counter campaign by setting up a network of missionaries across Uttar Pradesh where this activity was rife, to propagate the teachings of Islam and save people from converting to Hinduism. In 1923, he sent a delegation of Ahmadis to the area to prevent the advancement of the Shuddhis, an act which earned him some popularity among the Muslim elite of India. After having faced extreme resistance, the Aryas announced the end of the Shuddhi movement in September 1923, Though later, the president of Bhartiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha, Swami Shraddhanand was stabbed by a Muslim fanatic, Abdul Rasheed in 1926. In the latter part of the Twenties and early Thirties, under Mahmood Ahmad’s directives various gatherings and meetings were held across the Indian subcontinent commemorating the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad known as (Jalsa Seeratun-Nabi) attended by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. A practice which is still carried out by Ahmadis today. Journey to the Middle East and Europe In 1924, accompanied by 12 eminent Ahmadis, Mirza Mahmood Ahmad visited various Middle Eastern and European countries. He traveled from Port Saeed to Cairo and from there to Jerusalem, Haifa and Akkā. He traveled to Damascus by train where he is reported to have attracted a lot of publicity as well as opposition. Here he discussed Ghulam Ahmad's claims with leading scholars, and held various meetings with the intellectual community of Damascus. On 16 August he reached Italy and stayed in Rome for 4 days. He also visited France and England where he delivered numerous lectures, held meetings and was interviewed by numerous journalists. Arrival in London Upon arrival in London he proceeded directly to Ludgate to fulfill a prophetic Hadith which refers to the Bāb al-Lud (the gate of Lud) and led some 300 Muslims in a lengthy prayer outside the entrance of St Paul's Cathedral. His speech on Ahmadiyyat, the True Islam was read out in Wembley’s Conference of Living Religions 1924, where he had been invited by the conveners of the conference to represent Islam. In London he also laid the foundation stone of the Fazl Mosque, an occasion which was well publicised. The construction of the Mosque was completed in 1926 and the cost thereof was borne entirely by the women of the community. Later he also visited Pevensey in order to carry out a ritual imitation of William the Conqueror believing his visit to carry a mystical