AhmadiPedia
{{Short description|Online encyclopedia on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Notability|Web|date=January 2022}}
{{Fanpov|date=January 2022}}
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = AhmadiPedia
| logo = Ahmadipedia.webp
| logo_caption = The AhmadiPedia logo
| screenshot = AhmadiPedia homepage screenshot.png
| caption = AhmadiPedia homepage
| collapsible = Yes
| type = Online encyclopedia
| language = English
| founder = Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad
| editor = Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre
| url = [http://www.ahmadipedia.org AhmadiPedia.org]
| commercial = No
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|p=yes|br=yes|2021|7|2}}
| current_status = Active
}}
AhmadiPedia ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑː|m|ə|ˈ|d|iː|p|iː|d|i|ə}}; a portmanteau of "The Ahmadiyya Encyclopaedia") is an online encyclopedia dedicated to the study of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It is edited and maintained by the Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC) and is an official publication of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.{{Cite web|last=|date=2021-07-03|title=Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Launches New Research Website, Ahmadipedia.org|url=https://www.easternherald.com/2021/07/04/head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-launches-new-research-website-ahmadipedia-org/|access-date=2021-12-22|website=www.easternherald.com|language=en-US}}
Background
According to the curator at ARC, "a need was felt that a resource is created where Ahmadis and even non-Ahmadis could search for information about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat."{{Cite news|date=9 July 2021|title=AhmadiPedia.org research tool launched|pages=3–4|work=The Weekly Al Hakam|issue=CLXXIII|issn=2754-7396}} Hence, AhmadiPedia was launched.
Launch
File:Launch of AhmadiPedia.jpg
AhmadiPedia was launched on 2 July 2021 by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, after the Friday prayers.{{Cite web|date=2021-07-02|title=Friday Sermon Summary 2nd July 2021: 'Rightly Guided Caliphs – Hazrat Umar (ra) & Launch of a New Ahmadiyya Encyclopedia'|url=https://www.reviewofreligions.org/32163/friday-sermon-summary-2nd-july-2021-rightly-guided-caliphs-hazrat-umar-ra-launch-of-a-new-ahmadiyya-encyclopedia/|access-date=2021-12-22|website=The Review of Religions|language=en-GB}} Announcing the launch during his Friday sermon, he stated:
I would like to make an announcement and that is that an Ahmadiyya Encyclopaedia has been created and will be launched today; it has been prepared by the Central Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre.They began work on it some time ago and now, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, this website is being made available... It is available on www.ahmadipedia.org, where a homepage containing a search engine will open and can be used to search for information...{{Cite web|title=Men of Excellence : Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (ra)|url=http://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2021-07-02.html|access-date=2021-12-17|website=www.alislam.org|language=en}}
Content
AhmadiPedia is edited by a team of editors at the ARC who draw on the primary sources of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for their content. The encyclopedia entries give concise information but provide links and references to the Community's literature for further study.{{Cite web|title=About - AhmadiPedia|url=https://www.ahmadipedia.org/about|access-date=2021-12-17|website=www.ahmadipedia.org}}
Users have also been given the option to provide material via the 'contribute' page, which is then edited and uploaded to the website by the editors.{{Citation|title=This Week With Huzoor - 2 July 2021|date=2021-07-03|url=https://www.mta.tv/id/9ucW40azE68zF0Rjlnd7QqAXqkhsC-6C/Week-Huzoor/Week-Huzoor-2-July-2021|language=en|access-date=2021-12-18}}
Censorship of ''AhmadiPedia''
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) regularly blocks content from Ahmadiyya websites,{{Cite web|date=2021-01-13|title=Pakistan attempts to prosecute Ahmadi US citizens for digital blasphemy|url=https://religionnews.com/2021/01/13/pakistan-attempts-to-prosecute-ahmadi-us-citizens-for-digital-blasphemy/|access-date=2021-12-24|website=Religion News Service|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=ANI|date=2021-12-11|title=Pakistan intensifies digital crackdown on minorities like Ahmadiyyas|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/pakistan-intensifies-digital-crackdown-on-minorities-like-ahmadiyyas-121121100175_1.html|access-date=2021-12-24}} including AhmadiPedia.org. Hence, just over a month into its launch, AhmadiPedia was blocked in Pakistan.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2021-07-02.html Friday Sermon mentioning the launch of AhmadiPedia]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuUMhhe0xHU Khalifa Launches AhmadiPedia] (MTA International news report via YouTube)
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmLo3CoXJyM An introduction to AhmadiPedia] (YouTube)
- [https://www.alhakam.org/ahmadipedia-org-research-tool-launched-by-hazrat-khalifatul-masih/ Al Hakam news report on the launch of AhmadiPedia]