/Palestine conflict using false equivalencies and “both-siding” the oppressive policies of Israel against the Palestinians. He has previously justified the narrative that Palestinians must pay for electing Hamas by stating: “Having elected Hamas, Palestine must be accountable to Hamas’s war crimes’’. He has not publicly renounced or apologized for any of his past statements that were problematic and hurtful to the Muslim community.

In 2017, he was called about by Ali Rizvi about MGA’s takfiri comments (wherein MGA called his deniers as Kafirs), and the lies told by Qasim Rashid. In 2016, he attacked the famous Ex-Ahmadi, Nabeel Qureshi. In 2017, a group of Ex-Ahmadi’s made this video wherein they exposed the lies of Qasim Rashid. Also in 2017, Qasim Rashid stated that anyone who calls Ahmadi’s as non-Muslims are terrorists (see the scan in the below) he even attacked Professor Johnathan Brown. In 2022, Qasim Rashid claims that in sharia (islamic law), an abortion is allowed if a fetus is non viable, however, he gives no Quranic references. Also in 2022, he was ordered by his Khalifa to attack victims, Afzal Upal and Nida Al-Nasser. This proves that he is brainwashed follower of his Khalifa. In fact, Afzal Upal proved that the writings of Qasim Rashid contradict his Khalifa.

Qasim Rashid hasn’t had a job in years, he was so desperate for money in 2020, that he paid himself from campaign funds. In 2020, he ran for Virginia Senate and lost. He was getting lots of out of state funding, which is suspicious. His finances were so bad that he sued JOSEPH CECIL VANDEVERE in 2021 for 75,000. His dad is an official employee of the Ahmadiyya Movement Canada, in fact, he only immigrated to America since his father was transferred to work in the USA. His sister quietly left Ahmadiyya and married a Sunni man and thus became Muslim (she was allegedly pardoned in 2022). His brother, Tayyab Rashid masquerades as the Muslim Marine on twitter and claims to have some businesses. In 2018, he was confronted by Jesse Lee (a conservative Christian) about his many contradictions.

Continue reading “Open Letter to Illinois Muslims and Allies Regarding Qasim Rashid’s Candidacy in Illinois, District-11 Congressional election” →

Intro
Walter Bellinger (aka Saeed Akmal) is from a interesting family of African-American’s originally from South Carolina (See Lemon Swamp and Other Places: A Carolina Memoir). Walter’s (aka Saeed Akmal) older brother is quite famous, his name is Louis A.S. Bellinger (1891-1946), he was the only licensed and practicing Black architect in Pittsburgh between 1919 and his death in 1946. In 1931, Bellinger designed Greenlee Field for Gus Greenlee, used by Negro league baseball teams. Other Pittsburgh designs by Louis A.S. Bellinger include his and Ethel’s duplex at 530 Francis St., apartment complexes on Centre Ave. and Wylie Ave., and remodelings of churches in Wilkinsburg and East Liberty. In 1932, Louis A.S. Bellinger ran as a Republican for United States Congress. The only black candidate (of five) on Pennsylvania’s 32nd congressional district ballot, he was not elected (See also Albert M. Tanner notes Bellinger’s importance: “References to Louis A. S. Bellinger are found in Negro Artists: An Illustrated Review of Their Achievements (New York: Harmon Foundation, 1935), Theresa Dickason Cederholm, Afro-American Artists: A Bio-bibliographical Directory (Boston Public Library, 1973), and Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975 (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999). A detailed account of his life and work appears in African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary 1865-1945 [New York: Routledge, 2004]). 

In the 1910’s, Walter Bellinger (aka Saeed Akmal) had moved to Pittsburgh and must have met up with his brother Louis A.S. Bellinger. He met his wife Marguerite Bellinger (aka Rasheeda Akmal).

By the mid-1920s, Walter and Marguerite Bellinger were living in Pittsburgh. He was working in construction, specializing in new construction and rehabilitating existing buildings. Walter eventually established his own company and was well known for refurbishing some of the city’s most iconic jazz clubs. About 1928, Muslim missionaries based in Ohio began a drive to convert Pittsburgh area Black residents to Islam. Walter and Marguerite joined others in laying the foundation for the nation’s first native-founded mosque, the First Moslem Mosque of Pittsburgh (incorporated in 1944). They renounced their Christian names. Walter Bellinger became Saeed Akmal and his wife became Rasheeda Akmal. Historians of Black Muslims in the United States describe Saeed Akmal as a pivotal figure in the history of non-Nation of Islam Black Muslims. Rasheeda died in childbirth in 1932, leaving Saeed with eight children to raise.

The 1930 U.S. Census recorded Walter and Margaret living in a rented Penn Township home with their seven children and another of Walter’s brothers, Henry. Walter was working as a carpenter building houses, and Margaret took care of their large family. By that time, the household had fully embraced Islam and shed their Christian names and the Bellingers became Akmals. Walter became Saeed and Margaret became Rasheeda. Christian names like Glenn, Catherine and Louis were replaced by Farooq, Rasool and Aminah. By 1932, Rasheeda had died giving birth to a ninth child, who also died. After Rasheeda passed away, Akmal was left with raising four boys and four girls alone. He remarried in 1933, but that marriage disintegrated in 18 months. The couple divorced in 1937. “I heard he raised them,” Akmal’s granddaughter, Tahara Akmal, explained in a telephone interview. “My aunts were very instrumental in helping my grandfather raise the younger kids.”

It seems that in roughly 1930, Walter Bellinger (aka Saeed Akmal) seems to have been in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (at the Ahmadiyya mission house aka mosque at 2222 Webster Ave, Pittsburgh, PA) and met the Qadiani-Ahmadi “honorary-missionary”, Dr. Muhammad Yusuf Khan.

By 1933, Saeed Akmal got married a female convert to Ahmadiyya at the Pittsburgh Mission at 2222 Webster Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, USA and Dr. Muhammad Yusuf Khan read the nikkah. It’s unclear how the mission came into existence, however, by 1930, it was at least 100+ members.
The ROR of Sep-1933, has a report from Dr. Muhammad Yusuf from America about the spread of Ahmadiyya in Cleveland, Ohio, they allege to have 300 Ahmadi’s in Cleveland. Dr. Muhammad Yusuf gave 4 lectures at the Ahmadiyya Hall. He also mentions how Sheikh Nasir Ahmad and Sheikh Muhammad Omar (Omar Ahmad of Braddock?) are working with him, both were Christian priests. Dr. Muhammad Yusuf also alleges that some Turks and Arab Muslims might have converted to Ahmadiyya and caused a stir.

In 1934, the local Cleveland newspapers were calling Muhammad Yusuf Khan as “The Head Moslem of Cleveland”. On Apr-1-1934, Muhammad Yusuf Khan returned from an import/export run to British India and immediately confronted Sheikh Nasir Ahmad (in Cleveland or Pittsburgh?) and accused him of having alleged ties to the Moorish Science Temple, which he characterized as “worthless” and “un-Islamic.” Rather than seeing the Moors and the Garveyites as links to a larger American audience, Dr. Khan challenged their influence. He vehemently opposed Freemasonry and insisted that membership in the Ahmadiyya Movement excluded other sectarian affiliations. (See Bismilla,” Cleveland Call and Post, April 21, 1934, 2; Dannin, Pilgrimmage, 38, via Bowen). Thus, in April of 1934, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad seems to have been ex-communicated by Muhammad Yusuf Khan in Cleveland, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad then moved to Philadelphia and started working with Muslims therein. Just six weeks (by June of 1934) after Sheikh Nasir Ahmad’s departure, the Ohio River Valley Muslims got word of Ahmad’s success in Philadelphia (See Abdul Mohammad, “Philadelphia Mission,” Cleveland Call and Post, June 2, 1934, 2., via Bowen).

By July of 1934, the Muslims in Pittsburgh had totally ousted Muhammad Yusuf Khan (See Bowen). On July 14, an important announcement was made in the religion section of the Cleveland Call and Post, the local black newspaper:

“””The leaders of Vearianue [sic], or what is better known as Imams, gathered [in Pittsburgh] and formed a council, according to the Islamic teaching. We discharged the missionary, M.Y. Khan because of his failure to carry the work on in the right way. We, the members have been successful in making connection with the Moslem League, that we may be known throughout all the Moslem World. Our lecturer will cost just about half what it has been costing. The new
missionary will be located at … Pittsburgh. His name is Abdul Mohammed Iben Akbar. For any information, please write 18 South Sickel St., Philadelphia, Pa. Shaikh Nasir Ahmad has returned back to his mission in Philadelphia. We are making wonderful progress here in Philadelphia. Unity is our aim. May Allah guide us wherever we go.”” (Cleveland Call and Post, the local black newspaper of July-14-1934)(See Bowen).

The Vearianue, which was also known as both the Islamic Council and the Supreme Council, was led by Nasir Ahmad and was initially composed of twelve leading men from the Ohio-Pennsylvania community (because Philadelphia was now included, the region cannot be limited to the Ohio River Valley), and it soon acquired representatives from the Pittsburgh, Braddock, Youngstown, and Columbus Ahmadi missions (See Saadi Mliak, “Proceedings at the Pittsburgh Mosque,” Cleveland Call and Post, July 31, 1934, 2; Abdulla Eesa, “Bis-mil-lah,” Cleveland Call and Post, July 31, 1934, 2., via Bowen).

In August 1934, Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali who had spent most of the last few years promoting Islam to whites in cities outside of the Ohio River Valley, attempted to win back the disgruntled members in Pittsburgh (Braddock Mosque). He publicly denounced Muhammad Yusuf Khan and pleaded with the mosques that had broken off to return under his leadership. (See “Moslem Activities in Braddock,” Cleveland Call and Post, August 4, 1934, 2, via Bowen).

Muhammad Yusuf Khan seems to have fled (went to India) Cleveland by Oct-1934 and in Nov-1934 he sent a letter to Wali Akram asking for travel funds (See Dannin, page 99 and 283). Akram refused! While Muhammad Yusuf Khan was gone, the imam that he had appointed Chaudhri Mohammed Ashraf was chased from the community, then Muhammad Yusuf Khan’s possessions were seized and auctioned to repay the Muslims for the hardships they had endured on his behalf. They had even bought him a car (See Dannin). At this point, Wali Akram stepped forward and wrote letters to the 2nd Qadiani-Khalifa in Qadian and told him how much of a crook Muhammad Yusuf Khan was. This prompted the 2nd Qadiani-Khalifa in Qadian to send in Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali to try to save Ahmadiyya in Cleveland. However, Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali began requesting “back fees” for all the payments of chanda that had been missed.

The Moslem Sunrise of Nov-1934 didn’t give any locations of Ahmadiyya centers in the USA, it was a regular feature of the magazine to list locations in the USA and abroad. However, just 10 month earlier, the Moslem Sunrise of Jan-1934, the Pittsburg branch of pseudo-Ahmadi’s was mentioned and with Muhammad Yusuf Khan as in-charge and with the famous 2222 Webster Ave, Pittsburgh, PA as the location of the mission house. In the very next issue of the Moslem Sunrise (March-1935), a new Pittsburgh location is given, 2008 Wylie Ave, Pittsburgh, PA.

In Jan-1935, Muhammad Yusuf Khan seems to have been stuck in India, the schism continues to brew in Cleveland. Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali travels to India in Dec-1935 and leaves the Chicago mission with no one in-charge. Even the Moslem Sunrise ceases to operate. While he is gone to India (1936), Wali Akram had totally leaves Ahmadiyya and had taken many pseudo-Ahmadi’s with him. At some point in 1936, while at Juma prayer, Wali Akram announced his independence from the Ahmadiyya Movement (Qadiani) in dramatic fashion, he had a dream. In roughly Dec-1936, Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali heard about all of the turmoil and rushed to Cleveland where he found Wali Akram in the Mosque (mission house) giving Arabic lessons. Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali yelled out that this mission house was property of the Ahmadiyya Movement and anyone not loyal to Ahmadiyya should leave, practically the whole congregation left (See Hameeda Mansur, audiotape interview by author, Cleveland, Aug-25-1990, via Dannin).

Sufi Muti-ur-Rahman Bengali returned to Qadian on 12 December 1935, and was sent back to America on 21 October 1936 (he stayed for roughly 11 months), he arrived in Chicago on Dec-10, 1936 (See the Moslem Sunrise of Aug-1937). By 1937, all Ahmadiyya missions had shut down, only the Ahmadiyya temple/house on Wabash Ave in Chicago remained. In the 1940’s there was barely any growth. By 1950, Ahmadiyya in the USA had totally failed, barely 200 members remained, 5 mission houses, NO MOSQUES. They promptly moved the headquarters of the community to Washington D.C.

By 1937, his good friend, the famous Saeed Akmal (a fellow ex-ahmadi) wrote him a letter wherein he described himself as a Lahori-Ahmadi (See Dannin). Saeed Akmal is mentioned in Jameela Hakim’s, “History of The First Muslim Mosque in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania” (1979) as someone who took over the Pittsburgh mission of confused Muslims. Check out our full history of Ahmadiyya in the USA herein. Also called the Braddock Mosque. There is another Ex-Ahmadi named Sheikh Omar of Braddock, he seems to have also quit Ahmadiyya and worked with Saeed Akmal at the Braddock Mosque.

By 1943-44, ‘”The First Muslim Mosque” was opened in Pittsburgh. Akmal was one of 10 men and women who founded the First Moslem Mosque of Pittsburgh and he was the congregation’s president. The new congregation received its charter in 1945. Akmal also was an emerging leader on the national stage where he served as the treasurer of the Uniting Islamic Society of America.
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By that time, Pittsburgh’s Black Muslim community was creating formal institutions. In 1928, they formed the African Moslem Welfare Society of America. The nonprofit’s charter filed in Allegheny County included lofty goals: uniting Moslem people; educating them in Americanism and eradicating racial differences. In the late 20^th century, the preferred spelling for followers of Islam became “Muslim.”

Early Muslims in Pittsburgh met in borrowed and rented spaces: homes, storefronts and even a synagogue. Itinerant imams initially led groups in prayer and religious education. Muhammad Yusuf Khan was an Indian who used Cleveland as his home base to establish Muslim missions in Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Cincinnati. A 1932 Post-Gazette feature on Pittsburgh’s Islamic community featured Khan leading prayers in the Hill District.

In the early 20^th century, converts to Islam could pick and choose from a wide array of local and national sects modeled on masonic lodges and other Black benevolent organizations. Many Pittsburgh practitioners aligned themselves with a popular national sect known as the Ahmadiyyas. Khan, along with Wali Akram (also based in Cleveland), worked closely with Muslim converts in Pittsburgh and Braddock.

In 1950, Saeed moved to Los Angeles to work with another Pittsburgher, architect and builder Oscar Liff, who had relocated there earlier. Within a few years several family members had joined Saeed in Los Angeles where they began building another Muslim community. It thrives today as the Islamic Center of Southern California.

Saeed Akmal was a builder in more ways than one. He worked with his hands in bricks and mortar. And, spiritually he helped to build two historically significant Muslim communities. My first article about Saeed Akmal was published today by NEXT Pittsburgh. Look for more about this amazing story coming in 2023.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 1, 1932. Dr. M. Yusuf Khan (pictured) in 1933 officiated at Saed Akmal’s short-lived second marriage.

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