Police arrested 10 members of the group, including seven men and three women [Getty]
British police on Wednesday carried out raids on a secretive religious group led by an Egyptian-American ‘Mahdi’ claimant, following allegations of rape, slavery, sexual abuse, and forced marriage by a former member.
In an operation involving 500 officers from the Cheshire Police force, authorities raided three properties linked to The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) in Crewe, northern England, including its headquarters at Webb House, a Grade II-listed former orphanage.
Police said seven men and three women, including British, American, Egyptian, German, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, and Swedish citizens, were arrested.
In March, a former member of the group made allegations of sexual abuse, rape, forced marriage, and modern slavery involving one victim.
Following the raids and arrests, police highlighted that they were carrying out investigations into members of the group, and not the religion itself.
“We treat all reports of sexual assault seriously and are committed to doing all we can to achieve justice,” said Chechire Police Chief Superintendent Gareth Wrigley.
“I would like to reassure residents that there is no risk to the wider community, and patrols have been stepped up to provide reassurance to local residents. I would urge anyone with any concerns to speak to an officer.”
The AROPL was founded in 2015 by Egyptian-American citizen Abdullah Hashem, a claimant to the title of ‘Mahdi’, a figure in Islamic eschatology who was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and is believed to reappear before the second coming of Jesus.
Hashem, who is referred to by his followers as Aba al-Sadiq, can be seen in videos on the group’s YouTube channel ‘The Mahdi has come’ giving lectures about the group’s beliefs.
Among the beliefs attributed to the AROPL are that the Kaaba’s true location is in Petra, Jordan – a theory promoted by some anti-Islam polemicists and Western revisionist historians – as well as the view that alcohol is permitted in moderation and that Friday prayers are not obligatory.
The group also eschews orthodox Muslim practices regarding gender interaction and sexuality, with members freely mixing and women not required to wear a head covering.
Members of the AROPL also appear to follow a dress code, wearing black beanie hats and jackets as worn by Hashem.
While the group claims lineage to Twelver Shi’ism, Hashem’s claim to be the Mahdi has not been recognised by Sunni or Shia religious authorities, some of which have issued fatwas declaring the group heretical.
The AROPL moved its operations to Cheshire in 2021 after facing visa issues in Sweden. Around 150 people were living at the group’s headquarters in Webb House, including children. Welfare centres have been set up to take care of the children, who were home-schooled as part of the community.
Following the raid on Wednesday, members of the Ahmadiyya community – a group founded by another Mahdi claimant – took to social media to distance themselves from the newly-founded group, after some commentators mistook the two.
The Ahmadiyya were founded in the 19th-century Punjab, India, by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, who also claimed to be the Mahdi and Muslim messiah.
