Be Scofield is a prominent cult reporter who exposed Love Has Won, which led to the hit HBO series. She is the author of Hunting Lucifer: One Reporter's Search for Cults and Demons. Her work is cited by the NY Times, Rolling Stone, People, and more. It was also turned into an episode of "Unwell" on Netflix.

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By BE SCOFIELD

9/8/2025

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light presents itself as a revolutionary faith for a collapsing world. Its leader, Abdullah Hashem, proclaims himself the “new pope,” the successor to Jesus and the long-awaited messiah. International news coverage has already exposed the England-based doomsday cult. But its theology and beliefs are no less startling. Here are 17 of the most extraordinary claims:

17. Only Hashem Can Interpret Religious Texts

Followers insist that the Bible, Quran, Buddhist sutras, Hindu scriptures, and even African spiritual texts are meaningless without Hashem’s understanding. Members told me Hashem is the only person on the planet capable of interpreting them. “Follow the living messenger, not the book,” they say. To them, religion is not a scripture but a "man sent by God." That man, in this era, is Abdullah Hashem. His authority, they believe, makes all other religious traditions obsolete. "Finding and obeying this man that is sent by God is the true worship and religion of God," a leader of the group says.

16. Hashem Is God on Earth

Hashem describes himself as the “veil of God,” a divine presence cloaked in human form. "God does not compromise on this one particular thing," his followers state. "He is the one who will choose the veil that he wears in order to talk to creation." In practice, there is little distinction between that claim and saying he is God incarnate. “There is no other way to support God than to come here and support you,” a follower told him. "If you're not being obedient to this man, it's active disbelief," says another. "You don't believe in God."

Abdullah is the only person on the planet capable of interpreting the Bible, Quran and other holy texts.

Much as Jesus was said to be both human and divine, Hashem positions himself as a living embodiment of God’s will. “Abdullah Hashem is here to save the world,” a devotee says in one video. “He is the most important person in the world,” says another.

15. Women May Sleep With Men Other Than Their Husbands — and Incest Is Permitted

In the group's holy book, Goal of the Wise, Hashem writes that wives in paradise may have sexual relations with men other than their husbands. Later, he claims that “paradise” is in fact here on Earth. Within this framework, people of a higher rank may sleep with anyone of lower rank. Given the allegations of sexual abuse against Hashem, it is not surprising that he claims his indiscretions are justified by scripture.

The text also permits incest by allowing marriage to one’s "blood sibling," while it prohibits unions with a "sibling from the soul world."

14. Democracy Is Evil

The group denounces democracy as a corrupt system akin to disease and war. “Allegiance is not to democracy,” they declare. “Allegiance is to God.” Hashem alone, they argue, should lead the coming Divine Just State, where his rule will replace elections with divine appointment.

Despite claims of being “communitarian,” the structure of the group is authoritarian: followers must yield to Hashem’s dictates. “You also have to have obedience to him so we can create a utopian society for everyone on earth,” one member said.

13. Extraterrestrials Control U.S. Presidents

Hashem claims that American presidents are manipulated by beings called the "Shfar." In one passage, he cites a video showing George W. Bush’s eyes “shapeshifting into those of a snake or a cat,” asking whether Bush was possessed by a jinn or controlled by aliens. The supposed answer from fabricated dialogues: “Yes, he is under control,” and “The extraterrestrials control them from their own planet.”

12. Animals Possess Bizarre Magical Properties

In the group's holy book, Goal of the Wise, Hashem describes fantastical “cures” during a series of dialogues that he fabricated:

  • A chameleon walking across a naked body can heal sickle-cell anemia.
  • Eating a tiger’s heart and liver can treat epilepsy.
  • Placing the anus of a bird over a woman’s vagina—or over a man’s anus—can cure epilepsy.
  • Snakes may be cut open alive, seeded with grain, and used to produce oil to treat baldness.
  • Dried bats can be ground into a powder that is used for creating long, shiny hair.

He further claims that geckos are sexually attracted to humans, bees can foretell the future, and pigs alone have “no benefit at all.”

11. Hashem Is Superior to Jesus and Muhammad

The group insists Hashem has “demonstrated miracles on a scale that none in history have matched.” These include resurrecting the dead, healing the blind, making the moon disappear, and creating rain in drought. “He has performed all the miracles of Jesus,” they claim.

Hashem hedges when asked directly: “I have never claimed to perform miracles,” he said in a recent interview, though his followers frequently testify otherwise. At one point he promised, “If any of the world’s leaders request a miracle, we can do it in front of cameras.”

10. America Is the Antichrist

In The Goal of the Wise, Hashem declares, “America is the Antichrist.” He says the nation is run by a shadow government—the Illuminati—that “worship Iblis [the devil] and take him as a god.” To him, America embodies hypocrisy: professing Christianity while embracing materialism, secularism and arrogance. He also calls Christianity the "world's most dangerous cult."

9. Only Followers of Hashem Will Escape a Violent Death

Hashem warns that humanity is mere “hours” away from a “flood of blood.” Plagues, famines, endless wars, cannibalism, and even meteor strikes will devastate the Earth. “Accepting this covenant is the only thing that will save you,” he says. Followers are told to “board the ark of salvation” before the final disaster arrives.

8. Famous Leaders Are Reincarnations of Ancient Figures

Hashem claims insight into the past lives of modern rulers:

  • Donald Trump is the reincarnation of Emperor Nero, "the most evil of them all."
  • Vladimir Putin is Julius Caesar, who was also evil.
  • Pope Francis is the apostle Paul, whom Hashem calls a “fake apostle and antichrist.”
  • Adolf Hitler was the "mongolian mass murderer Hulegu Khan."

7. Extraterrestrials Commit Murders and Kidnappings

According to Goal of the Wise, there are millions of extraterrestrials on the planet. They not only murder and kidnap people, but they also "abduct people from this planet in order to conduct experiments and examinations." Many "come for sex" and make human-alien hybrids. Some have large, almond-shaped eyes.

The group's holy book also claims there is an extraterrestrial race living in underground cities in Turkey. The infamous aliens known as "greys" are called "Rafdek" and come from the planet Foraa.

6. The Idea of Evolution is Demonic

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light's sacred text claims evolution is "one of the dumbest theories out there." The text labels evolution as satanic in origin. Instead, it claims we all originated from the first human, Adam. According to the text, the "materials for life" were brought to earth by aliens before humans existed. There were 998 species of "intelligent life" prior to humans.

5. Bear-Sized Alien Rabbits Rule a Distant Planet

The group's holy book describes a planet called Al-Aroos, where human-like beings are considered animals, and the true intelligent species are giant, bear-sized rabbits called Roob. These creatures walk on two legs, think and speak like humans, and, in Hashem’s cosmology, keep humans as pets.

4. Heroin as a Gateway to Other Worlds

Former members report that while in Sweden, Abdullah Hashem and his followers used drugs such as LSD, hash, and DMT. In The Goal of the Wise, the movement explicitly permits the use of psychoactive plants like marijuana and even drugs such as heroin. These substances, the text teaches, do not intoxicate but rather transport the soul to other dimensions. Overdose is reinterpreted as a journey so “far out to distant worlds” that the person cannot return. Use of such drugs is allowed—so long as it is undertaken “responsibly.” Even alcohol is described as spiritually permissible, referred to as the “Servant of Light.”

3. The Last Supper Involved Semen

In the group’s sacred text, Abdullah Hashem reinterprets the Eucharist in startling terms. He describes semen as “light,” a vessel of spiritual essence, and a medium for transmitting divine knowledge, linked to the Holy Spirit. According to his teaching, the Last Supper is not about bread and wine but about receiving semen as a sacred substance. “This is the true meaning of what Jesus spoke and taught,” Hashem writes.

2. Homosexuality is Forbidden, Boys are for Sex

"The jurisprudence now states that it is forbidden," the group's holy book says of homosexuality. It also says it will not become permissible in the future. It's odd given the group's inclusion of LGBTQ people. The text does say, however, "just deal with these people as you deal with all the other people. Looking down upon them is unacceptable." While homosexuality is not permissible, the group is not to discriminate against them. Additionally, Goal of the Wise states that boys are “also for sex” for both “men and the women.”

1. Hashem was Jesus Christ

Abdullah Hashem claims he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, recounting a vivid memory of the Crucifixion in The Goal of the Wise. He describes seeing himself lifeless in the arms of Mary, identified as his current wife, Norhan, with the cross, rain-soaked air, and Roman soldiers as vivid as “waking life.” In a fabricated "dialogue" with Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, he states, “I saw myself, I saw Norhan carrying me. I saw the cross,” to which the Imam replies, “It was painful, wasn’t it, my son?” Hashem calls the memory “extremely” painful, with the Imam noting such memories are forgotten to protect the soul.

From alien overlords to talking rabbits, the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light blends messianic ambition with apocalyptic prophecy and bizarre cosmology. Their religious text is filled with strange and unfounded claims, often sexual in nature. For Hashem’s followers, obedience to him is the only path to salvation. The beliefs paint a picture of a movement both fantastical and deeply authoritarian.

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