ABSTRACT
By focusing in particular on Islamic understandings of dreams and the charisma of Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiyya Islam, and his successors, this chapter considers the relationship between enchantment and the establishment of a global institutional Ahmadi organization. The Islamic practice of dream incubation rituals (ishtikara) and the true dream experiences of Ahmadis which often result reinforce beliefs in the sacred and in Ahmadiyya Islam. The Ahmadiyya jama‘t institutional organization is briefly discussed as providing a structure which can be replicated across the globe and which, through a system of elected and nominated offices and regular meetings, engenders Ahmadi subjectivities.
