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TheReview of Religions is an English-language comparative religious magazine published monthly by theAhmadiyya Muslim Community. Regularly in print since 1902, it is one of the longest running Islamic periodicals in English. It has been described as the main publication of the Ahmadiyya movement in the language[1][2] and as a valuable source material for information on the geographical expansion of Ahmadi activity.[3] The magazine was launched byMirza Ghulam Ahmad with the aim of conveying an accurate understanding of Islamic teachings across the English-speaking world and dispelling misconceptions held against the faith.[4] The articles, however, typically comprise distinctly Ahmadi perspectives. In addition to the English edition published fromLondon, the magazine currently publishes separate quarterly editions in German, French and Spanish.
TheReview of Religions was established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1902 with the express purpose of disseminating Islamic teachings in the English language. The periodical had three main goals: to inspire new Muslim converts in the Western world who may have felt isolated and reinvigorate their efforts in propagating Islam; to convey a clear understanding of Islam to non-Muslim intellectuals; and to counteractChristian missionary proselytism.[5] The idea that theReview should publish more articles of a general nature with those specifically connected to the Ahmadiyya movement being printed in a supplement was abandoned early on at Ghulam Ahmad's behest.[6] TheReview targeted Western audiences and focused especially onChristianity.[7][8] The magazine was printed inLahore but published fromQadian, Punjab, alongside anUrdu edition.[9]
Early issues featured articles addressing the Islamic teachings on a range of themes that were common targets for Orientalist critics of the faith includingpolygamy, marriage, divorce, slavery andconcubinage;[7] and comprisedinter alia a series critiquing various European translations of theQuran[10] and a series in refutation of the theory ofQuranic abrogation. In addition, theReview devoted much space to the messianic claim of Ghulam Ahmad and the organisation of the Ahmadiyya movement.[10] In 1902–3, theReview partly serialised Ghulam Ahmad's treatiseJesus in India (1908) which put forward the view thatJesus had survived crucifixion, leftRoman jurisdiction and died a natural and honourable death inKashmir.[11][12] On the issue ofJihad, which was also extensively covered in early editions, theReview was both the reflection of and the English vehicle for the dissemination of the Ahmadi teaching of jihad "by the pen" in the propagation of Islam.[13] In its critical approach towards Christianity and its doctrines, theReview's style and content led the editor of theCalcutta Review, in April 1902, to suspect that the articles were written by a European.[14][15] By 1914, theReview had also begun highlighting the racial relations subsisting within Islam, often in the context of theracial discrimination among Christian missionary institutions of the time.[8]
The editors of theReview were successful in accessing mainstream publishing outlets in Britain and the United States[16] and the periodical received the appreciation of both Muslim and non-muslim figures of the early 20th century.[7] Ahmadi sources list a number of international endorsements from prominent Europeans of the period including the Russian writerLeo Tolstoy and the Dutch OrientalistMartijn Theodoor Houtsma.[7] Writing in 1918,Howard Walter, aProtestant minister working inLahore who was otherwise unsympathetic towards the Ahmadiyya movement, commended the wide range of subjects and the variety of religious groups and currents with which theReview dealt.[10][17] In the first decade of the 20th century, theReview also served as the most significant means of contact between the early Ahmadiyya movement and converts to Islam in Britain and North America before the arrival of Ahmadi missionaries there.[7] The influential Victorian English convert to Islam,Abdullah Quilliam, who described theReview as a "priceless work" in the defence of Islam, acclaimed the standard of the articles and their effectiveness in answering Christian polemics againstMuhammad. He also reprinted an article from it in his own newspaper,The Crescent in 1903 and advertised theReview therein in 1906.[18] Other notable subscribers among Quillam's circle of Muslims who positively received theReview and were in correspondence with its editors included Djaffar Mortimore, Nur-ud-Din Stephen andYahya Nasser Parkinson.[19] In the United States,Alexander Russell Webb, one of the first converts to Islam in the country who was also in contact with the Ahmadiyya movement, was a regular subscriber and also commented favourably on theReview.[20][21] Among its American readers wasA. George Baker, a contact of Webb and former Protestant clergyman who had converted to Islam and would become one of the earliest Ahmadi Muslims in America. Baker also maintained correspondence with the editors of theReview and contributed articles for it.[22][23]
Although the articles were initially intended to feature translations of Ghulam Ahmad's lectures, theReview soon extended its range to include the writings of prominent followers as well as lectures and articles by Western converts to Islam.[7] British subscribers who contributed articles to theReview included converts such as the Irish PeerBaron Lord Headley,[24] Yahya Nasser Parkinson andKhalid Sheldrake.[25] Contact between the British Muslim converts and Qadian grew through theReview under the leadership ofHakim Nur-ud-Din the first Ahmadi caliph, as did their literary contributions towards the magazine; something which may have conveyed the urgency of establishing an Islamic mission in Britain for the Ahmadis in India following Quilliam's departure from England.[25]
TheReview of Religions also played an instrumental role in establishing the Ahmadiyya movement in different parts of the world including inMauritius[26] (1915) andGhana[27] (1921). TheReview's editorial office was transferred fromQadian, India toLondon, England byMirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud, the then caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, when he visited the city in 1924 to lay the foundation for the first purpose-builtmosque in the British capital.[28][29] The scope of the magazine has since grown to cover a vast array of topics surrounding theology, science, philosophy, history of religions, international politics and contemporary issues. It is mainly based inLondon, while a considerable amount of its editors are themselves based in theUnited States orCanada.
During Ghulam Ahmad's lifetime, theReview used to be published in both English andUrdu as two separate editions.[9][30] Since 2011 the magazine is also published in theGerman language asDie Revue der Religionen.,[31] based inFrankfurt am Main. Since 2017, the magazine also has aFrench edition published as theRevue des Religions based inParis. TheSpanish edition of theReview of Religions was launched fromGuatemala in 2018.[32]
Since 2015, theReview of Religions has been hosting regular thematic exhibitions covering various religious topics includingIslamic art, theTurin Shroud and Quranic calligraphy. Many of these exhibitions are of an interactive nature and allow for the active participation of Muslim and non-Muslim guests.[33]
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