Since 2003, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has been warning that the world is heading towards a global catastrophe.

By the Ahmadiyya Muslim International Press and Media Office

We’ve perhaps never been this close to yet another global war. 

“It is now 85 seconds to midnight,” reads the Doomsday Clock – a system designed to depict how close we are to an apocalypse (midnight). 

Just a few years ago, any suggestion of another world war was met with scepticism. It wasn’t in the public conversation and was unthinkable. Analysts would say an economic trade war was more likely and that the principle of MAD – mutually assured destruction – through the use of nuclear weapons was an effective deterrent. Others felt the world had learnt its lessons after two horrific world wars, and another was highly unlikely. 

Against this backdrop, voices of concern have grown louder in recent years – #WW3 was trending on Twitter as early as 2015. Religious leaders and analysts are now warning that the world is teetering on the edge of a new global crisis and even the Vatican has urged caution. Pope Leo XIV has lamented a return to a diplomacy of force and spoken of a “zeal for war” spreading among nations, calling for dialogue between conflicting nations.

Over the past two decades, a number of influential figures have also warned of the dangers now confronting the world. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, philosophers such as Noam Chomsky, and economists, including Jeffrey Sachs, have spoken of the risks of nuclear escalation and the growing likelihood of a large-scale war. 

But no analyst or world leader has been as consistent, as urgent, as forthright about it as His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. As the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which spans tens of million of followers worldwide, he has been warning politicians, the media, civil society and religious leaders about the danger of a Third World War for almost 23 years.

Early warnings

As early as May 2003, the year he was elected as Caliph and Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad warned of the very moment we face today: 

“These incidents [of nuclear devastation] were witnessed in the Second World War, even when those atomic bombs were of low capacity. Now, much more powerful atomic bombs have been developed. It is apparent from the current situation of the world that it is hastily moving towards destruction.”

He again warned in October of the same year:

“If we fail to act, there appears to be nothing to arrest the destruction towards which mankind is rapidly heading. This destruction would be far worse than the destruction caused by the Second World War.”

Since then,  His Holiness has repeatedly addressed countless world leaders and dignitaries from across the globe, urging them to recognise both the weight of the authority they hold as well as the responsibility they have towards their citizens.  It was made clear that irresponsible and hasty decisions made by world leaders could devastate billions of lives across the globe.

Addressing World Parliaments

In 2008, speaking at the British Parliament, His Holiness addressed lawmakers at a time when global tensions were rising, yet the prospect of large-scale war was still widely dismissed. Rather than focusing on any single nation or conflict, he drew attention to the deeper moral failures that drive societies towards violence, warning that when greed dominates political decision-making, injustice and exploitation inevitably follow.

His Holiness said:

“It is an established fact that greed causes enmity to grow. Sometimes it manifests itself in territorial expansion or the seizing of the natural resources, or indeed in impressing the superiority of some upon others. This leads to cruelty, whether it is at the hands of merciless despots… or it is at the hands of an invading force.”

In June 2012, His Holiness addressed lawmakers at Capitol Hill in Washington. 

“No country should seek to unjustly appropriate or take over the resources of another country on the false pretext of trying to assist or support them”, he said.

His Holiness warned that unless the United States, as the most powerful nation in the world, adopted just policies, another devastating world war would be on the horizon:

“The effects of such devastation and warfare will surely last for many generations. Therefore, the United States, as the world’s largest power, should play its role in acting with true justice and with such good intentions.”

These warnings were repeated in Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and many other world capitals.

The failure of the United Nations

In December 2012, during his address to the European Parliament, His Holiness issued a clear message about the structural injustices embedded within the international system. He challenged the moral legitimacy of the veto power at the United Nations, arguing that justice cannot be upheld where powerful nations are shielded from accountability. Drawing attention to the UN’s own voting history, he warned that veto power had often been misused to enable cruelty rather than protect the oppressed.

His Holiness said:

“Only if those nations who have veto power at the United Nations realise they will be held to account for their actions, can justice be truly established… we have seen that the veto power has, on certain occasions, been misused to help and assist in cruelty, rather than to prevent it.”

In March 2024, speaking at the National Peace Symposium in the UK, His Holiness issued one of his starkest warnings yet about the future of global governance. With wars escalating and international law increasingly disregarded, he cautioned that the credibility of the United Nations was being steadily eroded. Without genuine reform and moral integrity, he said, the UN risked total collapse. 

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Regrettably, due to its inherent lack of justice, the fate of the United Nations seems set to mirror that of its failed predecessor, the League of Nations. And if the system of international law, weak as it may be, completely collapses, the resulting anarchy and destruction is beyond our comprehension.”

His stark warnings have taken the form of sermons, speeches, letters, and personal audiences with those at the highest levels of power.

In 2012, His Holiness wrote directly to the leaders of Israel, Iran, and the US – nations that now sit at the centre of global instability and escalating international tensions.

Those warnings were repeated in 2020 as the Covid pandemic swept the globe. In letters to 17 world leaders and heads of state, including His Holiness Pope Francis and UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres, he urged them to use their platforms to bring people together and act for the benefit of humanity. 

Warnings dismissed as “pessimistic”

During much of these years, the idea of another world war was widely dismissed as implausible and alarmist.  Guests listened on as His Holiness delivered these warnings in person at mosque openings, parliamentary speeches or peace symposiums.  The replies we received were that His Holiness’ message was full of “pessimism” or “negativism.” We were told another world war was unlikely. That such possibilities were far-fetched. And yet we stand at the brink today. Those warnings, once brushed aside with pessimism and disbelief, carry a striking relevance today. 

The tragedy of unheeded warnings 

After more than two decades of warnings, speeches, letters, and direct engagement with those in power, the tragedy is not that the dangers were unforeseen, but that they were ignored. At the National Peace Symposium in 2023, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had just surpassed one year, His Holiness said:

“Though we have long preached this message, it seems to have fallen upon deaf ears. I believe the fundamental reason is that the vast majority of the world has turned away from God Almighty and consider materialistic gains and worldly pursuits to be their ultimate objective. It was due to such vain and covetous pursuits that mankind was dragged into two calamitous and harrowing world wars during the 20th century. Rather than learn from the horrors of the past, the world is once again engulfed by warfare and conflict.”

During the 2024 Peace Symposium held in London, as Israel’s war on Gaza was raging, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad reiterated those sentiments:

“As I thought about today’s event, I wondered whether there was any point in us gathering here again. What benefit was there for us to speak about peace and justice if those with the power and ability to influence change were determined not to hear us? The stark reality is that even those institutions founded with the primary objective of maintaining the peace and security of the world are becoming increasingly irrelevant.”

There is still time – but only 85 seconds 

The far-reaching vision and foresight of His Holiness are now becoming apparent to all. What was once dismissed as “unlikely” is now being talked about every day. Despite all signs pointing to the contrary, and rather than being pessimistic, as was claimed, His Holiness has always sought to instil hope that we can still turn back. 

When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, His Holiness released a statement:

“There is still time for the world to step back from the brink of disaster, and so, for the sake of humanity, I urge Russia, NATO and all major powers to concentrate all their efforts on seeking to de-escalate the conflict and working towards a peaceful solution through diplomacy.”

Just days ago, His Holiness remarked that it seems as though a third world war has already begun, though the peak of it was yet to come. Whilst once, such comments would be met with scepticism and derision, today, no one questions it.

His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has always been the voice of optimistic realism. He has faith in humanity but warns of repeating the mistakes of the past. If we are in the early stages of a third world war, as it seems, then as a religious community, we have no power or influence to avert it. Ultimately, we have always resorted to advocating for true justice and turning to God Almighty in prayer. And if God forbid, things continue to spiral, then we will continue to remind, continue to warn and continue to pray, so that at least future generations may heed the warnings and learn from the mistakes of the past.