Description
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a persecuted transnational Muslim group that self-identifies as Muslim, and this identity claim has been challenged by many South Asian and global Muslim leaders since its inception. This paper examines how Ahmadis enact sabr as praxis toward broader goals of spreading global peace and justice. Sabr, often translated as patience or perseverance, is an active form of embodied agency that I argue captures how Ahmadis simultaneously resist and conform to their sociopolitical contexts by carving out their own identity within Islamic “orthodoxy” and practicing tabligh [missionary and humanitarian work] globally. This notion of sabr seeks to challenge existing assumptions that actors who ‘oppose’ are inherently enacting resistance. What are the possibilities of conceptualizing opposition when considering the ethical intentionality of religious actors? For Ahmadis, the intention to oppose claims of heresy relies on an interpretation of sacred obligation to Islam that advocates for the embodiment of sabr in the face of difficulties, and this ethical intentionality is co-constituted by resistance and conformity. The Ahmadiyya’s explicit ethical commitment to continue their work, despite persecution and violence, to build a more peaceful world is exemplified through their slogan, “Love for All, Hatred for None”-- this is the Ahmadiyya ethic of sabr.
