Inside AROPL Studios: 70 Believers, 15 Languages—One Banner

2025 has been the most successful year for the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light's social media channels. In this yearly review of the religions media wing - spearheaded by AROPL studios - we take a look at the people that brought the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light to hundreds of millions of homes in 2025.

In a quiet area of the United Kingdom stands the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace & Light – a new religious movement founded by Abdullah Hashem, known to followers as Aba Al-Sadiq and regarded as the promised Riser spoken of in Islamic eschatology. At the heart of the same complex lies AROPL Studios, a modest building that has quietly become one of the most prolific independent religious media centers in the world.

The studio produces material for the English-Arabic satellite channel that broadcasts 24 hours a day into more than 70 million homes across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, the fast-growing YouTube channel The Mahdi Has Appeared, the weekly series The School of Divine Mysteries, dozens of websites, printed books, and the magazine Divine Just State that you are now reading. All of it is produced by approximately 70 studio members–-some full-time, some part-time, while others volunteer their time and efforts as much as possible.

Through the works of Aba Al-Sadiq and AROPL Studios, 2025 was undoubtedly the biggest year for the religion since its inception a decade ago in 2015, when the banner was first raised. 

2025 Growth in Numbers: The Official YouTube Channel Alone

The Mahdi Has Appeared YouTube Channel Launched on the 14th of November, 2022. The social media team provided us with an overview from the last 18 months.

• 31.4 million views 

• 84,600 subscribers 

• 4,349 videos published 

• Top countries: United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Australia, Pakistan & Malaysia

When indirect reach is added — including the satellite channel, more than 50 additional social-media platforms in 15 languages, and the thousands of influencers and commentators (both supportive and critical) who reposted clips throughout 2025 — the message of the movement has appeared in front of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. 

Prof. Edward A. Irons at AROPL Headquarters

Recently, Professor Edward A. Irons, an academic researcher based in the United States, who specialises in new religious movements, visited the headquarters and took a tour of AROPL Studios. He said, “I am very impressed with the media structure and output, and how passionately the members work to spread the message in so many languages. It’s genuinely impressive.” 

His comment reflects a growing curiosity among scholars and journalists about how a relatively small community produces such a large and professional media footprint.

What follows is a look inside the building where it all happens.

Tiffany Oldani – Website Developer & Graphic Designer

Tiffany joined AROPL Studios full-time in 2022 after seven years of freelance support. A graphic-design graduate from Texas Christian University, she now oversees web development, print production and other foundational works for the studio.

“We manage theahmadireligion.org, the Mahdi Wiki, and the online edition of The Divine Just State Magazine,” she explains. “We also design and print physical editions of core texts such as The Goal of the Wise, The Sayings of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, and Al-Haft Al-Shareef in English and Arabic, plus brochures and educational materials that are shipped worldwide. All these materials need unique and specialized designs.”

For many believers and supporters, Tiffany is already a familiar face. She has become known to millions worldwide as the devout student and supporter who appears alongside Aba Al-Sadiq as co-host of the lecture series The School of Divine Mysteries. 

“Presenting is rewarding,” she says. “In addition to my design and web work, I’ve also contributed to AROPL Studios as a presenter. Since 2023, I’ve appeared regularly in the lecture series of the Mahdi, Aba Al-Sadiq, which is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. The series now spans nearly 200 episodes, each about 45 minutes long. Being part of this journey as a student of Aba Al-Sadiq has been incredibly eye-opening, taking me deep into the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. Working with AROPL Studios has allowed me to merge my faith, passion, and profession into a single path and for that, I’m endlessly grateful.”

Outreach & Live Connection – Ailia Halal, TV Presenter & Outreach Messenger

From the quiet desks of graphic designers and web developers, into the Outreach room where it feels like you’ve stepped into a microcosm of the world itself, you will find believers on phone calls, live streams, and Zoom meetings in fifteen different languages. It’s absolutely buzzing with excitement and faith. 

Ailia Halal is one of the main tv presenters, most notably known for her program “Rise Up” - the morning show of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, co-hosted by Dr Irfan Alamgir. Ailia and Dr. Irfan goes live from AROPL Studios and shares the latest updates of the religion and organization. 

Ailia said, “we were honoured by the opportunity to share updates on the movement’s great victories and achievements in the name of humanity, and enjoy delving into the core teachings of the Riser Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem. Presenting these topics gave us a chance to reach out to the world and listen to the voices of the people who call or write in. We are proud to be a voice that inspires hope and faith.”

In her free time Ailia serves as an outreach messenger, and I asked her to share more about their works, activities and some meaningful or fulfilling aspects of their work. 

“Our job is to make sure no sincere seeker is left without an answer because of language or time-zone barriers,” she says. “The Outreach staff promotes the material produced in each region. More importantly, we become friends and companions to people who often feel isolated in their search for truth.”

The team coordinates striking global campaigns — believers raising the banner at the Vatican on Easter Sunday 2025 and in cities on every continent the same day; the worldwide “Humanity First” street events on the 27th of July to celebrate Aba Al-Sadiq’s birthday; dawah teams handing out flyers and feeding the homeless in India, Ecuador, Europe, and North America — while offering daily emotional and spiritual support to new members.

“Many people tell us that one conversation gave them purpose again,” Ailia says. “That is the most rewarding part. The followers who pledge allegiance to this holy cause are growing every day, and they can’t wait to stand up and express their faith and solidarity.”

Translation Department – Hadil El Khouly, Head of Translations

The translation team is not an add-on at AROPL Studios; it is one of the oldest and most essential pillars of the entire mission.  Hadil El Khouly leads the translation department that today operates in fifteen languages, ensuring every sermon, book, and episode reaches seekers in their mother tongue with accuracy and speed.

“From the beginning, Aba Al-Sadiq insisted that the call of the Riser must be truly global,” Hadil explains. “That is why translation began long before the studio even existed.”

The story starts in 2011: Aba Al-Sadiq personally translated the rare manuscript Al-Haft Al-Shareef into English—the first and only complete version available to the English-speaking world. His wife, Umm Al-Sadiq, then single-handedly rendered the foundational books and proofs of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, opening the call to entire continents. When the formal department was created in 2016, it focused on Arabic–English for the new satellite channel and early documentary series. As the movement grew, the team expanded to fifteen languages and took responsibility for every major text, including The Goal of the Wise, The Mahdi’s Manifesto, and more than 200 episodes of The School of Divine Mysteries.

“What began as the work of two people has become a professional global network,” Hadil says. “Today, a new sermon can appear in Arabic, English, German, Spanish, Farsi, Malay, or any of our fifteen languages almost the moment it is delivered—so that no sincere seeker, wherever they are, ever has to wait for the door of knowledge to open in their own language.”

From Translation to Technology – Sara Saber, Multimedia Developer

Just as the Translation Department turns the spoken and written word of Aba Al-Sadiq into fifteen languages, the next frontier is delivering that same content in the most modern, seamless way possible. That task falls to the Tech & Multimedia team, where sister Sara Saber has quickly become a driving force.

Sara joined AROPL Studios full-time in February 2024, bringing a specialist background in innovative information systems. She holds a MIAGE master’s degree (Méthodes Informatiques Appliquées à la Gestion des Entreprises) from the University of Toulouse Capitole 1 in France, along with several years of professional experience engineering mobile applications and multimedia platforms.

Since arriving, her flagship project has been the design and development of the new official AROPL Studios multimedia app – a single, elegant gateway that will eventually replace dozens of scattered websites and resources.

“The app is being built to serve two purposes at once,” Sara explains. “Internally, it will organise all of our data – videos, books, sermons, translations, graphics – so every department can find and use material instantly. Externally, it will give believers and new seekers one clean, modern place to watch, read, listen and connect, fully localised in multiple languages with a smooth and meaningful user experience.”

She has already applied the same approach to the existing Mahdi Wiki platform, expanding its performance, search capabilities and mobile usability, so that complex theological entries load quickly even on slow connections in Asia, Africa or Latin America.

Beyond coding, Sara constantly scouts emerging tools – AI-assisted subtitling, interactive timelines, augmented-reality banners – anything that can strengthen the studio’s creative output while keeping costs manageable for a volunteer-driven operation.

When asked what keeps her motivated through the complex challenges of debugging and testing, her answer is immediate: “It is a joy and a privilege to have the opportunity to contribute, in whatever small way I can, to the growth of the faith by drawing from my past experience. Every line of code, every new feature, is a brick in the bridge that carries the call of the Qaim to the next generation of phones, tablets and screens. Seeing a believer in a remote village open the app for the first time and instantly find the sermon they need in their own language – that moment makes every challenge worthwhile.”

Tahir Abbas - Operations Manager & Bishop of Pakistan

If I could highlight every member who keeps AROPL Studios running day after day, I would– but it feels right to close with the one whose work quietly ties everything together. Tahir Abbas, the softly-spoken Operations Manager of AROPL Studios, prefers to stay behind the scenes for the most part–from overseeing the activities and personnel at AROPL Studios, to the demanding work as the Bishop of Pakistan. But as part of his work as Bishop, Tahir steps out from behind the curtain as a TV presenter on the Satellite station and messenger to the Urdu-speaking people, disseminating the knowledge of Aba Al-Sadiq and the key tenants of faith. 

Tahir certainly has his work cut out for him, but his selfless style of leadership and humility simply said with a smile, “For me, I’m truly nothing worth mentioning. It is an honour to be a servant in the studio of the Riser Aba Al-Sadiq.” His daily task is to keep nearly seventy believers, fifteen languages, and a dozen departments moving as one seamless unit, removing every obstacle so the message of Aba Al-Sadiq can flow smoothly and unaltered–while ensuring he’s there for the believers of Pakistan in every way that he can be. 

He describes 2025 as a year of unexpected joy. “We never managed to reach such a large audience before,” he notes, immediately adding that the credit belongs entirely to the clarity of the message itself. What fills him with the deepest satisfaction, however, is watching the team function “like different cogs in a well-oiled media machine that operates independently, yet as one,” never deviating, “even a letter” from the original call while reaching all the different languages across the globe—exactly as prophecy foretold.

Looking ahead, Tahir’s confidence is absolute. He offers special recognition to the unseen technicians, translators, control-room staff, editors and messengers and then closes with a simple conviction:  “I have full faith that 2026 will exceed all our imaginations, because this message was a promise to all of mankind, and it’s only a matter of time before everyone in the world will hear about it.”

One Studio, One Purpose, One Banner

The believers working for AROPL Studios have built something extraordinary– a global media operation that now speaks fluently in fifteen languages and reaches from satellite dishes in the MENA Region to smartphones, TVs and computers all around the world.

Every video edited, every line translated, every app updated, every call answered shares the same quiet purpose: to amplify the message of Aba Al-Sadiq (that he has raised the prophesied banner “Allegiance is to Allah” and calls the world to the Supremacy of God alone) into every willing hand and heart.

What began a decade ago with a single black banner and a handful of believers has become a steady, unstoppable broadcast: the promised call has gone out, the door is open, and the world is listening.