Conversion to Ahmadiyya in Indonesia: Winning Hearts through Ethical and Spiritual Appeals

What is the manner in which Qadiani Ahmadiyya have propagated their beliefs and teachings to Indonesian Muslims and the factors that have attracted people to this movement and led them to convert to Ahmadiyya? What are the social implications of conversion? There is a perception that people’s receptiveness to Ahmadiyya is due mainly to its modernist character. But for Indonesians Qadiani’s most attractive feature is not its modernist stance, but rather its followers’ belief in the coming of the Messiah, its close knit organization and its sober and passionate missionaries. In contrast to members of the Lahore branch of Ahmadiyya, known for its rational tendency, members of the Qadiani branch have in their efforts at propagation of the faith emphasized their distinctive beliefs, such as the natural death of Jesus and the caliphate system. Qadiani Ahmadiyya has also tended to be a mystical movement whose members have a strong belief in supernatural experiences and dreams. They use these experiences and dreams to show God’s preference for them and God’s interference in human relationships, as when God sides with them.