A non-Muslim religious group, which has been falsely branded an “Islamic cult” online, has gone viral this week after a concerned resident shared footage of a “training session” at the group’s England headquarters. Robert Carter investigates the Ahamdi Religion of Peace and Light.
The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) has caused a stir since arriving in the English town of Crewe, Cheshire, in 2021. Described as a Messianic “doomsday cult” by some, the AROPL has sparked controversy and worry among some local residents.
They have turned a large local property called Webb House, a former orphanage worth around £2million, into the group’s international headquarters where they attempt to recruit followers, produce online content on TikTok and YouTube, fundraise, and stage group marches on the land surrounding the main building.
A recent example of one of their outdoor events went viral recently after a worried local resident filmed groups of men dressed in black marching around the grounds chanting loudly. The video was watched more than 1.3 million times on TikTok.
Far-right accounts on X began resharing the footage shortly after, claiming the group is an “Islamic cult” which is engaging in “paramilitary” style training or building a “Muslim army” in the area.
UK Islamophobes often peddle conspiracy theories which allege that Muslim immigrants are attempting to take over the UK with a plan to eventually establish Shari’ah.
5Pillars investigated the group and discovered that although the they have taken inspiration from Shia Islam, Christianity and a non-Muslim group of a similar name, the Ahmadiyya (also known as Qadiyanis), the AROPL has been condemned by Muslims and is considered a “blasphemous group” in the Arab world whose leader considers himself the Mahdi.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Blasphemous beliefs
The leader of the AROPL is an American-Egyptian named Abdullah Hashem Aba Sadiq.
Hashem was raised in a mixed religious household with his father being a Sunni Muslim Egyptian and his mother a Christian American, however, Hashem has since clarified in a video titled: “Exposing Sunni Islam & the worst enemies of Allah SWT” that although he grew up learning about Sunni Islam he never considered himself a Sunni Muslim.
According to the Guardian newspaper, Hashem claims to be the new pope, a successor to Prophets Muhammad and Jesus PBUT, while on his YouTube channel he has also appointed himself the Mehdi – a prophesied, divinely-guided messianic figure in Islam, sent to head the creation of a brand new religious movement which will be the successor to the major Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
However, the group has reportedly been accused of blasphemy in the Arab world after Hashem spent several years in Egypt attempting to build a following.
The AROPL has alleged that its members have faced “persecution” in the Muslim world over the group’s activities and beliefs.
Hashem echoes many beliefs and historical understandings which Twelver Shiite Muslims consider authentic, including the concept of Imamate (the supposed successors to the Prophet Muhammad pbuh).
The group regularly uses Arabic religious language and phrases including salawat on the Prophet (buh) and his family, and they use of the Islamic name for God, Allah.
To add further confusion, the group claims to recognise the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). Hashem himself alleges he is a direct descendant of the Prophet, always dressing in black as do his followers.
The group uses black flags and banners which contain Arabic writing on them in a style likely influenced by the historic colour of the Hashemi clan, the Arabian tribe which the Prophet belonged too.
However, in a clear break away from Islam, they believe that the Prophet left a will which specifically named 12 imams to lead the faithful after his death and 12 Mahdis as leaders after the imams.
Hashem claims he is one of the 12 Mahdis and that he has been sent to guide mankind.
Statues, paintings and images of Shia imams are routinely seen in the backdrop of videos posted on YouTube, gender segregation appears to be non-existent, and Christian symbolism and artistry also appears a common theme in much of their content.
The group also claims to be pro-LGBTQ and that the hijab should not be obligatory and that is was never meant to be.
The group’s leader has clarified in a YouTube video that he considers his group a separate group to Muslims and normative Islam, however his messaging is often confused as he also claims his followers are the “real Muslims” and “true Christians” in the same talk.
His supporters, who call themselves the “soldiers of Qaim” and refer to Hashem as their “father” have pledged to “fight” for their leader and fight anyone who is against him.
In the video posted on TikTok, a group of men, one holding a guard dog on a chain, additionally claim that the movement is “peaceful” and against war, darkness and injustice. Other social media influencers who have visited the site to investigate the group have witnessed elaborate security efforts including guard dog patrols and a robot camera dog monitoring the gates.
Local Muslim objections
Shaykh Asrar Rashid, a prominent Muslim cleric in the Midlands, has condemned the group and its leader directly in talks he published on YouTube, rebuking their beliefs and claiming to have exposed the group as a Shia offshoot which now holds totally un-Islamic beliefs.
“I have issued an open challenge to him that if he is claiming to be Al-Mahdi then to come forward (and debate). He even conflates the concepts of Mahdism and Prophethood. So I challenged him because he is a false claimant. He claims he is Al-Sadiq (the truthful or sincere) but I claim he is not Sadiq but Khabeeth (a liar). I claim this openly, that he is a liar. Abdullah Hashem, you cannot even produce this so-called will and testament of our beloved Prophet (pbuh) from any authentic source. He is making it up as he goes along.”
Shaykh Asrar told 5Pillars that he considers the group to be a “doomsday cult” and totally outside of the fold of Islam. He re-emphasised that he has challenged Abdullah Hashem to a public debate, however the offer was rejected.
In a response video posted on YouTube, Hashem responded to Shaykh Asrar saying he lacks class and is a “D-rate scholar.”
5Pillars has also spoken to local Muslims living in Crewe, they expressed the same concerns about the group as other non-Muslim residents had, however due to these fears they didn’t wish to be named.
5Pillars contacted the AROPL to ask for a statement. The response aimed to clarify their stance on whether the group considers itself Muslim or not.
“We always introduce ourselves as ‘The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light’ and introduce ourselves as the Seventh Covenant between God and mankind. We are to modern Islam what Islam was at its advent to Christianity, with the appearance of the Prophet Mohammad PBUHAHF, or what Christianity was to Judaism at the time of Prophet Jesus pbuh.
“We are the true Muslims because we held on to the Will of the Prophet Mohammad pbuhahf, as dictated to Imam Ali pbuh on his deathbed where the holy Prophet’s successors were all named down to the 12th Imam, Imam Mohammad Al-Mahdi pbuh. The Will also mentioned there will be 12 Mahdis to follow Imam Al-Mahdi. The first 3 were named: Abdullah, Ahmed and Al-Mahdi. Thus we celebrate the fulfilment of this prophecy on the 23rd of January every year.”
Controversial history
The group has been marred by controversy even before arriving in the UK. The AROPL and or its founders were previously based in Egypt, Germany and Sweden before arriving here.
According to the Guardian, its members were in effect barred from Sweden after a slew of businesses linked to the organisation were found to be providing “sham visas.”
The Swedish Migration Agency concluded that AROPL members had created businesses that were “rogue employers”, intended primarily to obtain residency permits. While in a series of rulings in 2022, an immigration court upheld the agency’s findings and ordered the deportation of dozens of the group’s members, although most had moved to the UK by the time the judgments were handed down.
In a statement, the groups leader Abdullah Hashem claimed followers served with deportation notices were victims of racist and religious persecution, and complained about “the spewing of racism for the sake of rallying a Nazi base of supporters to stand behind the fascist Swedish government”.
Before Sweden, the group had been based in Germany since 2017. According to the Guardian an investigation is ongoing related to the disappearance of a German member of the group, Lisa Wiese, who disappeared while visiting India in 2019.
She had travelled there with another member of AROPL, vanishing shortly after arrival, and has not been seen since. A lawyer for AROPL said the group did not have any information about the disappearance of Wiese, a mother of two.
About 100 followers are said to live at the UK’s Crewe HQ, including families with children who are home-schooled on site.
The group has reportedly been known to require its members to hand over all their savings and assets to the group when joining up.
The Guardian claims to have reviewed court judgments, company filings, religious scriptures and videos and hundreds of pages of official documents about the group and its members, and interviewed several former members.
Some, including former residents of the headquarters at Crewe, expressed concern about the wellbeing and education of the children there. Cheshire East council’s social services twice made inquiries relating to the group or the children. There is no evidence action was deemed necessary.
Local MP ‘concerned’
In 2025, Crewe’s Labour MP, Connor Naismith, confirmed that he is “concerned” by the group and has spoken to police regarding their activities but didn’t want to spread “unnecessary fear” at this stage.
“I am concerned particularly about some of the things we have heard around safeguarding and education and some of the practises related to former residents who claim they were pressured into selling property and give that to the organisation that is based there. I don’t want to feed unnecessary fear or anxiety about it but at the same time it is my responsibility to take and interest.”
Naismith also clarified that he has been in talks with local police to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place when dealing with the group and the children being home-schooled on the site.
Amid community worry and concern, the AROPL responded, telling 5Pillars:
“We take any concerns brought to our attention seriously. However, we believe these ‘concerns’ are being fuelled by manufactured online rumours, and should instead be assessed on the basis of verifiable facts rather than assumptions or speculation.
“Our community is deeply integrated and maintains close, ongoing connections with local representatives, including the Mayor of Crewe, local Councillors, and even the Crewe police department. These relationships are built on transparency and our shared commitment to the well-being and harmony of the town.
“The footage being circulated online has been maliciously stripped of its context. There are no ‘training sessions’ or ‘paramilitary activities’ at our premises. The activity filmed was a public rehearsal for our Humanity First Parade, marking the 11th anniversary of our faith on 23 January 2026. The parade was a statement against all forms of religious discrimination and violence and was attended by many members of the faith, including women and children.
“Any characterisation of this celebration as ‘military’ in nature is a direct repetition of far-right propaganda. We feel discriminated against because a select section of a private religious observance was filmed by a third party and used to harass our peaceful community. The video footage seems to have purposefully left out the women and children in attendance who were observing the performance. Our movement is non-violent and does not promote or permit the use of force to spread religion, nor do we possess weapons.”
5Pillars reached out to Naismith’s office for fresh comment but did not receive a reply.
