Full Description
On 29 April 2026, some 500 police officers descended on the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) in Crewe, England, launching a dramatic raid that ignited months of turmoil. In its wake came a tangle of accusations and rebuttals—authorities alleging abuses, devotees and lawyers contesting every charge, and hostile groups attacking the Crewe premises while shouting Islamophobic and racist slogans. This volume offers the first comprehensive study of AROPL. It traces the movement's emergence from Shi'i Islam while examining the bold theological departures that set it apart from mainstream Islamic traditions: its acceptance of reincarnation, its advocacy of LGBTQ+ inclusion, its reimagining of sacred symbols, and its rejection of certain ritual obligations. Several chapters reconstruct AROPL's distinctive doctrinal architecture. Others provide a detailed account of the 2026 raid and its aftermath. By situating AROPL within wider debates on religious pluralism, legitimacy, authority, and the marginalization of minority faiths, this book illuminates the pressures shaping new religious movements and the forces arrayed against them.
