A sign that reads "behind these walls is the Moubarak Mosque" is the only clue on a street in the French town of Saint-Prix to the presence of the first mosque to be built in in the country for the Ahmadiyya movement. The modern building blends in with the others in this residential neighbourhood.

Thierry Kponou, a member of the community, said: "The word Moubarak means 'benediction' and 'thank you'. This is really an appropriate name for a mosque built with the help of so many people!"

These people are the Ahmadis, a community that considers itself Muslim, though rejected by mainstream Islam. 1,000 Ahmadis live in France. Most settled here 26 years ago in the town of Saint-Prix. They reject the idea of Holy War and advocate peace.

Omar Ahmed, a mosque official, said the community is founded upon "love for all, hate for no one. We embrace all the concepts related to this philosophy: mutual aid, solidarity. This has been our path for more than a century."

The movement was founded in 1889 in India by Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the Mahdi, the promised messiah. The 20-million-strong community is now established in 193 countries across the world. Despite distinctive beliefs, their spiritual culture is similar to Islam.

Ashfaq Rabbani, president of the Ahmadiyya community in France, said: "We pray five times a day. We fast, observe the Ramadan, celebrate Eid. It’s all the same: the Ahmadiyya community respects the five pillars of Islam and accept the Koran as the holy text. The only difference is that we believe that Ghulam Madhi is the promised messiah."

It is for this belief that the Ahmadis were labelled "non-Muslim" by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1973.

Masroor Ahmad, the caliph and fifth successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi, came from London to inaugurate the mosque. He is the community’s supreme leader, similar to the pope for the Catholics.

Ahmed Nasser, an Ahmadi missionary, said: "We say that the messiah is here to shine his light on what religions have taught us and to reunite all these religions."

Discriminated against in many countries, particularly Pakistan, the Ahmadi have generated a lot of anger, mostly among extremist Muslims.

The mayor of Saint-Prix, Jean-Pierre Enjalbert, was at first against the idea of an Ahmadiyya mosque in his town, but later changed his mind and gave his approval.

Said Enjalbert: "What reassured us is the fact we’ve got to know them through all these years, had time to observe them, see how they act. I came to many meetings, listened to what they had to say and learned what their message was."

Thanks to satellite TV and the Internet, the Ahmadiyya message is reaching beyond borders and local censorship. Broadcasting 24 hours a day, their TV Channel airs the inauguration ceremonies for each new mosque live. The next one is due to open in Berlin this week.