Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (Urdu: ‏مرزا بشیر الدین محمود احمد‎‎) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was Khalifatul Masih II (Arabic: khalīfatul masīh al-thāni ,خليفة المسيح الثاني‎), Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son to survive to adulthood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from his second wife, Nusrat Jahan Begum. He was elected as the second successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on 14 March 1914 at the age of 25, the day after the death of his predecessor Hakeem Noor-ud-Din.

He is known for establishing virtually the entire organisational structure of the community (including five Auxiliary Organisations), improvement of its administration, formally establishing the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), consolidating and formalising the system of financial contributions of the community and directing extensive missionary activity outside the subcontinent of India. He is also known for his Tafsīr-e-Kabīr, a ten-volume exegesis of the Qur'an. A renowned orator, Mahmood Ahmad was also an active political figure especially in pre-independence India. He was also one of the founding members and the first president of the All India Kashmir Committee set up for the establishment of the civil rights of Kashmiri Muslims. Following the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he carefully oversaw the safe migration of Ahmadis from Qadian to the newly found state, initially settling in Lahore and then a year later building a town on a tract of arid and mountainous land bought by the community which now became its new headquarters and was named Rabwah. Mahmood Ahmad is regarded by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as the Musleh Ma'ood (Promised Reformer) and the "Promised Son" that Ghulam Ahmad foretold God would bestow upon him.

The Promised

The Promised is a Simple Minds' compilation album released in 1997 by Virgin Records.

The track selection of the album is similar to the group's former compilation Glittering Prize 81/92. It omits "Love Song", "All the Things She Said", and "Ghost Dancing" but includes "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)" and their two most recent singles from Good News from the Next World which was their final album for Virgin Records.

Track listing

Ahmadiyya Caliphate

The Ahmadiyya Caliphate is a non-political caliphate established on May 27, 1908 following the death of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who claimed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi, the expected redeemer awaited by Muslims. It is believed by Ahmadis to be the re-establishment of the Rashidun Caliphate that commenced following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The caliphs are entitled Khalīfatul Masīh (Arabic: خليفة المسيح‎; English: Successor of the Messiah), sometimes simply referred to as Khalifa (or Caliph). The caliph is the elected spiritual and organizational leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. He is believed by the Community to be divinely ordained and is also referred to by its members as Amir al-Mu'minin (Leader of the Faithful). The 5th and current caliph is Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

After the death of Ghulam Ahmad, his successors directed the Ahmadiyya Community from Qadian, India which remained the headquarters of the community until 1947 with the creation of Pakistan. From this time on the headquarters remained in Rabwah, a town built on land bought in Pakistan by the community in 1948. In 1984, Ordinance XX was promulgated by the government of Pakistan which rendered the caliph unable to perform his duties and put the very institution in jeopardy. Due to these circumstances, Caliph IV left Pakistan and migrated to London, England, provisionally moving the headquarters to the Fazl Mosque.

Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International

Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) is the global satellite TV network consisting of 4 international channels run and funded by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The first channel, MTA 1 was officially launched on 1 January 1994. Earlier, in 1992 the station started its digital service and in the UK it was available on Sky (Channel 787) network as a free channel. Initially it was named AMP or Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation. The name was afterwards changed to Muslim Television Ahmadiyya or MTA International and then to MTA1 (MTA Al-Ula). The channel was established by Mirza Tahir Ahmad. It became the First International Muslim channel to broadcast a host of Islamic programming.

Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International is the main source of media for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and also aims to spread the message of Islam around the world. Some of the key programs broadcast include the Friday Sermon by the current Khalifatul Massih, educational and cultural programs, world news, and a various Talk Shows. These can be watched on analog and digital TV as well as through smartphone apps for Android and iOS. Due to the worldwide audience, a number of programs are simultaneously translated into different languages such as German, Bengali, French, and Urdu.