He was the first Pakistani to win a Nobel prize in physics after he predicted the existence of the so-called 'God particle', but in his home country Abdus Salam's achievements have been written from the record books. Despite being a leading figure in Pakistan's space and nuclear program Salam was shunned by Muslim fundamentalists when they took control of the country in the 1970s. Although he was a Muslim, the physicist, who died in 1996, belonged to the Ahmadi sect, who believed Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was their spiritual leader as opposed to the prophet Muhammad.