- Rabwah
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Rabwah
ربوہ— City — The hilly landscape of Rabwah
Location in Punjab,Pakistan
RabwahCoordinates: 31°45′10″N 72°55′20″E / 31.75278°N 72.92222°ECoordinates: 31°45′10″N 72°55′20″E / 31.75278°N 72.92222°E Country 
PakistanProvince Punjab District Chiniot District Towns 1 Government - Ameer Muqaami Mirza Khursheed Ahmad Area - Total 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi) Elevation 300 m (984 ft) Population (2003[1]) - Total 70,000 - Density 2,300/km2 (5,957/sq mi) Time zone PST (UTC+5) - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC+6) Postal code 35460 Area code(s) 047 Website http://www.rabwah.net Rabwah (Urdu, Punjabi: ربوہ) is a private city in the Chiniot District of Punjab Province, Pakistan located on the Chenab River near the historic city of Chiniot. The city's name means "elevated place" and it is also known as Chenab Nagar, meaning "moonlight through water." Rabwah has been the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community since September 20, 1948, after the original headquarters of Qadian moved to India following the creation of Pakistan in 1947. As a result, the vast majority of inhabitants belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community migrated from India to Pakistan.[2] After the migration, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community bought the area and settled in Rabwah.[3][clarification needed]Ahrari's were entered Rabwah in 1976.
Contents
Name change
In 1998, a resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly changed the city's name from Rabwah to Chenab Nagar.[4] However, the city is still mainly referred to by its old name.Rabwah is the centre of Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
Geography and demographics
Rabwah covers an area of about 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi) and is surrounded by hills and the Chenab River with a landscape composed mainly of bare sedimentary rock. The city has a population of 70,000, of which 97 per cent belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. There is one mosque in each neighborhood.
History
The city stands on a deserted area formerly known as Chak Digiyaan on land bought in 1948 by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community following the migration of most community members from Qadian, the old centre, to newly created Pakistan. The land was intended to become a model city for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The city was named Rabwah by then leader of the Ahmadiyya sect, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad.[5]. In February 27,1976 leadership of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam entered in Rabwah and first time in the history of Pakistan, the Friday prayer's offered in Rabwah by Muslim's. At that time the Jamia Masjid Ahrar was founded in Rawah by Syed Abu Zar Bukhari. Fifty thousand of Ahrari's attended the friday prayer' in Chennab Nagar (Rabwah). At the spot, Syed Abu Zar Bukhari and Syed Ata-ul-Mohsin Bukhari[6] were imprisoned for an anti-government religious speech.
Education
The Talim-ul-Islam School and Talim-ul-Islam College for boys were two of the first educational institutions to be established in the city with the Jamia Nusrat College for Women established some time later. Both of these institutions were nationalised under the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Pakistani campus of Jamia Ahmaddiya Missionary College also has a branch in Rabwah. There are a number of private primary, middle and high schools in the city. The Nusrat Jehan Academy and Inter College ( private institutions owned and run by the ahmadiyya jama'at ) are well known for the consistent good results they produce. Nasir High School is another private venture by the Jamaa'at Ahmadiyya to bring quality education to the masses at an affordable rate ( The fee at this institution is Rs. 35). A private evening academy for commerce education , Nadi's Commerce Academy, has been setup to provide evening tuition classes to students of B.Com , BBA and MBA.
Jamia Ahmadiyya Missionary College
Technology/communication
Rabwah is covered by mobile, broadband, wi-fi, and cable television networks.[citation needed]. Since 2008 Rabwah's online presence and public relations have been handled through www.rabwah.net
Newspapers
Rabwah Times is Rabwah's online weekly newspaper founded in 2008. It started off as an online newspaper by the name of Rabwah.NET in 2008[7] and later on relaunched itself as a weekly by the name of Rabwah Times in 2011.[8] The paper was started off to give Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Pakistan a voice, As the main stream media of Pakistan has been reluctant to highlight the plight of minority Ahmadiyya Community but has also in some cases encouraged the persecution of the Ahmadis.[9]
The paper rose to fame after publishing stories of local persecution inside the city of Rabwah, The paper has covered stories about KhatmeNabuwat and The Ahrar movement linking them to banned terrorist organizations, The story was shunned by the mainstream Pakistani media.[10]
A Daily News paper AlFazl also published from this city, illustrated with many empirical articals & covering the activities of jamat. There is also some monthly magazines, like Misbah for women, Tashhez ul Azhan for children, Khalid for youth & Insarullah for old people.
Neighborhoods
The main mohallas (sectors) of the city are:
- Darul Nasar
- Darul Uloom
- Darul Sadar
- Darul Yaman
- Darul Rahmat
- Darul Barakat
- Babul Abwab
- Naseer Abad
- Tahir Sector
All of these sectors are subdivided into smaller regions, usually with eight regions per sector.
Transport
From the city, there are bus services to Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, and other major cities in Pakistan. Rabwah can be accessed from the M-2 (National Highway Motorway 2) while the nearest airports are in Faisalabad (52 kilometres (32 mi)) and Sargodha (59 kilometres (37 mi)).
Climate
Rabwah has hot summers and cold winters. The summer season is from April to October. May, June, and July are the hottest months. The winter season is from November to March. December, January, and February as the coldest months.
See also
- Chiniot
- Faisalabad
- Punjab, Pakistan
- Pakistan
- Chenab River
References
- The Ahmadis by Antonio R. Gualtieri
- UNHCR Report
- Magazine
- Elections
- Copyrighting Religion
- Abdus Salam
- Police Supports Ahmadiyya Persecution
- Newspaper Office Raided
- Persecution
External links
Categories:- Populated places in Chiniot District
- Jhangochi Dialect speaking areas
- Ahmadiyya places
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