Persecution of Ahmadis Persecution of Ahmadis The Ahmadiyya sect of Islam has been subject to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged from the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all the five pillars and articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims. The Ahmadis are active translators of the Qur'an and proselytizers for the faith. However, in a number of
Iram of the Pillars various suggestions as to where or what city it was, ranging from Alexandria or Damascus to a city which actually moved or a city called Ubar. As an area it has been identified with the biblical Aram, son of Shem and the biblical region known as Aram. It has also been identified as a tribe, possibly the tribe of ʿĀd, with the pillars referring to tent pillars. "The identification of Wadi Rum with Iram and the tribe of ‘Ad, mentioned in the Qur’an, has been proposed by scholars who have translated Thamudic and Nabataean inscriptions referring to both the place