On Thursday, 30 April 2026, a news report published on the website of Pakistan’s daily Jang, titled “UK: Raids on Qadiani centres, 9 arrested on allegations of sexual abuse,” later became controversial after facts emerged contradicting its claims.
According to subsequent details, the arrested individuals had no affiliation with the Ahmadiyya community, nor were any Ahmadiyya centres raided in the United Kingdom. British media reports, particularly BBC News, clarified that those detained were linked to a group called Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, which is not associated with the mainstream Ahmadiyya community.
On Thursday, after a prolonged investigation, British police arrested individuals linked to this organisation on charges including sexual offences, forced marriage, and modern slavery. The operation involved around 500 officers and took place across three locations in north-west England, including a site in Crewe, Cheshire, described as a headquarters.
The organisation is led by Abdullah Hashem, who claims to be the Mahdi. He runs a YouTube channel titled The Mahdi Has Appeared. In the early years of this century, when social media was still limited and YouTube had only just emerged, he produced two documentaries, The Antichrist Dajjal and Arrivals of the Antichrist, which gained significant attention at the time.
Before making such claims, Hashem was reportedly associated with Shia Islam. His documentaries, still available online, include sensational claims about the US government, the banking system, Christianity and Judaism, and the alleged influence of the Illuminati and Freemasonry in Hollywood.
The popularity of these documentaries can be gauged from the fact that ARY Films aired them in Urdu on ARY channel in Pakistan in episodic format. These versions also remain available on YouTube.
Hashem claims not only to be the Mahdi but also the rightful Pope of Christianity, asserting that he is the current inheritor of all prophets of Islam and Christianity. A few years ago, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where his organisation has been active for nearly a decade.
The original Jang report had claimed that British police raided “Qadiani centres” and arrested nine individuals on serious allegations, including modern slavery, forced marriage, and sexual abuse, stating that the operation targeted locations linked to the Ahmadiyya community.
However, it later became clear that this claim was inaccurate, and the report appears to have been published without adequate verification of facts.